Health Insurance for Mexican Resident

[Arniece2022]

I am a Canadian living in Mexico. I've been trying to find health insurance for my Camino Frances and hoping someone can make a recommendation. I've searched the forum and other resources but all the companies that are mentioned are from the U.S. or other countries and don't have an option for Mexico. The only one I found was World Nomads but they wanted +$400 U.S. which seems very high to me. I have a quote coming from my health insurance carrier here in Mexico, but I would like at least one other quote (and would really prefer an international company). I have travelled extensively when I lived in Canada and there were far more options, including my credit card, at that time. Living in Mexico seems to have limited my options. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Arniece, it has been my experience in the many years of traveling to Spain that medical insurance really is not as important as it is here in the U.S. - where if you don't have it you might not get the medical attention you need. Spain like Canada too, has public free healthcare.

As a former Spanish professor with many student trips to Spain and multiple medical issues - from a broken ankle, a hairline shin fracture, and many sunburn kids who wanted to get a tan disregarding the sunscreen advice, I can tell you that we were never charged a penny for the clinic/hospital visits we made.

And, personally, on the Camino Portugués I had to see a doctor in Padrón because of knee pain and get an injection. Total cost for the doctor's visit, and the steroid injection was 34€ and the prescription for pain medicine plus Omeprazole for 10 days was 4€.

On the Camino del Norte as I left Irún I met, and occasionally walked with an American young lady who after the first 10 days was in such pain she could barely walk, so we stopped in Laredo - where we stayed at the convent and immediately went to the hospital (I was her interpreter) They took x-rays, and told her she had shin splints, gave her crutches, pain medicine and told her to stop walking and rest. The charge? Nothing! The wonderful nuns allowed her to stay at the convent for 2 more days, She was not able to finish the camino, but she took the bus and we met again in Santillana del Mar for a day. She made the best of it, and actually signed up for a Spanish program in Alicante for the rest of her stay before flying back home to Texas.

Sorry I made this so long, but I want to reassure you that you really don't have to be overly concerned about medical insurance. Spain has amazing health care and they will take care of you at a minimal cost, if any.

 

[Arniece2022]

Arniece, it has been my experience in the many years of traveling to Spain that medical insurance really is not as important as it is here in the U.S. - where if you don't have it you might not get the medical attention you need. Spain like Canada too, has public free healthcare.

As a former Spanish professor with many student trips to Spain and multiple medical issues - from a broken ankle, a hairline shin fracture, and many sunburn kids who wanted to get tan and disregarded the sunscreen advice, I can tell you that we were not charged a penny for their care.

And, personally, on the Camino Portugués I had to see a doctor in Padrón because of knee pain and get an injection. Total cost for the doctor's visit, and the steroid injection was 34€ and the prescription for pain medicine plus Omeprazole for 10 days was 4€.

I also walked on Camino del Norte and along the way met a young lady who had shin splints and we stopped in Laredo -where we stayed at the convent, she could barely walk at this time, and we went to the hospital where I was her interpreter. They took x-rays, gave her crutches, pain medicine and told her to stop walking and rest. The charge? Nothing! The wonderful nuns allowed her to stay at the convent for 2 more days, She was not able to finish the camino, but she took the bus and we met again in Santillana del Mar for a day. She made the best of it, and actually signed up for a Spanish program in Alicante for the rest of her stay before flying back home.

Sorry I made this so long, but I want to reassure you that you really don't have to be overly concerned about medical insurance. Spain has amazing health care and they will take care of you at a minimal cost, if any.

I appreciate your reply. I understand the healthcare in Spain is probably quite affordable. Here in Mexico it is also affordable, so I understand what you are saying. Having said that, in 2017 I was volunteering with a group in the US Virgin Islands. One of the girls in my group fell and hit her head. She had to be airlifted to the mainland. Two days later she was airlifted back to Miami where she spent the next 18 months in recovery. I have 2 more of these personal stories that I won't bore you with. For me, health insurance isn't about shin splints and blisters. It gives me peace of mind if something happens and I need med-evac home, or for a relative to come to me. I would not want to find myself in the hospital in a foreign country without insurance.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

I understand and wish for you nothing but the best! Take care and buen camino!
Ultreïa!

 

[SabsP]

Arniece, it has been my experience in the many years of traveling to Spain that medical insurance really is not as important as it is here in the U.S. - where if you don't have it you might not get the medical attention you need. Spain like Canada too, has public free healthcare.

As a former Spanish professor with many student trips to Spain and multiple medical issues - from a broken ankle, a hairline shin fracture, and many sunburn kids who wanted to get a tan disregarding the sunscreen advice, I can tell you that we were never charged a penny for the clinic/hospital visits we made.

And, personally, on the Camino Portugués I had to see a doctor in Padrón because of knee pain and get an injection. Total cost for the doctor's visit, and the steroid injection was 34€ and the prescription for pain medicine plus Omeprazole for 10 days was 4€.

On the Camino del Norte as I left Irún I met, and occasionally walked with an American young lady who after the first 10 days was in such pain she could barely walk, so we stopped in Laredo - where we stayed at the convent and immediately went to the hospital (I was her interpreter) They took x-rays, and told her she had shin splints, gave her crutches, pain medicine and told her to stop walking and rest. The charge? Nothing! The wonderful nuns allowed her to stay at the convent for 2 more days, She was not able to finish the camino, but she took the bus and we met again in Santillana del Mar for a day. She made the best of it, and actually signed up for a Spanish program in Alicante for the rest of her stay before flying back home to Texas.

Sorry I made this so long, but I want to reassure you that you really don't have to be overly concerned about medical insurance. Spain has amazing health care and they will take care of you at a minimal cost, if any.

Please see recent threads where you can see that this almost free idea did not work.
Yes people may be friendly but in the end someone has to pay the bill.
One year I was treated in a small centro de salud for something minor and I never received a bill. Another year I had to spent some time in non urgent ER in Santiago and after some months my Belgian health insurance found me to pay the bill. The bill Spain had forwarded them through the EHIC system. Still a minor hassle for me but certainly not free.

So yes to the OP : insure yourself accordingly.

 

[Xali1970]

Mondial assistance

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Thank you for setting me straight. It seems I underestimated the need for health insurance - especially in emergency situations mentioned.
Here is a link with information on several international health insurance companies and plans. Maybe it'll help: https://www.worldtrips.com/blog/Posts/6-best-travel-medical-insurance-providers

Another link:

Global Rescue | Travel Insurance Difference – Global Rescue

www.globalrescue.com

 

[lt56ny]

I am a Canadian living in Mexico. I've been trying to find health insurance for my Camino Frances and hoping someone can make a recommendation. I've searched the forum and other resources but all the companies that are mentioned are from the U.S. or other countries and don't have an option for Mexico. The only one I found was World Nomads but they wanted +$400 U.S. which seems very high to me. I have a quote coming from my health insurance carrier here in Mexico, but I would like at least one other quote (and would really prefer an international company). I have travelled extensively when I lived in Canada and there were far more options, including my credit card, at that time. Living in Mexico seems to have limited my options. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi I too live in Mexico. Every camino I walk on I use Mapfre insurance. My last camino from Sevilla took me almost 7 weeks so I got 2 months worth of insurance. I got one of if not their top travel insurance plan. My wife took care of it and she remembers we paid about 7,000 pesos for 2 months. There were cheaper plans of course but not as good coverage. I thought if anything major happened (I am 67) better to err on the side of caution and more insurance.
The last two times I went on Camino I had medical issues. In 2019 I had bronchial spasms and had to go to clinics 3 times. In October I left with stomach issues that was misdiagnosed in Mexico. I went to doctors in two towns along the VDLP to no avail and finally spent the day in a hospital in Merida where the doctor told me he would not let me leave till he got to the bottom of everything. I had a sonogram and blood tests and breath tests and finally it was properly diagnosed as severe irritation of the lumen in my stomach. He gave me a diet to follow and some medicine and within a few days I was back to my old self. For all six visits I just showed my paperwork from Mapfre when I entered the clinic/hospital. All the information that the clinics/hospitals needed were on the paperwork. I saved the receipts from the pharmacies for the meds I bought. I was never denied service. I never paid a penny and never even had to talk to Mapfre or was questioned at all by the hospitals regarding my plan. I submitted my receipts to our agent and had a transfer to my Santander account with my prescription money in about a month. I have nothing but good things to say about their travel insurance. I would highly recommend them. Maybe not the cheapest but completely hassle free. You get what you pay for.

 

[Arniece2022]

Hi I too live in Mexico. Every camino I walk on I use Mapfre insurance. My last camino from Sevilla took me almost 7 weeks so I got 2 months worth of insurance. I got one of if not their top travel insurance plan. My wife took care of it and she remembers we paid about 7,000 pesos for 2 months. There were cheaper plans of course but not as good coverage. I thought if anything major happened (I am 67) better to err on the side of caution and more insurance.
The last two times I went on Camino I had medical issues. In 2019 I had bronchial spasms and had to go to clinics 3 times. In October I left with stomach issues that was misdiagnosed in Mexico. I went to doctors in two towns along the VDLP to no avail and finally spent the day in a hospital in Merida where the doctor told me he would not let me leave till he got to the bottom of everything. I had a sonogram and blood tests and breath tests and finally it was properly diagnosed as severe irritation of the lumen in my stomach. He gave me a diet to follow and some medicine and within a few days I was back to my old self. For all six visits I just showed my paperwork from Mapfre when I entered the clinic/hospital. All the information that the clinics/hospitals needed were on the paperwork. I saved the receipts from the pharmacies for the meds I bought. I was never denied service. I never paid a penny and never even had to talk to Mapfre or was questioned at all by the hospitals regarding my plan. I submitted my receipts to our agent and had a transfer to my Santander account with my prescription money in about a month. I have nothing but good things to say about their travel insurance. I would highly recommend them. Maybe not the cheapest but completely hassle free. You get what you pay for.

Hola from Yucatan - Thank you for the recommendation and taking the time to explain everything. Mapfre is the company my Healthcare Rep quoted on, so reading your experience makes me feel much more secure. She quoted on a silver and a gold policy. The gold one was $7,000 pesos so it sounds like what you are talking about. I had wanted to get a second quote from somewhere to compare, but I feel a bit better about this policy now. I appreciate your help!

 

[Arniece2022]

Thank you for setting me straight. It seems I underestimated the need for health insurance - especially in emergency situations mentioned.
Here is a link with information on several international health insurance companies and plans. Maybe it'll help: https://www.worldtrips.com/blog/Posts/6-best-travel-medical-insurance-providers

Another link:

Global Rescue | Travel Insurance Difference – Global Rescue

www.globalrescue.com

No worries, everyone has different opinions about things. I appreciate the links you posted and I'll take a look at them.

 

[lt56ny]

Hola from Yucatan - Thank you for the recommendation and taking the time to explain everything. Mapfre is the company my Healthcare Rep quoted on, so reading your experience makes me feel much more secure. She quoted on a silver and a gold policy. The gold one was $7,000 pesos so it sounds like what you are talking about. I had wanted to get a second quote from somewhere to compare, but I feel a bit better about this policy now. I appreciate your help!

I thought about getting another quote on my last camino but now after two caminos and two health issues that needed attending I am going to stick with Mapfre because it has been so easy and I have never had any issues using it and literally never hearing from them except that I know everyone was paid and satisfied.