Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa Message Board - Heart attack on vacation

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So on the fourth morning of our vacation our friend had a heart attack, and a day long nightmare started for us and lasted a week for him and his wife before they finally got home. Good thing is the General Hospital stopped his heart attack, bad thing is we felt we were being held a gunpoint for money and lots of it. The director of the hospital is just a heartless little ????? you know I don't want say because I know it will piss someone off for sure. So to everyone out there this is a warning, you will need almost $25000.00 cash in pesos for emergency care and a trip by ambulance to Acapulco for more advanced treatment. The director of the hospital he doesn't care about your loved one, he just wants his money, no credit cards, no american cash, just cash pesos. Try doing that with withdrawal limits at ATMs and finding a bank to convert american money to pesos, not a easy task my friends, yes I do bring pesos with me, but I also have american cash too. So if anyone knows of a better way, or place where where we should ask to go to incase of an emergency please let us know. I have been coming to the area for 17 years, but this is the first time we have had an medical emergency. Thank you in advance for any medical suggestions.

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So on the fourth morning of our vacation our friend had a heart attack, and a day long nightmare started for us and lasted a week for him and his wife before they finally got home. Good thing is the General Hospital stopped his heart attack, bad thing is we felt we were being held a gunpoint for money and lots of it. The director of the hospital is just a heartless little ????? you know I don't want say because I know it will piss someone off for sure. So to everyone out there this is a warning, you will need almost $25000.00 cash in pesos for emergency care and a trip by ambulance to Acapulco for more advanced treatment. The director of the hospital he doesn't care about your loved one, he just wants his money, no credit cards, no american cash, just cash pesos. Try doing that with withdrawal limits at ATMs and finding a bank to convert american money to pesos, not a easy task my friends, yes I do bring pesos with me, but I also have american cash too. So if anyone knows of a better way, or place where where we should ask to go to incase of an emergency please let us know. I have been coming to the area for 17 years, but this is the first time we have had an medical emergency. Thank you in advance for any medical suggestions.

If you were truly saved for $25,000 pesos, you should be sending him a case of Crown Royal as well.

Did your trip insurance end up paying????

D

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On another serious note we had someone airlifted from here back north yesterday. I do not have many details yet, not sure if they had evac ins. or not. But if you are older you should be traveling with some type of protection.

D

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I agree. We have MedJet

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Insurance should be mandatory to enter the country. One of Cuba's good ideas

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telling a sick person what they should or shouldn't do after a perhaps near death experience is a bit like the airline hostess running thru the plane cabin as the plane prepares to crash into a tall mountain. Perhaps it may help but...

I experienced medical tourism here this season in Zihua after having and mostly ignoring chest pains for a month, I saw two local Docs, the second Dr. Luviano travels from Mexico City and is here about 50% of the time. He is a very decent, caring Cardiologist who practices out of Clinica Marciel. He was able to give me some back stop meds to ease the discomfort and made referrals which ultimately had me going for a nuclear medicine stress test at Star Medica in Queretaro which is the most modern medical facility I have ever been in.
The bill for that procedure was $18,000 pesos( probably would have been $10,000 USD in Alaska) I ended up going to Phoenix for an angiogram so I could let Uncle Sam share in the "fun" I was having. If I could have managed to get my AARP supplemental which has 60 days out of country coverage, I would have had the angiogram in Queretaro where I was treated as a human being. The head of the Nuclear Medicine clinic personally made sure the cab driver took me to the correct bus station so I could travel back to San Miguel.
I would not take my dog to the Banner Health Heart Institute where I was treated poorly. I was left on the "slab" in Phoenix with a single sheet waiting 2 hours after the time when the procedure was to start without any information and when it did start, I did not have the Doc who told me he would do the procedure, 6 days later and 4 phone calls, I was able to get the results.
The conclusion for me is if I can swing it , I would rather get the specialized treatment in Mexico. Too bad Medicare and the private insurers can't figure out how much money they may save by covering treatment in Mexico.

PS now 50 days after I submitted my claims to AARP for reimbursement, I am still waiting. God bless America!

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We always buy travel insurance, the problem is everyone wanted cash now, not next week, now. So yes they should get repaid the monies we paid to get him moved. Also the doctors and the hospital in Acapulco wanted everything paid up front, but at least they took a credit card to pay the almost $30,000 they wanted. The insurance did pay for the med flight to Texas, so at least we didn't have to pay up front for that. Yes we were grateful for them saving his life.

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I know this is a little late, but for future and others reference.

When Buying Travel/Medical Insurance ensure that the Policy is the PRIMARY PAYER or Primary Plan. This will ensure the Hospital/Doctor/Etc. are paid directly from the Insurance COmpany, with nothing out of your pocket.

You may have to search through a couple of different companies, but they have these plans available and with no or little difference in cost.

Jerry

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We've always used Travelguard. I finally had a claim (for less that US$250.00) and it's taking them forever to pay. I'd love to hear about an outfit that does a better job.

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A remember there are other parties involved in this situation For example: You go to hospital and sometime later they tell you yare discharged but must pay first. How long do you think it will take for the insurance company to get involved and actually put the money in your hands or in the provider's bank account. O if you have an expensive test by a lab and must immediately.

I am not denying your advice but it sounds extremely difficult to execute.

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So in hindsight I should have tried to contact the American Consulate for help, and yes our trip insurance company was in touch with the hospital, but it didn't matter cash is king. I heard from some people there is a private hospital in the area that would have accepted credit cards or insurance payments, I was hoping someone on the board would know if this is true or not.

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In order to pay a claim an insurance company will base their payment on what is called a Reasonable and customary” charge for a particular service usually based on the area where the service is provided. That would include services provided by hospitals or physicians, . Reimbursement can take directly between the provider and the insurer , PROVIDED that have a formal agreement with them .

The likelihood of this happening in this area or any area outside of Canada, the US , Europe etc is highly unlikely for small claims ( definition will vary) . If it’s a large claim say in excess of $50,000 US they may have some sort of arrangement, but don’t count on it unless it is performed in one of Mex big cities. If it’s a serious medical emergency have someone get in touch with your insurance company immediately !

Credit cards and cash are likely to be your only options in this area. Make sure you keep copies of your bill and that they are as detailed as possible. If you end up paying for expenses that are in excess of reasonable and customary for the area , you will not likely be reimbursed for that excess amount

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Hospital de Especialidades accepts credit cards. However, doctors' fees are cash.

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We paid ALL expenses, including Doctor fees, at Hospital de Especialdades with mastercard. At a different time, we also paid ALL expenses, including Doctor fees, at Clinica Maciel. In both cases our total bills were just under 60,000 pesos.

--
Linda from Canada
check out my books at www.livingthedreaminmexico.com AND please have a look at www.cookingwithclaudiainzihuatanejo.blogspot.com as well as www.albertoinzihuatanejo.blogspot.com

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So in hindsight I should have tried to contact the American Consulate for help, and yes our trip insurance company was in touch with the hospital, but it didn't matter cash is king. I heard from some people there is a private hospital in the area that would have accepted credit cards or insurance payments, I was hoping someone on the board would know if this is true or not.

For future reference you may wish to bookmark or print out a couple of my webpages:

Health, Medical and Veterinarian Services in Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa

Telephone & Cellular Phone Information > Emergency Numbers

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Thanks to everyone for the information I will put the numbers in my phone for future reference and hope I don't need it. Rob thanks for the tip on using your information page, but I simply forgot about looking at. By the way Rob I ran into your bride at the farmers market, what a stunning woman, you are the luckiest gringo in Mexico.

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i was sick twice here and the service smiles and respect i have gotten, was out of this world or at least much much better that i have had in Québec The medical staff is earning generally one third of what is paid to ours en Canada , and i cannot understand why a majority of ours, seems to be rude and in a hurry. In conclusion, i want to die here….but i am not in a hurry.

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