While health professionals in Mexico are generally highly qualified, the medical equipment and quality of the country's health facilities isn’t always the most consistent; the best-equipped facilities are concentrated in the major cities and often belong to the private sector, which is obviously not covered by the local Social Security system.
How does the healthcare system work in Mexico?
The Mexican health system offers all persons employed in the country, whether nationals or permanent expats and their dependants, full healthcare coverage provided in the public sector:
General practitioner consultations (if provided by the GP chosen at the time of enrolment in the system)
Specialist consultations
Hospitalisation
Medicines
Vision care
Dental care
Tests, examinations, etc.
Care provided in the private sector, however, is entirely at the expense of the insured.
This Social Security system, managed by the IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute), is also open to other categories of insured persons if they wish to join voluntarily: in particular, self-employed persons and permanent or temporary self-employed residents. They then fall under the ISSSTE (Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers) system, which is less comprehensive than the IMSS system:
Many pre-existing conditions are simply excluded from coverage: diabetes mellitus, cancer, renal or heart failure, psychiatric disorders, etc.
There are significant wait times for certain treatments; for example, 10 months for childbirth care.
In order to overcome the limitations of the Mexican health system, the vast majority of expats take out supplementary health insurance, which carries several advantages:
You can consult the GPs of your choice at any time.
Private-sector care, which is often very expensive, is covered.
Any exclusions and/or wait periods imposed by the public system are circumvented.
By choosing an international health insurance plan, you can enjoy more guarantees and services that are often indispensable for residents in Mexico.