Uruguay Healthcare
From the Mailbag – Questions on Uruguay's Excellent Health Care System
International Living Postcards-- your daily escape
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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Dear International Living,
My wife and I are planning to move to Uruguay. If we move there this year, we will be 55 & 54 years old, in good health. What is the cost for two for health care per month? And does that cover everything?
- Mark B. |
Lee Harrison, IL's roving Latin America editor, responds:
Hi Mark,
Thanks for writing.
As it happens, I just got a quote for a health plan here in Punta del Este. At age 55, the cost of the basic plan is $39 per month (938 pesos). This includes hospitalization in a semi-private room, doctor and specialist visits with a $2.50 copayment, ER visits, and a discount at the pharmacy. They also throw in international travel insurance if you’re on the road.
At the other end of the spectrum, for around $100 you can get a VIP plan, with guaranteed fast appointments, a private room if hospitalized (with guest bed), waiver of co-payments, etc. Medication is available with a $4 co-pay (98 pesos). A friend just signed up for this, and was accepted with a pre-existing condition that’s now covered.
There’s also a free system in Uruguay, which a friend of mine has used. It was fine, but the paid plans are nicer.
Best of luck,
Lee
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A fellow IL reader also living in Uruguay shares this:
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Dear IL,
My wife and I live in Villa Argentina, Uruguay, where we own a home. We also have a condo in nearby Atlantida. Recently it was occupied by two American men, who left behind a copy of IL's Uruguay: The Owner’s Manual. This was my first opportunity to read it.
I am writing to say congratulations. I think this is a very good and useful book. We have lived here for almost two years and travel around a bit, and I found the information to be accurate and interesting. It is a most useful resource, even if the reader is not buying real estate in Uruguay.
We have used the medical system in Uruguay. My wife had both her hips replaced at Banco de Protesis, an excellent facility. She did it through Medica Uruguaya. I also had a successful hernia operation. I am insured through Evangelico. Worth noting, in relation to your comments in the book, I was over 60 before I entered Uruguay. While I could have obtained insurance with Medica Uruguaya, where my wife was enrolled, I chose Evangelico because they seemed better for a number of reasons, one being that there was no concern over my age.
As you reflect in your book, this is a great country.
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