Healthcare in Nicaragua

I and my friends have had great services no complaints for 13 years.

Well, like most countries Nicaragua offers free health care to everyone but most expats would not be satisfied with that level of care but good in an emergency or have no money. Most expats pay as they go since the costs are so low at very good hospitals though the prices are rising. If an expensive or prolonged procedure is needed such as major heart surgery or cancer treatment some of the expats would return to the country of origin to use medicaid or veterans benefits or whatever.

There are plans here such as the Hospital Metropolitano (Pellas) that are really major discount plans and Inisur does offer a health plan but you need to enter it before 65 usually or pay much higher fees. There are actually 4 or 5 very good hospitals in Managua and I am trying to research their costs which is difficult to get good information in Nicaragua. All of them are up to North American standards but Pellas is the most popular since they speak more English.

Just a quickie, but I couldn't even play golf without having to use my putter to climb up to the green, so basically had to quit, and that was after a lifetime of sports, even owning and running tennis clubs.  Kasier Permanente told me it was my disc's in lower vertebrae, no operation, just physical therapy, etc.  After 15 years of being not able to walk more than 50' at a time I finally went to another doctor here in Nicaragua, took the same cat scans and MRI's and they said yes, you have back problems, but we wouldn't do anything with those problems until we UNCLOG your aorta. My left leg was getting zero blood from the main source of blood, the aorta.  Cramps, numbing, pain every day was due to lack of blood circulation. It wasn't my back that was keeping me from walking!  I was not getting any blood to my muscles and legs, then ankles and feet/toes.  I opted for surgery at the Hospital Intregal in Managua with a well known Nica cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Moncada, and for under $10,000 I had multiples of tests done, by-pass surgery on my left aorta, the operating room, all the assistants, 4 days in a private room with bed and remote TV for my wife, including a refrigerator, all the nurses and meds, 3 days in a hotel in Managua to get daily cleaning and care for my incision, etc.  A friend that stays with us at our hotel in Las Penitas, Playa Roca Beach Hotel, playaroca.com, had a vary similar by-pass at UCLA Med Center and her bill when all put together was $172,000!  Her 10% co-pay was  nearly double my whole episode from start to finish.  Why are insurance costs so high?  Guess.  My years of paying Kaiser Permanente and their not wanting to spend money to treat their patients is felonous, I wasted 16 years of my life.  I can walk within 1 week better than I could since 1997, all with a 3 hour procedure here in Nicaragua.  Clean and well equipped hospitals, Pellas as well as intregal, with state of the art technology.  My doctors didn't all speak English but were trained in either the US or Europe.  The chief surgeon, Moncada made probably $700 per hour for his time with me, not too bad, 3 hours of surgery and follow up.
So I paid thousands of dollars for US care that I didn't get and ended up getting the right diagnosis and follow up in Nicaragua and could play golf tomorrow if there was a golf course to play on near us.  I'm only 64 years old and have been "out of it" since I was in my late 40's, what a waste of time and money.
Double check the doctors backgrounds and get recommendations and I think you are better off here for the most part.  I know I would have been healthier and a lot more happy being able to do normal activities that I wasn't capable.

Managua has some good medical care, the Baptist for one, but the free care is not good, is probably good to buy insurance, if you can. The cost of hospital care is a fraction of US medical care.

Glad to hear you are better and enjoying your life more.  Hope you and Cookie are well.

I hear ya Dave.

We lost our health care insurance back in 2005.  August 29 to be exact.  Hurricane Katrina devastated us.  My insurance company said it was flood waters that caused the damage.   I say BS.  I lost my business too.  I couldn't pay my bills.  Creditors don't care.  A year later I had my business back up and running.  We tried getting health care insurance again and because I dropped it a year ago plus I had a pre-existing condition, my monthly premiums went from $450 a month to $1200.  We could not afford that.  Thru all the stress my wife had a stroke and some other issues.  They wanted over $100K in the US.  We flew to Nica and met with a doctor friend of my wife's cousin.  Really nice guy.  Went to school in the US.  He preformed the operation for $4500.  Which included a private room w/a bed for me too.  A hotel room in Managua, Post Op care for a month and the flight to Nica and back to the US.  Amazing. 
He greeted us the morning of the operation and handed me a cup of coffee.  That hasn't happened before.  Just down to earth people in Nica.  The wife is fine today because of that operation.  No thanks to our American Health Care system.  It's better now w/the Affordable Care Act in place.  You can debate that all you want but we like it.  Works for us.  But next year I turn 65 so Medicare here I come.  The wife though is only 59.  We will probably get her some sort of insurance while down in Nica and keep her on my Humana plan thru the Market place exchange.  Of course she has her cedula so its easier for her with dual citizenship to get health care insurance. 

I had a situation back in 1978.  My American doctor, since I was a child, didn't know what to make of my problem.  He sent me to a specialist.  His diagnosis was kooky and way off base.  I went to a Spanish Doctor in New Orleans and he laughed about the American Doctors not recognizing the problem.  He asked if I had recently been out of the country and did I go swimming in a lagoon?  Yes to both questions.  I swallowed a very small parasite that caused the problem.  He gave me some medicine and the problem was gone in a week.  I was impressed.

I just think having some sort of insurance down there is better than nothing.  And this 65 deadline, I never heard about that.   If anyone know anything about this, please let me know.
Thanking you in advance.....

An interesting post. Here in Scotland healthcare is free. All prescriptions are free. I don't want to sound smug
but the US health system sounds like a disaster.

Tell me about it! 

On a side note:  My wife wants to visit Scotland.  It's on our bucket list along w/Italy and Greece. 

Back to Health Care Insurance in the USA
It has gotten better since the passing of the Affordable Care ACT.  At least more than 50% of the people in the US believe so.  And that number keeps increasing every year to the positive.   The other 50% probably already have health care insurance from other sources and don't give a flip.  Maybe a portion of them just don't care and game the medical system by stiffing them.  In the US, hospitals are required to treat patients regardless if that patient has insurance or not.  You still get a bill and are required by law to pay it.  They can put a lien on your property however.  Not good!  But those without home ownership get away with it.  Insurance premiums go up because of it.  A vicious circle.  Something needed to be done.  Hillary Clinton tried to do something about it back in the 90's.  But Republican led Hill stopped it. 

I only wish that Obama would have pushed for the single payer system like the rest of the world.  Can you imagine an entire industry going bye-bye?  Most of those bloodsucking health care insurance companies would need to find something else to do to make a living.  They would then blame Obama for the loss of all those jobs.  But this is a start.  So long as the Democrats control that aspect of life, for now, all is well.  Or should I say better than before.

But once you turn 65, like I will in February, You need to go on Medicare.  You cannot stay on the Exchange that was created by the ACA.  Which means that Medicare will pay 80% and I then will need to find a secondary health care provider to cover the other 20%.  I'm being told, be prepared to pay up to $400 a month.  Sucks!  I think I would rather live in Nica and pay the $60 a month for good health care.   The only things I'll miss here are my children and grand children.  Then again we can always fly back for long visits.   It is only a 2 hr. flight from New Orleans.  I think that is what we will end up doing......stay tuned....LOL

Gosh I'm envious, Granada, we love it there.  How is the weather?  Low 80's on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi today.
It'll be in the 90's by tomorrow. 

Anything new in Granada?  We haven't been there since 2013.  Are more restaurants opening on Calle La Calzada?  We love Mona Lisa Pizzeria.   

Tell me about the good, the bad and if there is any ugly, concerning living in Granada in 2015.

What's the word on the canal?

Yes, in Europe the healthcare is much more of a social health care system where people are treated on the grounds of need rather than how much they have in the bank. France is probably the best, Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries have good systems as you would expect.
What Nicaragua has is a mystery but if they have had long periods of socialistic style health care you would expect it to be something a bit better than the neighbouring/comparable countries like Honduras or El Salvador and that is because health care takes a higher priority.