Health Care in Mexico

We seem to be past the cooler weather and it is getting warmer. Ever since we returned, the low temperatures outside in the morning have not been below 11 C and they have been getting higher. The last 2 mornings, the low temps have been above 14 C (i.e., about 57 F for the celsius challenged). Inside the house, our low temps are 18 - 19 C. Some plants go semi-dormant during this ‘winter’; spring for the flowers apparently comes in February and they begin to grow again.

Barb finally got her new front loading wash machine. She was frustrated with the one that was here when we came because she felt that it was hard on the clothes, tangling them, etc. She is pleased with it. Then, we had to decide what to do with the old one. There are some orphanages in the area, one in Chapala called Amor en Acción (Love in Action). Barb had been interested in this charity. They had a map of their location on the website; it was good that they did so because the building is located well off the highway , up the mountain quite a way, and a number of turns on back streets.. We got there and Barb went in to ask if they wanted the washer. The woman she met did not speak terrific English, but definitely indicated that they would like the washer. They are going to come to our place to pick it up.

The next item on our agenda is arranging our health care down here. We have found some information on the Focus on Mexico website. There is a national government sponsored health care system, IMSS (INSTITUTO MEXICANO DEL SEGURO SOCIAL). It is available for foreigners with FM3 like us; it is relatively inexpensive (about 3,000 pesos or less than $300 per year). However, one has to use their doctors and facilities. According to the above site, many expats get it but use it only for big emergencies. Also, the Maskaras Clinic has a plan for about $200 per year per person that gives unlimited office visits plus discounts of various kinds (see the page on same website). We already go to Dr. Garcia at that clinic so it makes sense to get that plan. We still have to find out about private insurance plans down here or decide to pay as we go. Most care, including doctors and hospitals are much less than in Canada and certainly costs are tiny compared to the US. Also, contrary to the views of most Americans and Canadians, the health care and doctors are as good as those north of the border (again see the evaluation on the above site). What they say there accords with our experience. Moreover, one gets taken care of very fast, often the next day to see a specialist or get some procedure done.

Since we arrived, we have been noticing some rather large insects. Barb found them rather interesting and we had been picking them up and throwing them out rather than killing them. Well we finally looked them up. It turns out that they are ‘las cucarachas’--cockroaches (we didn’t know that is what the song is about)! We had some evenings found up to a dozen or so in the kitchen around the sink, most of more medium size; they all disappeared by morning. Identifying them completely changed our interest; now it is how to get rid of them. That has turned out to be easier than we thought,. It seems that they especially like to live in drains. By keeping the kitchen drains covered, we have virtually eliminated them from the kitchen. There are still some outside and doubtless a few will find their way in through the doors. With everything cement and tiles, there are no breeding places inside.