Health Care

When we first moved to Uruguay, we decided to purchase travel insurance to cover our medical needs for the first three months. We figured that would give us enough time to decide which Uruguay hospital to get private health insurance through.

The three of us are all healthy, without any medical conditions, so we knew we would have our choice of hospitals in Uruguay. After doing some research and talking to a lot of people, we decided to pursue health insurance in Uruguay through the Hospital Britanico Scheme (private health insurance plans in Uruguay are called “schemes.”).

The first step we took was to contact the Hospital Britanico to get information on the health insurance plans they offered. They sent us over the current rates and plan options.

The current monthly rates (in Uruguayan Pesos) as of today’s date are:

Children (under 18 years):
1st son/daughter       private room $1398
2nd son/daughter      private room $1327
3rd son/daughter       private room $1260

Adults:
From 18 to 29 years    private room $1665     premium $1982
From 30 to 39 years    private room $1974     premium $2353
From 40 to 49 years    private room $2148     premium $2564
From 50 to 55 years    private room $2834     premium $3391
From 56 to 60 years    private room $3037     premium $3623

(We asked what the difference between private and premium rooms were. We were told that they are basically the same. However, the premium rooms are the most recently built rooms and they might have a better view out of the window. We went with the private room.)

Out-Patient Department (Ambulatory)
To use the Out Patient Department you will have to pay a fee, this may be different depending the type of service required.

Medical consultation                                            $120
Auxilliary services such as Laboratory, Radiology   $120
Scans, mamographies, etc.                                  $250
Emergency door                                                  $220
Emergency outside Montevideo                             $300
MRI                                                                    $1200
Home visits                                                         $350

Pharmacy
With a doctor’s prescription you are entitled to a 50% rebate at the Farmacia “El Tunel” (across the street from the Hospital Britanico – they also make home deliveries). There is also an option to pay an extra monthly fee of $198, which will drop the price for each prescription $180 per prescription.

Other benefits that may be included in the monthly subscription are:

Emergency ambulance service:
SEMM:  $294
SUAT:   $275
UCM:    $270
EMERGENCIA UNO:
Adults:  $205 / $406
Kids:     $175 / $300

(With Emergencia Uno, the first $ figure is for months where you do not use the service. The second figure is for months where you do use the service. We elected to go with Emergencia Uno.)

Funeral coverage with Previsora Martinelli at a rate of $110.

Surgical coverage in the United States at a monthly rate of $265.

Travel Insurance (annual contract):
VIP: $73 per month (coverage up to $100.000 / $250.000)
BASIC: $39 per month (coverage up to $200.000 / $350.000)
PLUS: $120 per month (coverage up to euros 30.000)

After deciding that we did want to move forward with the Hospital Britanico health insurance plan, we contacted the Scheme office to set up an appointment for our health examinations and interviews.

The examinations are very straightforward. Mine went very quickly (I was in and out in just over an hour) because I have been going to the Hospital Britanico for prenatal care and they already had a lot of my information on file. They asked me questions about my medical history and took my blood pressure. Since I didn’t know my height in centimeters, they also had to measure me.

They will typically take blood and urine samples to run some basic tests (which I already had done as part of my prenatal care). If you are a female, you will also need to have a gynecological exam unless you can provide records for one in the last year.

Zoë’s medical exam was even more straightforward than mine. They asked us a few questions about her birth and medical history, and then asked a few questions about my health and Brian’s health. They did a very quick exam and we were done. Her insurance was approved the same day (I was told it usually takes about three weeks for adults to be approved).

For Brian: blood/urine, blood pressure, height, weight and a few questions and done. We found that getting health insurance in Uruguay was much easier than it is in the US. For the three of us, our coverage for the Hospital Scheme and Emergencia Uno service comes to UY$ 5931 (U$S 256.42 as of today’s exchange rate) per month.

If you’re interested in health insurance through the Hospital Britanico Scheme in Uruguay, vis
it their website or contact them by phone at 487-1020, extensions 2201 or 2253 from 8 am to 8 pm.