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monoloco
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Seguro Popular
We went to La Paz yesterday and enrolled in Seguro Popular. The office is on Bravo on the second floor of the old Salvatiera hospital building, you
need to bring copies of your passport, electric or water bill or constancia, copies of your CURP card and INM card. We expected to be charged but it
ended up being free. The whole process took about a half hour and couldn't have been easier.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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vandenberg
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Could you tell me the cost?
And for how many people?
I like to know the cost for a family of four, man, wife and 2 small kids.
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BajaBlanca
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FREE vandenburg, that is what monoloco wrote (((:
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David K
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Nothing's free, somebody somewhere is paying... Perhaps the clinic will accept donations when services are provided so non-Mexicans will always be
welcomed happily?
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Whale-ista
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What are the benefits of this program? Is this for healthcare?
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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monoloco
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vandenberg
Could you tell me the cost?
And for how many people?
I like to know the cost for a family of four, man, wife and 2 small kids. |
We are a couple and we expected
to be charged something, I have heard of people being charged 1500 pesos, but they did not charge us anything. They asked if we owned our house, had a
stove, a refrigerator, a car, or a DVD player. I told my wife they must have thought we were very poor and felt sorry for us because we don't own a
DVD player.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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monoloco
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Whale-ista
What are the benefits of this program? Is this for healthcare? |
Yes, Seguro Popular is a national health
insurance program available to anyone who is a legal resident of Mexico. Over the last year I have heard many positive reviews from friends who have
used it through the new Salvatierra Hospital in La Paz.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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monoloco
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Nothing's free, somebody somewhere is paying... Perhaps the clinic will accept donations when services are provided so non-Mexicans will always be
welcomed happily? |
It's true that nothing is free, but perhaps Mexico can afford to provide healthcare to
it's people because it's not wasting money on a corporate welfare state and trying to police the rest of the planet.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Nothing's free, somebody somewhere is paying... Perhaps the clinic will accept donations when services are provided so non-Mexicans will always be
welcomed happily? |
It's true that nothing is free, but perhaps Mexico can afford to provide healthcare to
it's people because it's not wasting money on a corporate welfare state and trying to police the rest of the planet. |
Maybe... but then is Mexico a world economic power? Sadly, the USA isn't any more either! 
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Hook
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Just be sure and check out the hospitals that accept Seguro Popular. Over here in Sonora, they arent hospitals I'd want to be treated in.
It might be different in La Paz. But ask around about the hospitals that accept it. Surely, in a town as large as La Paz, there will be good info from
former gringo patients who can compare it to treatment in the States or Canada.
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Mula
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We've had Seguro Popular for 3 years and are happy with it.
We got it in Constitucion and it was free for all of us: 1 single 67 year old guy, a couple in their middle 70's and my husband and I . . . all
signed up at the same time.
Also some friends signed up in Santa Rosalia. The office was going to charge them 1500 pesos, but when it was mentioned that Constitucion offered
this for free, the fee was waived. They are in their mid 60's
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monoloco
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
Just be sure and check out the hospitals that accept Seguro Popular. Over here in Sonora, they arent hospitals I'd want to be treated in.
It might be different in La Paz. But ask around about the hospitals that accept it. Surely, in a town as large as La Paz, there will be good info from
former gringo patients who can compare it to treatment in the States or Canada. |
In La Paz the new
Salvatierra hospital is very highly regarded by the locals. I have had several friends who have had surgical procedures done there and have been
impressed by the care they received.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Whale-ista
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Nothing's free, somebody somewhere is paying... Perhaps the clinic will accept donations when services are provided so non-Mexicans will always be
welcomed happily? |
It's true that nothing is free, but perhaps Mexico can afford to provide healthcare to
it's people because it's not wasting money on a corporate welfare state and trying to police the rest of the planet. |
Maybe... but then is Mexico a world economic power? Sadly, the USA isn't any more either! |
Thanks for the clarification regarding this program.
I agree someone is paying for people to be well. We invest in good roads for the same reasons: it develops long term economic health. Same for
healthcare.
Personally, I'd prefer to pay to keep people healthy vs. to treat them when sick. We already pay a high price for sick people who can't afford to see
a doctor until they wind up in the emergency room, so basic preventive care makes economic sense.
Also- who are the "economic powers" these days? How do you measure that? GDP? Political stability? Individual longevity? All these things are part of
"quality of life" beyond $$.
So...who's doing well? Brazil? Germany? Northern European nations?
Then consider how much these "rich" nations invest in long term, broad spectrum healthcare- not just treating illness, but preventing disease and
promoting wellness.
Finally: what's the "bang for the buck" they invest? Adjusted on a spending to outcome ratio, the US spends a lot, yet we have no better outcomes than
countries that invest much less in healthcare. It's a puzzle...
I suspect, if you look at the nations that are doing well economically, they are doing things like: offering good primary and prenatal healthcare,
reasonable paid parental leave (for moms and dads both), quality preschool and childhood education....and affordable healthcare. Because they
recognize that when you lower mother/child mortality rates, make it possible for parents to spend time with their kids without going broke, and make
childcare/preschool/public schools available, affordable, and of good quality, you are investing in building a future where EVERYONE benefits.
Finally, to quote Virgil: “The greatest wealth is health”
If you're not healthy enough to enjoy spending your money what's the point? And that's for nations as well as individuals.
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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bajalinda
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Thanks for that info, monoloco. Did you have an appointment or did you just walk in? I ask because I went there several weeks ago to get info about
signing up and the little vestibule/waiting room was lined with people sitting and waiting and no sign of life in the office.....so I copied down the
info about signing up that they have posted on a sign on the door and left - need to go back....
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Mula
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We only use Seguro Popular when we have to, but it's nice to know it is there . . . Generally we like to pick our own Dr.s and just pay out of pocket.
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monoloco
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalinda
Thanks for that info, monoloco. Did you have an appointment or did you just walk in? I ask because I went there several weeks ago to get info about
signing up and the little vestibule/waiting room was lined with people sitting and waiting and no sign of life in the office.....so I copied down the
info about signing up that they have posted on a sign on the door and left - need to go back.... |
I guess we
lucked out, got there about 10:30 or 11 am, no appointment and no one in the waiting area, got right in. There was 2 or 3 waiting when we left.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Whale-ista
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mula
We only use Seguro Popular when we have to, but it's nice to know it is there . . . Generally we like to pick our own Dr.s and just pay out of pocket.
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What is the cost for a typical office visit? And do you see people right away, or does it take some time for an appointment?
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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bajalinda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mula
We only use Seguro Popular when we have to, but it's nice to know it is there . . . Generally we like to pick our own Dr.s and just pay out of pocket.
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That's how we're thinking of using it also Mula.
Right monoloco - I think you probably lucked out on the timing!
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Pescador
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I was hoping this was not going to turn into a political discussion, but alas, there is such a small sliver of a chance of that happening. Because I
had a large agency that dealt with health care before retirement, it was only natural that I would be following and reading all the fine print on this
program. It was passed because the government wanted to provide some basic level of coverage for all of their residents. If some of those residents
were imported and expatriates, then so be it, but it passed the legislature anyway. When it first started, even the doctors and medical facilities
were if favor and went out of their way to make things work. But just because you pass a program and then do not properly fund it, things are going
to have some difficulty in implementation. That is pretty much what happened here.
First, it is developed to be on a sliding scale and depending on your income you could get coverage from zero cost up to about $200 US per person,
per year. As all things in Mexico, not all offices were created equal and some offices gave it free to all who signed up so that their numbers of
enrollment were good, while others took a more conservative approach.
So when you ask about cost, then you need to take into account the area where you sign up.
Second, depending on the area you are from, the treatment may go from dismal to very good. A lot depends on where you get treatment. At our local
hospital in Santa Rosalia, you can go, and sit for a long time (up to 5 or 6 hours) to see a doctor and when he prescribes something, you will find
that the pharmacy is somehow out of that particular medicine. La Paz, on the other hand, does a pretty good job on treatment but Seguro patients are
added into the mix of other patients that they see, and for the most part the hospital and doctors are doing most of the treatment out of the goodness
of their heart, instead of something that actually pays it way in terms of reimbursement.
There are limitations in the policy but for basic healthcare it is not too bad. But be very careful not to delude yourself into thinking it is
just like having a Blue Cross Blue Shield policy in the United States.
The locals are doing the same thing as the expatriates. Buying, or at least signing up on the policy and then going to a private clinic whenever
the real need arises.
I did have a friend who used it to pay for his blood tests and clinic work and was very happy with the program, but most who I talk to have had
real frustrations with the application.
So Mexico did a great thing socially and politically, they instituted a program that covers every resident, it is only in the practical usage of
that program that things have some stumbling blocks and glaring holes.
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Udo
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Thanks for the exposé, Pescador. Very well explained.
[Edited on 3-13-2014 by Udo]
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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