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A
PPENDIX
4
IMSS--I
NSTITUTO
M
EXICANO DEL
S
EGURO
S
OCIAL
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(P
RINTED WITH PERMISSION OF
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ICK
L
EWIS FROM A POST TO THE
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AZ
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NFO MAILING LIST
).
These are my observations and I don't claim to be an authority on IMSS. I'm
just reporting my experiences.
What is it? IMSS stands for Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. It's about
as close to socialized medical coverage as you can get. Many working people
qualify for IMSS and many employers make a contribution toward the IMSS
coverage. Mexico has allowed retirees and other visiting residents to buy the
IMSS coverage. They base the cost on what the payment would be if you were
working full time at minimum wage. Two years ago, I paid around $3,180
pesos. It goes up slightly each year. See Chapter 10 for more current prices.
What do you get? IMSS gives you complete coverage including prescription
meds except for certain preexisting conditions that have varying time periods
before they are covered. This is an excellent article that explains the preexist-
ing conditions: http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/dt/dtimssregs.html
When you apply for IMSS, you fill out a questionnaire and you answer gen-
eral health questions and health history questions. There are some preexisting
conditions that would prevent you from coverage by IMSS. The official IMSS
government site is at: http://www.imss.gob.mx/
My opinion/suggestion: Buy the best medical coverage your budget will
allow. My budget wouldn't allow for more than IMSS, so that's why I went that
route. But, I would highly recommend that if you have IMSS coverage, also pay
to get a second opinion for any important issues and/or research as much as you
can for yourself on the Internet. I bought IMSS almost three years ago mainly as
a major medical fallback. I've ended up using it also for periodic "runny nose"
doctor's visits. I think they do a fine job with run-of-the-mill ailments, but two
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