Medicare is not, under any circumstances accepted outside of the United States.
Many Medicare supplements will reimburse at approximately 50% of the bill.
The majority of Mexican Insurance companies do not accept anyone 60 years or older. Exclusions-requirements are very restrictive such as no coverage of any type of cancer for the first two to three years, no coverage of anything related to sinuses not covered for the first two to three years.
There are a wide variety of international insurance companies for "people that live outside of their home countries" either full time or part time. Many include coverage when visiting the home country for short periods of time. These companies are widely accepted in local hospitals. You can email me below for a list.
Traveler's insurance is HIGHLY recommended, again I can email you a list. Many private insurance companies in the US will not pay direct outside of the United States. It is important to check your private policy prior to travel.
Canadian National Health Insurance does not pay outside of Canada.Outside of the United States and Canada, Blue Cross and Blue Shield turns into World Access or BlueCard International, depending on the policy, acceptability depends from state to state in the US-Canada. For short term only. Blue Cross-Blue Shield is normally accepted in Puerto Vallarta for INPATIENT services.
No where is insurance accepted for outpatient procedures here (Consults, Xrays, Lab Work and Emergency Room visits), all are done through reimbursement.
Two hospitals have direct billing agreements with them at this time, Medasist and Hospital Cornerstone. This does not mean "automatic coverage". First, it is only for admissions (24 hours or more) services that they will oftentimes pay direct.
Anything under 24 hours (including consults, exams, etc) must be paid up and front and turned in for reimbursement.
If you are admitted, the hospital will contact World Access. They, in turn, contact the home provider (state), confirm that benefits are current and in place. They oftentimes will not issue a guarantee of payment until the home physician has been contacted. Once all is verified, World Access-Blue Card will send a guarantee of payment.
Patient is responsible for deductible and co-pay. I would not say that if you have BC-BS you will automatically be covered here in Puerto Vallarta forever if you live here. Part of the certification process asks how long you have been outside of your home country. Some state plans do and some do not. But, for the most part they do cover the services.There are numerous Mexican National Insurance companies. They are quite strict as far as pre-existing conditions. You must use specific physicians-hospitals.
IMSS (Government Social Security) is a good fall-back policy at approximately 2,500 pesos per year per person. Anything major, they will send you to Guadalajara.
Best advice: Do not leave "home" without checking if your current existing insurance policy will pay out of country.
Veterans living in the area that receive disability VA benefits MUST register with the Foreign Medical Plan to be covered here in Mexico. I am happy to assist with this.
For more information contact Pamela Thompson at pmt15@hotmail.com