It took me a long time (15 years) to finally get it together and get IMSS insurance here in Mexico. Partly that’s because for some of those years, I didn’t know I could apply as an independent worker and a foreigner for IMSS. I had private insurance with GPN for two years but it was extremely cost-prohibitive, a few thousand dollars a year plus a hefty deductible, I think at that time it was around 800 dollars. Maybe some folks have that extra money but I didn’t for a long time as a freelance writer.
When I finally looked into IMSS it was around 10,000 pesos or 500 dollars for my age group. In the end I ended up paying 12,700 pesos, but it was still much better than the price of private insurance which can be upwards of 4 or 5 thousand dollars a year. The thing about private insurance is that it covers no preventative care — I still had to pay for dental, vision, and regular check-ups out of pocket. The insurance I had would only cover those things retroactively if it turned into a major medical situation.
I just signed up for IMSS so I don’t know how it will be yet for preventative care but I do know that at the IMSS clinic near my house preventive appointments and care are covered. Many of the people that I talked to before getting IMSS said that they would pay out of pocket for regular expenses because it takes a long time to get appointments and then use IMSS if something major happened to them like a broken leg or cancer.
I have several foreign friends that have IMSS through their employers and they tell me that the medical care is good at the local clinic.
The Process
In order to get IMSS you have to apply at your local subdelegacion office. The best way to find out where it is is by calling the 800 number (800 623 2323) and giving them your address because the website is confusing and out of date. My local office wasn’t even listed in the CDMX offices there. I went to a modulos de atencion at the Centro Medico hospital near my house and was told it wasn’t staffed.
As an independent person, I signed up for the “family plan” which I had to be specific about. I used the terminology on the website “inscription voluntaria” and everyone I talked to was confused, including someone at the hospital who thought I wanted to be a volunteer with IMSS. The family plan can also include your partner (married or common law) and children, but it’s not like you get a discount for having more than one person on it. The price for my partner would have been the same if he was on my plan or signed up for his own. With Children…..There is a range of yearly prices depending on your age that you can see here. There are also all kinds of wait periods for removal of a tumor (1 year), pregnancy (10 months), etc, and you can’t have a preexisting condition which includes diabetes, HIV, aids, asthma, or allergies (!). I marked allergies on my form and the IMSS worker told me to fill out a new one because if anything was marked on the form they would reject my request for insurance.
I was also told that I would most likely have to do a medical exam to get the insurance and that turned out not to be true since they gave it to me without.
You will need the following to sign up:
- Official IDs and copies (I took my passport and my permanent resident card)
- Comprobante de domicilio and copy (this can be any bill that has your address on it, not necessarily your name)
- Birth certificate and copy (they said with my permanent residency I didn’t need it translated)
- The medical survey they give you to fill out (This has to be signed the day you turn in the paperwork and not before)
- Photos infantiles (these are like passport photos, if you go to a photo place they will know which you have to have, I thought I needed these to apply for the insurance, but in the end, I needed them afterwards when I went to the clinic to get my Insurance card or carnet).
- Your Mexican Social Security Number and a copy of the paperwork that you download off the internet with you get it. (You can easily get assigned an SSN using your Mexican CURP here online.)
- CURP and copy (go here for that)
Once you have turned in all your paperwork you will be given a form that you then take to the accounting office of IMSS (in my case on a different floor of the same building), they will stamp it and give you what is called a “linea de pago” which is another piece of paper you take to the bank to pay your fee. The bank stamps that and you take it back to the IMSS office to show you have paid. All this can take several visits if you are missing anything and/or have to wait in long lines.
Getting my Carnet
Once my fee was paid and the insurance granted, they told me I would have to wait 5 working days before I could go to the clinic and get my insurance card (carnet). I took longer than that to go. I ended up going 6 months later and what I needed was simple: 1. the original and copy of my official ID (in this case the residency card), 2. an original and copy of a comprobante de domicilio (again, this doesn’t have to be in your name, just a receipt with your address for the electricity, water, or internet any of these most be within the last three months not older), 3. Your SSN Number (this will be on your IMSS documents), and 4. A photo size infantil (we already discussed that above).
Of course, I didn’t have any of that when I showed up but when I came back later that afternoon with all my documents it took about 15 minutes tops to get my carnet! One of the simplest things I have ever done with Mexican bureaucracy! They will assign you a consultorio (a doctor’s office) where you have to go and make your appointments and a shift, either daytime or evening for when you will schedule your appointments. For emergencies, there is an emergency room on the first floor. I will let you know how my first appointment turns out!
A few final tips: Be sure to ask which clinic is your local clinic as they don’t offer up a lot of information unless you ask for it. Also be sure to have COPIES OF EVERYTHING. They will want at least two copies for them and you will want one for yourself. There is always someone nearby at each IMSS office who will make copies for a fee (mine was 2 pesos a copy — bring change). Be prepared to wait always. Some of these processes can take awhile.
@MexCityStreets
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