Expat Healthcare & Health Insurance

Expat Healthcare Advice for Puerto Vallarta

Be sure to have travel insurance... helps to speak Spanish to communicate more freely with the caregivers, however someone there will speak English.

Emergency Medical Care in Puerto Vallarta

We live in PV 6 months of the year in our condo there and are just a 5 minute walk from 2 private first rate hospitals, Medasist and CMQ in downtown Puerto Vallarta. You can literally walk in and be seen immediately by a doctor in Emergency. I was admitted for 2 days in 2015 for bronchitis. I had a large private room with a window, couch, large bathroom and everything was absolutely spotless and shining clean... floors etc. Nurses uniforms new and clean also. I speak Spanish so I was able to communicate with all my caregivers. The food was excellent, delicious actually. The lady at the front desk, who was also in charge of activating insurance quickly and efficiently coordinated with my insurance provider so that I was not out of pocket at all in the admission stage where they normally ask for a credit card. I was recommend insisting at this stage that the hospital contact your insurance company to take care of all costs or you will end up paying something and having to claim it back. For a 2 day stay, my bill was around $2355 USD.

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William Russell's private medical insurance will cover you and your family wherever you may be. Whether you need primary care or complex surgery, you'll have access to the best hospitals & doctors available. Unlike some insurers, we also include medical evacuation and mental health cover in our plans (except SilverLite). Get a quote from our partner, William Russell.

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Quality of Healthcare in Surrounding Area

There are many specialists in Puerto Vallarta and you can usually make an appointment within 2 days and the cost is about 500 pesos (less than $50)

Prescription Medicines

Farmacia Guadalajara is a chain, so you are reasonably sure of the quality of the drugs and since their prices are standardized, chain-wise, you are reasonably sure that you are not paying the gringo price at one of the tourist pharmacies. Many common drugs available. Also Freddy's on Olas Altas.

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Expat Health Insurance in Mexico

Ask for receipts as many places don't issue one.....my health insurance would not cover my pedicures even though I went to the hospital for medical pedicures as the person doing it was not the officially accepted PODIATRIST. My massage visits are wonderful and reasonable 500 pesos for 75 minutes! My insurance companies pay those to a limit as long as the receipts show all necessary info... so check with your insurance company what is necessary. Many Mexicans don't or can't write properly, so make sure they spell your name correctly and have all the info correct, even the date as on one of my receipts the girl put 2010 when it was 2017 and my insurance company refused it even though I had submitted many receipts together and it was an obvious error. There are many walk in clinics with doctors, but quality is questionable, so stick to well known ones in your area. Similaries are good and lower cost. I also lived in Mexico for 2 yrs and worked and had the local Seguro Social medical coverage... covers basics. I speak Spanish so it worked out ok, but it was a bit of a drive and a different process... so when I felt stressed I just used the local private clinic and paid 500 pesos to see the doctor.