Medical Health Insurance from INS in Costa Rica

Health insurance is mandatory for foreign residents. If you move to Costa Rica and you get your legal residency, you will also have to apply for the C.C.S.S.

The C.C.S.S. is the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social or the Costarican Department of Social Security for Costa Rica health insurance. Everybody calls it CAJA.

Maybe this system is okay if you like to start standing in line at 4:00 am at the clinic. That is necessary to get an appointment for an operation that they might plan for next year or so. The attention at the local Ebais, part of the Social Security system is a lot better. Ebais doctors refer patients with a specific problem to a specialist in a hospital.

INS Medical can be a great option for you, but you have to be a legal resident in Costa Rica. But INS does give a great service. Hence, INS insured do not have to stand in line at the Caja, they get a good medical service at any of the private hospitals.

For my wife Dany and me, we pay about $3,300 annually (In July 2013) to have INS medical. That is quite a bit below the cost of most international health insurances. We are both non-smokers, me 58 and Dany a lot younger, of course, so you have an idea of the cost.

What you need to get INS medical

1.    Be a legal resident in Costa Rica or a Costa Rican citizen.

2.    Temporary residents, if you are a student, work in Costa Rica or a corporate client of INS (if you have any other insurance in your personal name).

3.    Residents under 55 years old, who get the medical health insurance for the 1st time, are not required any medical exams (both sexes).

4.    Patients over 55 years old, who get the insurance for the 1st time, are required to take the following exams (I hope I have the English names correct):

• Practitioner Report to detail and explain the diseases that have been treated or are treated,
• physical examination,
• urinalysis,
• total cholesterol,
• DHL fraction,
• triglycerides,
• fasting glucose and PSA (men),
• resting electrocardiogram
• and cardiovascular assessment.

INS is one of the few health insurances that accepts senior citizens.

5.    INS pays all the other exams by approved suppliers, except for the practitioner’s report.

6.    The INS does not accept pre-existing medical conditions.

What coverage does INS Medical offer

a.    Medical coverage that includes

• Maternity,
• Transplant,
• Surgical implants,
• Congenital diseases of the newborn,
• Prematurity,
• Epidemic and pandemic diseases,
• Recreational diving and soccer practice,
• Air Ambulance,
• Sports,
• Medical treatment for mental or nervous disorders,
• Emergencies during travel abroad and overseas medical expenses,

among others.

b.    Travel Assistance Coverage.

c.    Physical examination, including ophthalmologic checkup.

d.    Death coverage, which protects Death, Burial, and Liberation of the insurance payment direct death benefit.

e.    Emergency dental coverage

In conclusion, you can email my agent Isidro Gonzalez for more information. There are many other options of International Health Insurances that are accepted by the local private hospitals like the Clinica Biblica and CIMA hospital.

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