Recent Medical experience

I'm glad the room rate has not soared to 15K and remains in the mid 3K range I paid in 2021 and 2022. And they aren't charging for TVs in the room!

It is hard to compare hospital bills as each patient has different meds, needs, monitoring.

I still believe HSA is a terrific asset to our area and plan to continue to use it.

While people can probably save money using a Guad hospital, for me there would be extra costs such as cab rides for myself and my partner for daily visits (cabs now charge 600p plus for rides from Ajijic to downtown Guad). I don't mind paying for convenience and that includes being near my home.

And there remains the issue of getting an ambulance to a Guad hospital if you have chest pains, shortness of breath or severe bodily injury (compound fractures, broken hip). I don't see how anyone can get to a downtown hospital during an emergency in under 90 minutes as it's difficult to get an ambulance at times (see Bob's first post) and the same would be true for finding an available driver or taxi to take you.

I will not use it again unless it is of a critical nature. We would have probably saved $100K pesos going to Guadalajara. I would have just stayed overnight there instead of driving back and forth. Our event happened late at night and getting to Guadalajara would have been within 45 minutes with the lights and sirens.

CanuckBob wrote:I will not use it again unless it is of a critical nature. We would have probably saved $100K pesos going to Guadalajara. I would have just stayed overnight there instead of driving back and forth. Our event happened late at night and getting to Guadalajara would have been within 45 minutes with the lights and sirens.

Agree.
My (expat) neighbor recently fell and broke her hip in the kitchen in the morning. She called Cruz Roja and they arrived promptly and took her to their clinic and stabilized her. Her ortho doc, don't know who, had her transferred by ambulance to the Ajijic Clinic "Hospital" where he did the surgery. Shortly after he had her transferred to a rehab center to get her up and walking again. She returned home, walking, shortly after that. I never asked her what the cost was but she is of limited means and never complained about the price.
Another expat friend recently fell down stairs in Chapala and broke 1 ankle and sprained the other. She was attended by the doctors at Clinica Ibarra, and had her xrays done in Chapala and had surgery. Her surgeon followed her recovery with house calls and they arranged her home care as well. She never complained about the price either.
I agree Bob, you could have probably saved 100k had you gone the Mexican route.

Yes, the days of "Lake Chapala has such great healthcare at reasonable prices" are over.

A few months ago, I had to take my Dad (who lives in Barra) to a cardiologist in Manzanillo. The Dr spent about an hour with my Dad and included an EKG and an ultrasound. Knowing what things cost around here I was expecting a charge around $4000.00 pesos. I was floored when the receptionist told me it was $800.00 pesos. We are truly being fleeced around here.......

This was about 7-8 years ago, but I had an appointment with a neurologist in Puerto Vallarta regarding excruciating sciatica. The doctor visit, in a hospital, cost 500 pesos. He spent a half hour with me before I had a full MRI of my back, which cost 2000 pesos, and another half hour with me going over the results of the MRI, suggesting treatments, and giving me some prescriptions.

Even assuming it's double the cost now, it still seems less than what gringoes Lakeside seem to be charged.

I have spoken with people recently who came from PV to Guadalajara to get a procedure done. PV wanted $600,000 pesos and they got it in Guadalajara for $300,000 pesos so that suggests PV is also fleecing the gringos. Like Lakeside, I'll bet PV has more than doubled in the past 8 years......maybe try Tepic next time.

My buddy had an accident near Mascota and the ambulance took him to PV. Three days to stabilize him in ER and the bill was about 300,000 MXN. Then he needed several surgeries, and the Hospital wanted about 3,000,000 MXN. His family in Guad had him ambulanced back to Zapopan and he had 7 surgeries that totaled less than 1,000,000 MXN. If you are at the beach and need medical care I would try Colima if that is an option.

My sister-in-law had an emergency in Cancun and had to pay 10,000 dls for a day and a half at a hospital there.

CanuckBob wrote:I have spoken with people recently who came from PV to Guadalajara to get a procedure done. PV wanted $600,000 pesos and they got it in Guadalajara for $300,000 pesos so that suggests PV is also fleecing the gringos. Like Lakeside, I'll bet PV has more than doubled in the past 8 years......maybe try Tepic next time.

For sure any place that is touristy and has a sizable gringo population is going to have developed the attitude that gringoes have money trees they just pick $1000 bills off of, and larger Mexican cities whose main economic base isn't tourism are going to be cheaper.

So yeah, if I needed some major procedure, I'd go to Guadalajara. But going to Tepic just for a consultation with a specialist or some tests wouldn't be cost effective. By the time I drove the 2 and a half hours each way, likely would have to get a hotel room o'night, and eat some meals out, it wouldn't be worth it.

I learned that I now need to get the name of the best reasonably priced hospital in Guadalajara. I was told it would be at least 30% to 40% less expensive than any of the hospitals around here. I will only ever go back to the local hospitals if it is a dire emergency.

Lesson learned.....

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Bob, were you or any other of us able to come up with a list of GOOD, reasonably prices Guad Hospitals? I've heard a few good things about HOSPITAL COUNTRT 2000 but have no first-hand experience. Any others??

I had neurosurgery on my back at Hospital de Hierro in Guad and liked it there. Price competitive.

Jubilacion wrote:I learned that I now need to get the name of the best reasonably priced hospital in Guadalajara. I was told it would be at least 30% to 40% less expensive than any of the hospitals around here. I will only ever go back to the local hospitals if it is a dire emergency.

Lesson learned.....

Bob, were you or any other of us able to come up with a list of GOOD, reasonably prices Guad Hospitals? I've heard a few good things about HOSPITAL COUNTRT 2000 but have no first-hand experience. Any others??

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Country 2000 is expensive (compared to many others in Guadalajara). When I asked a few doctors, they said it really depends on the situation. Some are good for some things and others are good for other things. It is probably best to have a local GP who is fluent with all the hospitals in Guadalajara and let them decide which one would be best for the situation. They all know that many in Guadalajara are considerably less expensive than these local ones.

Bob, that makes sense to have your GP direct the best course of action if they are reachable. I guess then in a situation like you and your wife, where you couldn't reach your GP (or their reply to your call to you may be delayed) are you then in a case of convincing the ambulance   to take you to Guadalajara and select from the few hospitals you may know?  

The ambulance will take you wherever you want. You have to pay them. It was $1000P from Ajijic Centro to SAT Hospital.

I was in country 2000 recently for urgent repair of a spine vertebrae fracture and spent 1 night. Total bill with IVA was 314,043.61. The room for 1 night was 3,543.63 and some reason I got a 15% discount so the room was 3,494.02. It doesn’t appear country 2000 is cheaper as I only spent 1 night in Guadalajara.

No, I wouldn't expect it to be. Country 2000 is one of the expensive hospitals in Guadalajara.

I thought the top 4 were the expensive ones. Country 2000 had the equipment for the non invasive spinal surgery avoiding open incision of the back. However all of the equipment in the OR was rented on my bill so I imagine it is well paid for. Del Carmen has the Davinci
Robot that Dr. Valenzuela uses and I think San Javier has the nuclear medicine medical equipment. So I guess the Drs. go where the equipment is available. It is what it is. At least we can get medical care here and not have to wait for months. I have a friend in Michigan and an appointment with a Dr. wait time is 2-3+ months. Same with a friend in Arizona. It is great we have our Drs. cell phone number’s and when you call they help you.

sm1mex wrote:I was in country 2000 recently for urgent repair of a spine vertebrae fracture and spent 1 night. Total bill with IVA was 314,043.61. The room for 1 night was 3,543.63 and some reason I got a 15% discount so the room was 3,494.02.  It doesn’t appear country 2000 is cheaper as I only spent 1 night in Guadalajara.

sm1mex

The bill for the surgery for a procedure that only required a night in hospital was over $280,000 pesos?

Wow.

SunFan

Yes. One night spinal surgery
314,053.61 pesos which includes the dreaded IVA of over 45,000.00 pesos.

SunFan wrote:

The bill for the surgery for a procedure that only required a night in hospital was over $280,000 pesos?

Wow.

SunFan

Without knowing EXACTLY what the surgery entailed, it's silly to label its cost as high, low or average.

I had hip replacement surgery with 1 night in the hospital. Over ONE THIRD of the total bill, was the cost of the implanted device itself. Medical devices are priced globally (mine was made in France).

Another example is the drug-eluting cardiac stent versus a bare-metal stent. The cost of the newest generation of a drug-eluting stent is in the thousands, compared to the cost of a bare-metal stent which cost only hundreds of USD. But the drug-eluting stents prevent blood clots and lower the patient's risk of stroke and heart attacks.

Yes and the costs includes all of the equipment. Dr. And anesthesiologist. All of the medicines and anesthesia meds. Ivs and all of the needles they use. Everything has a charge down to the paper cover they used to cover the OR table. My itemized bill was 4 pages. I looked at what was used and everything looked legit down to the clear cover they used over the IV insertion site. We took our own water as that is not provided. I don’t know how much 500 ml bottle cost but many things insurance won’t cover if it is not directly related to the diagnosis or procedure. Like water Tylenol or sleeping pill not covered. Patient pays for that stuff out of pocket. The tv no extra charge!!

My bill was 6 pages long!  And yes, everything other than the direct surgical team bill and the direct anesthesiologist bill, is billed by the hospital.  

My surgeon gave me an estimate of total cost before I agreed to the surgery and it was very accurate, no surprises.  

Here is the breakdown.  The USD amount is what appeared on my US credit card at the time (August 2, 2022) and reflects that day's exchange rate by MasterCard which was more advantageous for the USD than it is today.  

Anesthesia        12,000p       593 usd  
Surgical Team    58,000p    2,867 usd
Hospital           135,100p    6,682 usd  (implant device was 68,280p or 3,375 usd)

TOTAL              205,100p   10,142 usd

My bill was too long to break down. !! The Dr. said it could be about 350,000 pesos. I came in at 314,+ thousand. I am having lumbar vertebrae surgery for a vertebrae that has migrated forward pinching nueves and causing pain. Dr. said it could be 500,000 pesos. We’ll see. 🥴

sm1mex wrote:Yes. One night spinal surgery
314,053.61 pesos which includes the dreaded IVA of over 45,000.00 pesos.

Thanks sm1mex.

I'm probably facing a spinal fusion on two or more vertebrae in the new year. Guess I'd better raise the spending limit on my VISA.

SunFan

It appears sm1mex has insurance which puts it into a whole new level of pricing. Insurance cases are usually charged far more than cash cases. I have been told by several doctors to always tell the hospital if you do not have insurance.......

Yes I was told with insurance they charge more. However for this new diagnosis I have 21,000 Mx deductible and 10% co pay so could be 21 + 50 = 70,000 mx. Not fun but I guess better than 500,000 mx out of pocket.