Medical Insurance for RVer while in Mexico

rocmoc wrote:
There is a discussion on the BajaNomad site about someone having a major medical event while on vacation in Cabo, http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=74155. The outcome was less than favorable!

So what does a RVer do if only in Mexico for a couple of weeks? What does a RVer do if in Mexico for the winter?

Couple of weeks or a winter - doesn't matter, you buy travel medical.

The guy in the link didn't do his homework - to put it mildly.
Yes, Mex hospitals don't accept direct payment from US insurers, you have to pay out of pocket and then bill the insurer, everybody knows that. This guy didn't.

Yes, emergency evacuation is expensive, this is why people have evac plans. This guy didn't have evac plan, and - the article is a mess but - it also sounds that he didn't have ANY travel medical, because most travel medical plans (99% if not 100%) have evac included.

So, - get travel medical.

It's also a good idea to have a better evac plan than the one included in travel medical. Evac plans that cover initial stabilization DO exist. Geos Alliance is one of such plans, costs $120 a year, though they only cover stabilization $1,500 a day for 7 days and don't accept people after the age of 75. This is a standalone evac plan, not emergency treatment. There are other evac plans, but Geos seems to offer the most bang for the buck.

Cheaper IMSS hospitals were mentioned - yeah, well, they are cheaper but they are only good in big cities, while in smaller towns it's joint to avoid at all costs. Same with public hospitals - you could try it in Cabo or Ensenada or Mexicali, not in smaller towns. Though an average US or Canadian tourist normally speaks little or no Spanish, and in IMSS or public hospitals very few personnel can speak English.

Edit-PS: a minor correction. Mex hospitals that accept a direct pay from insurer also exist, usually limited within PPN and for long-term plans, snowbirds can buy it but a weekend tourist can't. Suerte.