IMSS - The "Public Option" in Mexico (Days 3,4,&5)

Day 3 - Back to the German Consulate (and a gamble)

Tuesday saw us returning to the German Consulate to pick up Indra's translated and certified birth certificate.  When we had visited before, Magdalena, who helped Indra, also offered to translate and certify my birth certificate as well.  Not being German, I politely declined.  Instead I contacted several of the translators from the list provided by the U.S. Consulate, and attempted a few phone calls, but no one seemed too anxious to assist me.  So Tuesday, I decided to take Magdalena up on her offer.

Of course the "gamble" was going to be submitting a birth certificate from the U.S. bearing the official seal of Germany.  It was Magdalena who suggested that as long as it had a seal and looked official, that would suffice.  She did the translation on the spot, the consul certified it, and I left with this:

Singing, Deutschland My Deutschland, we headed home, fairly confident that the next day we'd be welcomed with open arms at the IMSS office.

Day 4 -IMSS North Office and an unpleasant surprise.

On Wednesday morning we headed back to the IMSS North intake office to present our credentials.  Alejandro, whom we had met on our first trip, recognized us and told us he hoped we weren't upset with him for making us go back and get the translated birth certificates.  Of course we weren't, we assured him.  We understand the difference between rules and those who have to enforce them.

We got our number and sat down to wait:

So we waited, eyes cast up at the flat panel screens, waiting for our number to be called.  About 45 minutes later, it was.  Window #7.  We told the man at the window what we were up to and he was confused over the fact that although we share the same address, we are not married.  He was blunting attempts by us to present our hard-earned paperwork and then his eyes brightened.  At the IMSS North office, they handle only applicants who live in Merida.  Residents of other cities in the state need to go to the IMSS South intake office.  See ya, folks.

This is another example of not relying on everything you read on the web.  In this case the information was posted, very recently, by a company in Merida which charges expatriates to assist them with such things, that either IMSS North or IMSS South office would process anyone.  Before we left, we were each given a form to list our medical histories which is also required.

 A few words about T.I.M.

If you are moving to, or planning on moving to Mexico, be prepared to roll with the punches.  By example:  Last week I took a couple of our outdoor chairs to a local carpenter for some repair work.  He assured me that they would be ready the next day. The next day came, I went back, and the chairs had not been touched.  "Tomorrow at 6 p.m.", he told me.  So the next day I went back and still the chairs were not ready.  "Tomorrow for sure", he assured me.  We went back today and they were done.  Now, in the States, such customer service would be met by red-faced, screaming anger at the least by many; at the most, it would be a trip to Judge Judy for a sarcastic tongue lashing.

But here, you learn to just look at each other and say, "T.I.M".  Translation, "This Is Mexico."  Much better for the blood pressure. 

So it was at IMSS North.

DAY 5 - IMSS South and Success!!

IMSS South was a fair distance from Progreso and, according to the map, the easiest way to get there was via the Periferico, a freeway that more or less circles the city.

If you're going, take the Calle 42 exit.  IMSS South is directly across from a very large military base.  As you approach it, there is a side street on the south side and this is where we found the office.

"Sur" meaning south.

We checked in at the reception desk, told them what we were up to, and were promptly handed another one of these:

So far, so good.  We took our seats, (which are quite comfortable, by the way) and let our gaze drift to the trusty flat panel...

Please note that the notification is in English.  Believe me when I tell you, this is the only thing you will see in English here.  Or at most government offices for that matter.  Mexico's attitude is, "You live here, learn the language!"  No coddling. bilingual nonsense here.  Difficult?  You bet.  That's why Indra and I are attending Spanish classes twice a week.

The place was crowded, just like the other office, but the efficiency is remarkable and the seating was seldom half-full.

Our number was called in about 20 minutes and we were again directed to Window 7.  Fortunately last night Indra took the time to carefully arrange all of our copied documents into two folders to facilitate things with a minimum of clutter on the counter.  At the window, the woman in charge proceeded to fire off a string of questions in Spanish and began to look at our folders.  Noticing our slack-jawed looks of confusion, she called down a young man named Israel Cantos who became our angel.  He spoke pretty good English and it turned out the same confusion over our living arrangement was causing a problem here.  He explained to the woman the situation, and in a few minutes he told me that we would each need to write a letter explaining our sharing the same address without God and the Church's blessing.  Or something to that effect.  

At this point I sarcastically blurted out, "Do they have to be notarized at the Embassy?", briefly abandoning the T.I.M. credo.  Sensing our frustration, Israel said, "I'll write them for you."  Can you believe it?  He did, the woman in charge approved them, we signed them (and a lot of other papers).  And a new form was presented.  Because Indra is listed on all the utilities, and it's her house, we had to complete a form that listed me (I'm not making this ups) as Indra's "concubino".  Yes, I am Indra's concubine, or Mexico's way of saying, "Larry is Indra's bitch." Then Israel asked us to take a seat for about 20 minutes and we'd be good to go.  It was more like an hour and a half.  T.I.M.

During this break, Indra decided to use the restrooms and came back insisting I include the following report which is deference to any women who may be reading this:  At IMSS North, there were no seats on the toilets (common here), no toilet paper and no way to dry your hands after washing them.  At IMSS South, all three were available.  Much better.

So, we people watched...

Notice the man yawning.  That sums up the waiting.

Eventually, Israel called us up to sign a few more papers and presented us with our bills for our annual fee.  My German certified, U.S. birth certificate passed the test.  T.I.M.  This fee had to be paid today by closing time at 2:00 p.m.  That gave us about 2 hours to get to the bank and return.  When dealing with government agencies you soon learn that they do not handle money.  You take their bill and pay it at any bank, they give you a receipt, and that's what you present to the agency.  Cuts down on light fingers in the till, I suppose.  Also we were told to get two copies of everything we were given.

One amazing thing was, contrary to most government offices (like immigration) copies of visas, passports, etc. are always compared to the originals.  We were not asked to show originals of anything.  Strange.

Being we were in a totally unknown (to us) part of town, finding a bank was difficult but we eventually did.  Back at the IMSS office there are copy stores across the street so we beat the deadline with 45 minutes left to spare.  Israel was glad to see us and upon getting our payment receipts, we were issued these:

This is a temporary insurance card (featuring yet another flattering photo) that we will present, along with a stack of other papers, to the clinic in Progreso on February 1.  At that time we will get our physicals and be assigned a primary physician just like an HMO.  That doctor would, if needed, refer us to any specialist we might need.

This is the IMSS clinic in Progreso on Calle 27...

So there you have it.  Like most expats here, the IMSS insurance would not be used for the everyday stuff like a case of the sniffles or a case of "Hustle and Flow" one might get from eating bad tacos.  For that stuff we go to the private clinic.  But for more serious and expensive problems, we'll go to the IMSS clinic.

More later,

Larry

 

IMSS - The "Public Option" in Mexico (Day 2)

"A Tale of Two Consulates"

If you'll recall, day one of our journey to obtain Mexican public health insurance (IMSS) revealed among other things that we needed to get copies of our birth certificates, translated into Spanish and notarized and they had to be done by our respective consulates.

In my case, this would entail a trip to the U.S. Consulate in Merida, a trip I made before and chronicled in this blog post. If you haven't read it yet, you should as it will prepare you for today's report and although it wasn't nominated for a Peabody Award, it damn well should have been.

My companion, Indra, being born in Germany, has a German birth certificate which meant we also had to locate the German Consulate in Merida. This was done with very little effort on the internet and with a check of our handy-dandy Merida street map, we were relatively certain we could find it.

So off we went this morning, first to the German Consulate. Ladies first, you know.

When we arrived near the pinpointed spot on our map we were detoured off the main street due CFE (power company) crews replacing a bad transformer. Nonetheless we parked near where we believed the consulate to be and walked to it. Here it is:

Not quite the over-the-top architecture we are accustomed to in our taxpayer funded public buildings, but we have learned to roll with the punches in the past couple of years here, so we strolled up and knocked on the door.

We were let into a small outer office/reception area where we met the very helpful Magdalena. She spoke English, Spanish and German and for all we knew, other languages as well. She registered us in her book and then Indra showed her the birth documents from 1946 Germany. Magdalena looked them over, translated them on the fly for us in English to confirm that they were indeed birth documents and apologized that she could do nothing today due to the power outage going on from the soon to be replaced broken transformer. She noted the fragility of the documents which bear a close resemblance in consistency to the Dead Sea Scrolls and provided Indra with a web address where she can obtain new, updated versions. By the way the new versions from Germany already come translated into five languages including Spanish. Here's Magdalena explaining all of this to Indra...

She called the Consul out from the rear office (I think these were the only offices in the building) and he confirmed he could do the notarization from Xerox copies so Indra could keep the originals. She even offered to translate mine, but I decided that since IMSS wanted it from my country's consulate I'd stick to the rules. We will go back next Monday or Tuesday to pick Indra's up.

At this time we were less than an hour away from my appointment at the U.S. Consulate per my appointed time. Yes, you need to have an appointment which is done online here.

I had popped on to make my appointment Tuesday and the next available time was for today (Thursday) at 12:00 noon. In fact it was the only time available today.

We parked across the street and as we approached I thought it was a good time to get what we in the news media are trained to get: an Establishing Shot.

Unlike the German Consulate, ours comes with anti-crash barriers. As soon as I took this picture, the two armed Yucatan State Police standing in front started yelling and gesticulating wildly something about picture taking of this hallowed edifice not being allowed.

I briefly figured since I was on a public street, I could do what I damn well wanted. But on second thought I realized that I could be arrested for spying and I doubted that Bill Clinton would commandeer a plane to fly down and save my ass like he did for those two young women in North Korea. So I pocketed my camera and as we passed by my cheerful "Buenos Dias" was met with icy stares.

Up we went to the bulletproof booth to announce ourselves and our purpose for being there. Of course the jack-booted, beret-wearing rent-a-cop that U.S. taxpayers employ to check everyone in, spoke no English. This is at the U.S. Consulate! He had to make a call to get another rent-a-cop to come out who spoke a little English. Back in the day, before our armed forces were sent out to fight a couple of wars in the Middle East, these duties were performed by U.S. Marines (Semper-Fi) who, no doubt, enjoyed a little break in the action.

After checking our passports, we were admitted to the screening area. Here we were relieved of the following items before going through the metal detector:

A pack of cigarettes

A lighter

My camera (no photos allowed inside either - State secrets)

Both our sets of car keys

All loose change

A bottle of hand sanitizer (I guess the swine flu media panic had not permeated security either)

A bottle of mosquito repellent
Fortunately we were not asked to remove our underwear.

Then our bags were put through the scanner, our passports checked one more time, and then we were passed through the metal detector. Since I could not take a photo of this, you'll have to use your imagination. I imagine that if given the chance, they may resort to body imaging like this:

This was the first of three checkpoints needed to pass before entering the hallowed area for my "appointment". We cleared the other two without any problems and when we entered the main area we were given a number: 2004. We didn't have to wait as there were, no kidding, in a room with at least 50 chairs and 8 help windows, no other people waiting. I mean it was, except for one of the rent-a-cops and Indra and me, deserted. Said rent-a-cop directed us to the two windows reserved for Americans and we rang the buzzer. Soon a gentleman appeared behind the double-paned bulletproof glass and, through a microphone that continuously shorted out, asked us what we needed. I needed an "appointment" for this?

I explained that the folks over at IMSS told we needed my birth certificate translated and notarized by the U.S. Consulate in order to apply for benefits. The nice man then informed us that, yes, they could notarize such a document for $30.00 USD, but the translation was not done there. For that, I would have to hire a government certified Mexican translator to do the job. Then he/she would bring it over to the consulate, have it notarized, and then return it to me.

He then provided me with a list of certified translators in Merida. This list carries the following proviso:

"The U.S. Consulate Merida assumes no responsibility of liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of service provided by, the following persons or firms. Inclusion on this list is in no way an endorsement by the Department of State or the U.S. Consulate."

Well, that's a confidence booster.

I told him about what Alejandro at IMSS had said about having it translated by the consulate and the man behind the bulletproof glass replied that they had probably just seen the official consulate seal on the translated document and assumed the translation was done there. "We're going to have to straighten them out on this the next time we see them", came the dubious promise from the man behind the bulletproof glass.

We exited with the list, collected our contraband and headed home.

Indra and the Germans definitely came out on top today. I'll let you know what happens next.

More later,

Larry

Insurance: IMSS - The "Public Option" in Mexico (Day 1)

While the prospect of government involvement in the matter of health insurance continues to pit a lot of Americans against each other over the inclusion of a so-called "Public Option", here in Mexico it's a matter of public policy.
Known as IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) or the institute of Mexican Social Security, it's available to everyone. That includes those of us who have established residency here from another country.
Here is part of the IMSS charter:
"In its extent, the Article 2 of the Social Security Act (SSA) states that the purpose of the social security is to guarantee the right to health, medical assistance, protection of the means of subsistence, and the necessary social services for the individual and collective wellbeing, as well as the granting of an allowance that, in its case and previous fulfillment of legal requirements, will be guaranteed by the State."(my italics)
Anyone in the States thinking of coming to Mexico (or any other foreign country for that matter) needs to know that Medicare does not apply outside the U.S. So that leaves private insurance companies or, in this case, the Mexican government's health care system.
With this in mind we decided to enroll. Now, health care here is inexpensive in comparison to the States for the minor everyday things. But should something more catastrophic happen, it could still put quite a dent in someone's retirement budget even here.
IMSS does not offer full coverage the first year and for certain pre-existing conditions, the insurance benefits do not kick in until year two or even year three. However, in the first year many basic medical problems are covered and drugs from the IMSS pharmacy are free.
An in-depth investigation by me on various websites turned up a few inaccurate bits of information which I will clarify as we go. Keep in mind I'm operating in the State of Yucatan, but I believe that since this is a Federal program, the rules would be the same everywhere.
As I found when we got our senior discount cards, rules here change either at the start of the new year or a change in political parties.
We decided to start with obtaining photos. All the websites I checked stipulated we needed to bring 2 or 3 (depending on the site) passport sized photos. We actually asked the guy at one of our local photography joints (and they are everywhere!) and he told us that what we need were 2 infantil sized photos. Here's the difference:

That's infantil on the left and if we had taken passport sized photos, that would have been a deal breaker. By the way, the photos come in a set of 6 and cost 50 pesos (less than $5.00). So we have extras if anybody wants one (and who wouldn't?).
Next step was to find the location of the IMSS intake center. In Merida there are actually two of them; one south and one north of the centro. We opted for the closer one in the north. The rest of this will probably just be of interest to those living here or planning on moving here, but what the hell. Stories of governmental red-tape are the stuff of good party chatter no matter where you are, right?
Here is the address of IMSS north:
Calle 7 No. 432 X 32 y 34
Col. Residencial Pensiones C.P. 97217
This is actually easy to find. We came south into Merida on the main drag, Calle 62. At the Mega store we hung a right (west) onto Circuito Colonias. Drive west until the street curves to the left and get ready to turn right just past the Chevrolet dealership. That street is also Circuito Colonias. Just a little trick they like to play on us gringos. Drive down the street a few blocks and on the right you'll see a tall hospital building. Then the street name changes again to Av. Alfretta Barerra. Keep going about 3 more blocks and on the right you'll see this:

This is actually the clinic. We parked around the corner and walked back and to the north (or the left as you're looking at the building) we stumbled upon the intake center. Easy-peasy!

We knew, of course, this was not going to be a one stop deal. It seldom is here which adds to the "Amazing Race" quality of it all. If you watch that program, think of this as a Roadblock.

Let's take a look inside.

This is the line to get a number. When we got our number (which was from a security guard) we were directed to the person just to the left who's name was Alejandro. And Alejandro spoke English!!! This was going swimmingly!

So Alejandro, after finding out what we were up to, asked if we had all the required documentation. He even gave us a checklist to be sure. In Spanish, of course, but you get these when getting or renewing a visa, so we were prepared.

Taking it point-by-point:

"Comprobate de domicillio" That's an original and copy of a utility bill, either Telmex (phone) or CFE (electricity) will do. "Check"

"Identificacion oficial" Think passport for us, and FM2 or FM3 visas and copies of each. "Check"

"Acta de matrimonio" Marriage certificate. "That ain't gonna happen"

"2 fotografias tamano infantil. "Check"

"Acta de nacimiento" Birth certificate. "We've never been asked for that before and none of the websites I checked mentioned that"

CURP si ya cuenta con el. Yep. Got the CURP when we got our senior cards. "Check"

Documento que contenga su Numero de Seguiridad Social. Does not apply to us.

And that long last one is a completed questionnaire concerning our medical history which is done at this center.

Also note the annual cost for the insurance for 60+ years of age, $3211 pesos or $251.00 USD at today's exchange rate. Again, that's per year. This is luring a LOT of retirees to move here. And regardless of any horror stories that people who have never received treatment here like to carelessly spread, I can tell you first hand the treatment is top-notch. And you actually see a doctor, not a physician's assistant.

But I digress.

We explained to Alejandro that we did not have birth certificates with us and that the mere possession of a passport proved that we were indeed born because the U.S. government requires a birth certificate to get a passport. He was very nice and took the time to instant message two superiors to plead our passport argument but both were adamant that we had to have them. And then Alejandro upped the ante: The birth certificate had to be translated into Spanish. "Not a problem", I thought, "We have plenty of friends who would do that for us." Alejandro, seemingly reading my thoughts, kicked it up another notch: These translations had to be from our Consulate. And notarized by them.

Anyone who read about my trip to the U.S. consulate could well understand the feeling of dread I was experiencing at this point. The other shoe had dropped. We would not be joining these happy people today...

To add yet another dimension to the mix, my partner Indra will not be utilizing the service of the U.S. consulate office. She was born in Germany. So we will also be visiting the German consulate. And we're not even sure if her baptismal certificate will count.

This is going to get interesting.

More later,

Larry

Christmas At The Mall

Some last minute shopping dictated we go to the Galleria Mall in Merida yesterday. I thought it would be fun to share some shots with you.
This is the "anchor" store, Liverpool. Something like Nordstrom's or Macy's. In other words an expensive but necessary store for finding things totally unavailable elsewhere.

You get the idea...

In the actual mall, the decorations are very tasteful and plentiful...

The mall tree...

From the upper concourse...

Looking down on a well-known, seasonal celebrity...

And even though it was 88 degrees outside, winter recreation was available on the ice rink...

And they even had their version of "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"....

One of the many Christmas displays dotted all over the mall...
The "kicker" to this story is that I was having a great time with the camera while Indra was busy looting the Liverpool store. That is until I was approached by the State Police and was humorlessly told in no uncertain terms that photography was not allowed and I was to cease and desist at once. Too late, muchachos, the damage was done. Enjoy the illegal spoils!

More later,
Larry

Happy Holidays Eveyone!

Here's to a great 2010!

Let's Go To The Fair!

November means many things in the state of Yucatan.  It's the end of hurricane season which saw Category 1 Ida slip between us and Cuba, heading north to the States as a rather benign tropical storm.  It also means the end of oppressive heat and humidity and the start of Norte (storms from the north) season and cooler weather.  And it means the nearly month-long state fair at  Xmatkuil (pronounced Eesh-ma-quill) is here.
In honor of Indra's birthday, we headed down there this morning to see what was new and to do some Christmas shopping for our unsuspecting relatives.
This is the front entrance....

The admission price went from 10 pesos last year ( about 85 cents) to 12 pesos this year (about 97 cents) but we sucked it up and didn't give the ticket agent any sob stories about being Senior Citizens living on a fixed income, etc.

Once inside we were introduced to the fair's theme, sort of a winter wonderland thing...

"o.k" we thought, "It's 82 degrees out, but we can roll with that.  We soon found out that this winter theme was being promoted throughout the fair grounds and imagine our surprise when we ran across this...

A crowd of school children witnessing their classmates engaged in a....SNOW BALL FIGHT!!!

Much tamer than I remembered from my childhood.  I mean we didn't have protective headgear and goggles or a net to prevent ice missiles from hitting us smack in the face, but these kids were having the time of their lives.  And it's probably one of the only times they will see snow in their lifetimes.

And next door....

A snow hill where one can ride down on these tubes...

It was early in the day (shortly after noon) by Mexican standards, so the big crowds would not arrive for several hours yet.  Good for wandering around, but bad for photo ops.  We did, however, find Santa!  And we had a kid to sit in his lap!

I don't know how Santa could come all the way from the North Pole and wear that heavy suit, but I had the feeling that the snow wasn't the only thing melting.

Even the landscaping had the winter/Christmas thing going on...

Like most state fairs, this one also featured the farming and agriculture aspect including these really fine tractors which appealed to me, I being raised on an orchard in Washington State....

Among the tractors was a small pen holding what looked to be a wild pig.  What he was doing there, we don't know, but he was so cute we took a picture...

Speaking of livestock, they always have a good selection over in the beef barn.

 

Here is a very nice looking Brahma Bull...

And even though she was trying to sleep, I cowed this one into letting me take her picture too...wait a minute...that's a bull.

For three years now we have been unsuccessful in locating the poultry barn.  We asked these chicks, but they didn't seem to know anything either...

We concluded that perhaps the poultry barn does not exists.

We did, however come across some adorable little piglets snoozing in their pen..

The area schools bring busloads of children to the fair, all dressed in their uniforms, being overseen by harried-looking adults whom we did not envy...

As the day wound down, so did we.  But before we left I took these pictures of some very interesting hand-made furniture that was for sale.  Quite unlike stuff you see at Levitz...

So that was our day at the fair and we'll go back next year as we never know what we will see then.

More later,

Larry

Hurricane Ida

We were feeling pretty smug that with the end of November in sight we would escape the effects of any hurricanes this year.   Well, we just ended four days straight of downpours that we can attribute to the outer system of hurricane Ida.  According to recent reports from the National Hurricane Center U.S., the tropical storm will gradually increase its speed in the coming days, which alerted the population of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Campeche which are now under Yellow Alert.  That means to basically be on alert for the Red Alert (how many times can I use "alert" in a sentence?) and to expect high winds and rain.

Ida moved to 15 miles per hour north and is expected to turn toward the northwest "with a gradual increase your speed in the coming days", the statement of the U.S. agency, based in Miami.

Its winds have accelerated and now reach 95 mph, with gusts up faster. It is expected to gain more strength and could become a hurricane on Sunday when Ida reaches the Yucatan Peninsula.

Here's how she looks today:

Here is a shot of Cancun today and the ADO luxury buses that we take when we go there:

We'll keep you posted.

More later,

Larry