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I will be 65 in Dec. and hope to move to Costa Rica next year. I read somewhere it is hard to get insurance if you are over 63. Is this true? Once you become a resident, can you get on the Caja ok?
Thanks,
Linda:D
Linda, once your application for residency is approved, it is not difficult to get health insurance membership in La Caja. Actually, it is MANDATORY, a requirement of your approval, that you become a member of La Caja before you get your cedula is issued.
Best,
Javier Zavaleta
The CAJA is the national health system. As a legal resident, you are required to enroll in it and pay the monthly enrollment premium whether you elect to use its services or not.
If your question is about an actual health insurance policy, that’s a somewhat different matter. At the present time, only INS is offering an actual health insurance policy in Costa Rica. INS will exclude pre-existing conditions from coverage and may surcharge you to cover conditions related to whatever pre-existing conditions you may have. Their premiums are based upon your age and sex. INS’ premiums could not be mistaken for “cheap”.
If you have a commercial health insurance policy in the U.S. now (a Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, etc policy, but NOT Medicare or Medicaid), that policy may afford you some coverage in Costa Rica. The only way to know is to consult a senior manager for the truly straight information.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]The CAJA is the national health system. As a legal resident, you are required to enroll in it and pay the monthly enrollment premium whether you elect to use its services or not.
If your question is about an actual health insurance policy, that’s a somewhat different matter. At the present time, only INS is offering an actual health insurance policy in Costa Rica. INS will exclude pre-existing conditions from coverage and may surcharge you to cover conditions related to whatever pre-existing conditions you may have. Their premiums are based upon your age and sex. INS’ premiums could not be mistaken for “cheap”.
If you have a commercial health insurance policy in the U.S. now (a Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, etc policy, but NOT Medicare or Medicaid), that policy may afford you some coverage in Costa Rica. The only way to know is to consult a senior manager for the truly straight information.
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hey, if I may ask, for the treatment via CAJA, do they have any issues or higher premiums for pre-existing conditions that you-or anyone here-knows of?
The CAJA takes no account of pre-existing conditions, age, or any other factor. If you’re a legal resident, you are required to enroll. If you’re not a legal resident, you are not supposed to be able enroll, but I’ve heard of exceptions.
It’s important to understand, however, that the CAJA’s resources are limited. While emergency care is said to be pretty good, ongoing primary care may not meet your needs. They offer, for example, one anti-cholesterol medication which my endocrinologist says isn’t worth swallowing, and one form of injectable insulin. Similarly, getting sophisticated tests and lab results can take a very long time.
It’s a long way from perfect.
No doubt, for a lot of things, can see having private options too if affordable or, same thing, flying back to states perhaps…..
Interesting, the election on, we here again about the “pitfalls” of socialized medicine, but oddly, silent on the many, many gaps in the USA system…..I work doing Medicaid disability, hear a lot…but…..
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