Exploring Uruguay

Expat & Travel Resource Guide

health insurance

Getting Health Insurance in Uruguay:
Asociación Española

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We mentioned on previous blog that we had decided to pursue private health insurance through Hospital Britanico in Montevideo. We went this route because we were told time and time again that it was the best health care in Uruguay, and the best place to have a baby in Uruguay.

While the care we received there was great, we decided to go another route. This decision was mostly due to the fact that every time we talked to the Hospital Britanico Scheme office, their price for delivering the baby kept changing. So much so, that the amount they wanted up front more than doubled from our original conversations! Yikes.

Nuevo_edificio So, after doing some more research, we decided to pursue medical coverage through Asociación Española, one of Uruguay’s largest mutualistas. Asociación Española is named a "Baby Friendly Hospital" by the Ministry of Health, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF initiatives. And, they have the most comprehensive Pediatric Department in Uruguay.

In addition, their health insurance rates are much lower than Hospital Britainco’s health insurance rates. Brian and I will each be paying UY$1446 per month (U$S 69.69 as of today’s exchange rate), which includes funeral coverage in addition to health care coverage (tax included). The rate for Zoë is UY$ 867 (U$S 41.78) per month, including health care coverage and funeral coverage (tax included).

There is an additional fee of UY$ 1085 (U$S 52.29) per month if you want a private room, but we decided to forgo that for now. You must pay 12 months of fees before you can actually have a private room (only 7 months for delivery of the baby). So, she said we can think about it and pay the full 7 months of fees later if I decide I want a private room.

Asociación Española has arrangements with SUAT for emergency services, so we also signed up with them. The rate is UY$ 290 (U$S 13.98) per month, and they currently have a special for 4 months free.

That brings us to a total of UY$ 4629 per month, or U$S 223 (if only the US dollar would stop losing value!) for all three of us to have health insurance, emergency service coverage and funeral coverage. This is UY$ 1302 (U$S 62.75) per month less than Hospital Britanico (and we did not have funeral coverage with them).

Getting health insurance with Asociación Española was very simple. We just went down to their Departmento de Socios office at Rivera 2341 and met with a woman who spoke English (we were told you must get there between 8 am and 1 pm to be able to meet with someone who speaks English; no appointment necessary).

We told her we wanted to sign up with the hospital, provided our passports and signed a couple of papers. They didn’t even ask us any medical questions like they did at Hospital Britanico.

She recommended that we get photo ID cards for the hospital since we don’t have our cedulas yet (Uruguayan ID cards). There is an extra fee of UY$ 17 (U$S 0.82) each for the cards, but they make them for you on the spot. We paid the cashier; they took our pictures and gave us our Asociación Española ID cards.

Then she walked us over to the SUAT representative and gave her our information. We signed a couple papers and she provided our SUAT ID cards. Our coverage was effective immediately and we don’t have to pay anything until next month.

It was a very easy process to get health insurance through Asociación Española. Now, the next step is to find a good English-speaking Obstetrician at Asociación Española. Any recommendations are welcome!



Getting Health Insurance in Uruguay: The Hospital Britanico Scheme

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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.