LATE ON RENEWING IMSS?

I just discovered that today was the last day of IMSS coverage. I should have gone into Chapala before that date but life got in the way and I just forgot.
Anyone know what happens? Can they drop me after 8 years for paying late, or will there just be a penalty?
OY!!

I think you will now become a proud member of SP. Seriously, I think they cancel you. Susanna, immigration lawyer, might be able to help. . .

Go to clinic and you were too sick today and this week, go tomorrow and get letter from doctor and you can renew late

I'm going with Luzma Grande (Ajijic concierge office) who knows the people in Chapala and will try to help on Tuesday. She expects I'll have to go with her to IMSS in Guad the next day. Even so, it might not work. My doctor isn't with IMSS.

Next problem: No, I can't join SP if IMSS drops me. There is a year waiting period for those who had IMSS before they can join SP.

Fingers and toes crossed.

Not true. I got a letter from IMSS, a month after I expired, saying I was no longer a member and that got me enrolled in SP.

Good luck, Spencer sounds confident.

Gringal, I joined SP the day after my IMSS expired. I had to get a letter from IMSS stating that I no longer had their coverage. No problems at all.

Thanks for that information. I'll quit worrying so much. Whew!

WillieRae wrote:Gringal, I joined SP  the day after my IMSS expired.  I had to get a letter from IMSS stating that I no longer had their coverage.  No problems at all.

Same here for two of us on the same day.  They didn't even want a letter from IMSS.  This was a year ago.

slainte39 wrote:

WillieRae wrote:Gringal, I joined SP  the day after my IMSS expired.  I had to get a letter from IMSS stating that I no longer had their coverage.  No problems at all.

Same here for two of us on the same day.  They didn't even want a letter from IMSS.  This was a year ago.

Thanks. Does SP cover most of the things that IMSS does, and do they have a waiting period for pre-existing conditions?

Yes. No.
I've seen the benefits booklet in English floating around the internet, do a search or download the Spanish and translate. There is a printed booklet you can have when you sign up, it's in Spanish. Very easy to read.

Trailrunner wrote:Yes. No.
I've seen the benefits booklet in English floating around the internet, do a search or download the Spanish and translate. There is a printed booklet you can have when you sign up, it's in Spanish. Very easy to read.

Sent you a PM this morning.

Okay; the die is cast. Did the research and am amazed at how the SP program has expanded since I moved here in 2004.  We're going with SP.

I don't really see how IMSS will continue to exist separately much longer, with their pension obligations.

Just a little side snarl:  Last year we went to the Chapala office to renew and they calculated what I should pay incorrectly, by 50 whole pesos. Could I go to Chapala and give them the 50 pesos?  NOOOOO. The end result was that I had to go to Guadalajara, get a check for 50 pesos and spend most of the day paying up.  Grrrrr. @#$% to them!

Would someone please give me directions for getting from Ajijic to the place where we sign up with SP?

No PM from you.

Go to the light in Chapala and go left. Make a right at the second street past the plaza and go down until you see the post office on the left and make that left. Go a block and make that left back towards the carretera. In the first block, between the topes, on the left, is a Centro Salud. Park somewhere and walk in and go to the back. On the left, go to the last window to sign up. There may or may not be a line. Arrive around 11 am. Bring all the appropriate copies and a letter from IMSS stating you are no longer a member.

Soft face, ready smile, and gracious attitude will be appreciated and get you what you want.

How do they know if you were ever a member of IMSS or not?

The first they do is input your CURP number. If you have IMSS a full screen IMSS logo pops up. It takes about a year of not being a member for that to clear their computers.

Trailrunner wrote:No PM from you.

Go to the light in Chapala and go left. Make a right at the second street past the plaza and go down until you see the post office on the left and make that left. Go a block and make that left back towards the carretera. In the first block, between the topes, on the left, is a Centro Salud. Park somewhere and walk in and go to the back. On the left, go to the last window to sign up. There may or may not be a line. Arrive around 11 am. Bring all the appropriate copies and a letter from IMSS stating you are no longer a member.

Soft face, ready smile, and gracious attitude will be appreciated and get you what you want.

Thanks. I just looked and I guess the dog ate the PM. No record. Thanks for directions. We're going on Tuesday with Luzma Grande, a very nice woman from Ajijic concierge services who has helped us before with matters needing Spanish fluency. She's big on "gracious" and even gets along with the grinches who sometimes find themselves behind desks at IMSS. She emailed today what we'll need to bring and we'll just add the paper showing when our coverage with IMSS ended.
That's an interesting question about who knows, from Bob. The Shadow knows. A real oldie, eh?

Ditto on what Trailrunner  said.....very good directions.
Just an added task will probably be, that you will have to go to the SP location in Ajiic and register after the enrollment in Chapala. That is what we had to do at the SAT office as that is where we are domiciled.
Chapala took no more than 20 minutes without a facilitator for two people.....really quite easy.

slainte39 wrote:Ditto on what Trailrunner  said.....very good directions.
Just an added task will probably be, that you will have to go to the SP location in Ajiic and register after the enrollment in Chapala. That is what we had to do at the SAT office as that is where we are domiciled.
Chapala took no more than 20 minutes without a facilitator for two people.....really quite easy.

Sounds like "no problema". Easier than IMSS.

Unfortunately, SP didn't work out too well for me.  My partner and I signed up for SP last year, because he had pre-existing conditions that would have disqualified him for private insurance.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, until he ended up in hospital needing an amputation.  Then we found out that in the Joco hospital, someone has to stay with the patient 24/7!  Obviously, I couldn't do that on my own, so we hired caregivers.  Most of them speak no English whatsoever, and my partner had limited Spanish.  So, most of the time they sat there either staring at him, or texting their friends on their cellphones.  And that cost me over $100 CDN every day for a month!  Plus, SP doesn't carry many medications, so every time they needed a particular antibiotic or other medicine and medical supplies, I had to purchase that myself at other pharmacies.  Also, the beds at Joco are VERY short, so he was experiencing great discomfort from laying in a twisted-up position in the bed all the time.  He has since passed away, and now I realize that if I get sick and need hospitalization, I'll need to have some private insurance, so that these things will be covered for me!

I urge everyone.......if you qualify and can afford private health insurance, that is the way to go down here!

I'm sorry to hear of your negative experience, and I agree that private insurance, if you can get it and can afford it, is preferable.
However, IMSS (which I have had) doesn't offer a very good hospital experience, either. Someone has to serve as 24/7 practical nurse in that situation, too.
Another issue is age: at a certain point, private insurance is either unavailable or horrendously expensive, and the pre-existing condition clause is another sticky matter.
I've acquired a substantial "medical savings account" by dropping Part B of Medicare when I moved to Mexico a dozen years ago and can cover out of pocket expenses, including brief hospitalization, without using the public health insurance. I'm hoping I won't need it, but you never know. Fate can be a beetch.

suegarn wrote:Unfortunately, SP didn't work out too well for me.  My partner and I signed up for SP last year, because he had pre-existing conditions that would have disqualified him for private insurance.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, until he ended up in hospital needing an amputation.  Then we found out that in the Joco hospital, someone has to stay with the patient 24/7!  Obviously, I couldn't do that on my own, so we hired caregivers.  Most of them speak no English whatsoever, and my partner had limited Spanish.  So, most of the time they sat there either staring at him, or texting their friends on their cellphones.  And that cost me over $100 CDN every day for a month!  Plus, SP doesn't carry many medications, so every time they needed a particular antibiotic or other medicine and medical supplies, I had to purchase that myself at other pharmacies.  Also, the beds at Joco are VERY short, so he was experiencing great discomfort from laying in a twisted-up position in the bed all the time.  He has since passed away, and now I realize that if I get sick and need hospitalization, I'll need to have some private insurance, so that these things will be covered for me!

I urge everyone.......if you qualify and can afford private health insurance, that is the way to go down here!

Wow.......very sorry to hear about your loss Sue. Our condolences.

I agree that private health insurance is the way to go if one can afford it. IMSS/SP are more like MASH units IMO. They will do in a pinch but I wouldn't want them as the only option.

It's been described as "MASH, without the incoming fire".
However, several people I know who couldn't afford private insurance, have reported having positive outcomes from hospitalization at IMSS.

@SueGarn
I am so sorry for your loss and sympathize deeply.
We never had either IMSS or SP... never had any insurance either because, with both of us having pre-existing conditions, the premiums were outrageous. So, we paid out of pocket at some very good hospitals and with very good Surgeons and Doctors. I believe that it's standard that the 24 hour care that we are used to NOB simply doesn't exist here. The large and extended Mexican families just automatically pitch in to take care of their family members. Perhaps that's why the daily hospital rate is so much less here than it is NOB.
As a family friend who was a Doctor once said many years ago, "The closer you are to a hospital, the closer you are to death". I totally agree.
May we all be reasonably healthy until our departure, then please make that departure swift and without fanfare.

Thank you CBob and Ferret for your expressions of sympathy. I appreciate that more than you know right now!

suegarn wrote:Thank you CBob and Ferret for your expressions of sympathy.  I appreciate that more than you know right now!

Let me add mine. Loss of a partner is a terrible blow and takes a long time to heal, if ever.