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How to Avoid the Double Whammy

9/29/2018

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One thing living in Mexico has taught us is self-reliance.
Down here, you can't expect anything that worked yesterday to work today or that someone will bail you out if you have a big expensive problem. Don’t get me wrong, the people here are warm and giving, but they can only do so much.
Besides, the key to self-reliance is having a solid plan in place to handle life’s predictable double whammies, like being stuck in a foreign hospital and seeing your bank account wiped out by unexpected medical bills.
Accidents and illnesses can happen to anyone at any time, and we all know someone who's been on the receiving end of the awful double whammy of being stuck somewhere you don’t want to be, while the hospital bill soars beyond belief.
Being hospitalized is bad enough, but if your credit cards and bank account are threatened at the same time, it’s a real bummer!
Here’s a Simple Two-Step Solution to Avoiding the Double Whammy:
  1. Carry international health insurance that will help pay for your foreign medical expenses. It is affordable and easy to get. We can help.
  2. Get emergency medical evacuation coverage that will pay your ambulance bills and transport you to a hospital back home - wherever your home is. We can help with that too.
We have solutions to fit almost any budget and can insure anyone.
Click here to get a custom recommendation for your international health insurance and emergency medical evacuation needs.
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MASA is back and PV-Health has it!

9/25/2018

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Two years ago, MASA – the world’s premier emergency medical evacuation (medevac) service – restructured their sales force and I was “restructured” out of a job! But all is forgiven and good things happen to those who persevere. We are pleased to announce that MASA is back and PV-Health.com has it!

If you are like Kim and me and are already MASA members, congratulations! MASA members have the peace of mind of knowing that no matter where you go in the world, and even when you are at home, MASA is there with you, and their fleet of air ambulances are standing by to quickly get you to the hospital, then safely back home when you’re ready.

Kim and I became members because we wanted to be able to choose where we’d get care. We love our Mexican doctors, but if something really bad happens, we like having the choice to go back to the States where Medicare helps pay the bills.

AND, when we’re in the USA, MASA fills a huge gap in Medicare’s coverage of ground and air ambulance charges. For example, if we’re out for the evening with friends and I get chest pains, Kim will call an ambulance for me. But if my ailment turns out to be indigestion, Medicare can deny ambulance charges for what turned out to be a non-life-threatening incident. Without MASA, I could be looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in uncovered medical costs!

In short, MASA is great both here in Mexico and back in the USA!

More good news: In the past, most of us choose a one-year MASA Membership to protect us while we are in Mexico. However, while MASA still features a one-year membership plan, they now also offer Five-Year and Lifetime Memberships, too!

Hey, I’m in my mid-70s, why would I want a Lifetime membership? One word: Medicare.

After I’m too old to enjoy Mexico (never gonna happen) and I spend more time in the States, MASA will protect me from Medicare’s failure to pay the costs of my 911 calls.

Medicare may refuse to pay for an ambulance (ground or air) if the cause isn’t life-threatening, or if other transportation (Uber?) is available, or the charges are more than Medicare pays, which is nearly always the case.

At best, Medicare only pays 80% of the costs which could leave me holding the bag for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in uncovered medical costs!

Why my PASSION for MASA? I know too many people who opted not to join MASA who later wished they had joined,when life took a bad turn for them.
  • The man who introduced me to MASA was a resort developer who gave pre-paid MASA memberships to everyone who bought a condo in his building. But he didn’t buy a membership for himself because he’d never been sick a day in his life – until his heart started doing funny things. The air ambulance he needed to save his life cost more than $30,000, and that was seven years ago!
  • A friend of a friend was traveling outside the country and needed emergency heart surgery. The air ambulance cost him $47,000.
  • A nice lady, due to complications of cosmetic surgery (not a medical necessity) wasn’t covered by her insurance. She paid $30,000 to be taken to a hospital back home.
  • A Canadian acquaintance suffered a freak accident – a slip and fall that cut an artery in his leg. He lost so much blood that he had a stroke. He blew through his $50,000 in travel health insurance coverage in under two weeks and paid more than $50,000 to have the hospital's recommend medevac service fly him out of PV.
If they had been MASA members, they would have been flown home for free!

My business is selling international health insurance, but I’m passionate about MASA because of too many hard-luck stories like the ones I listed above. And there are many more I could share.

After all I’ve seen, I got MASA for my family and I highly recommend you do, too!

For a no-cost/no-obligation quote, (the only kind we have), CLICK HERE and we’ll take it from there!

Remember, by planning for the worst, you can relax and enjoy the best the world has to offer.


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Misadventures in Paradise; #1 in a Series

8/31/2017

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Hola Amigos,
We are Mike & Kim Altman of PV-Health.com – providers of international health insurance and emergency medical evacuation services.
The first thing we did after moving to Puerto Vallarta in was joining ExPats in Vallarta. Moving to a foreign country comes with challenges and the ExPat’s mission of expats helping expats has been invaluable. Besides, they are a lot of fun!
One of the best parts of living the expat lifestyle is exploring Mexico beyond the Bay of Banderas. Mexico is a beautiful country chocked full of marvels. And, because we enjoy sharing tales of our adventures and misadventures, we thought sharing some of the lessons we learned here might help you avoid some of the pitfalls of our hard knocks.
For us, our most memorable stories tell of those days when things go wrong and not too long ago, while I was exploring the back roads of Guanajuato. things went very wrong!
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 ​One minute I was walking along the Paseo de La Presa, admiring the beauty of Guanajuato, and suddenly I was staring up at the sky. I had slipped and fallen on my backside, knocking the wind (and the sense) out of me.

It took several moments for me to figure out what happened and to start breathing again. I’ve been breathing for more than seven decades and really didn’t care for doing without oxygen!

True to form, a caring Mexican (the only kind they make), came to my aid. She gently pushed me back down as my embarrassment had me trying to scramble to my feet before anyone noticed. I was in no condition to get up, although my bruised ego disputed the fact.

My ego wasn’t the only thing bruised. Somehow, my right knee and left elbow were skinned and bleeding and I had a goose egg the size of a mango on the back of my head. I assured the Good Samaritan that I was okay while allowing her to help me to a seat on a park bench. When she saw that I was going to survive, she let me shoo her away with my thanks, "Muchas gracias, señora."

I have a question for you: Are you supposed to see stars in the daytime?

The nausea was getting to me so I spent a good part of the afternoon on that park bench. Once I felt up to it I got back on the path to the casita, where I tried to explain to my bride that I looked far worse than I felt.

Kim did not buy into my male bravado. She asked a string of health-related questions then got to the one question I knew was coming, “Were you carrying your Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card?”
 
She has this thing about letting her husband (me) who only has “Bar Spanish” go wandering off on his own through the back streets of Mexico. Maybe it’s because I have a habit of getting lost that she insists I carry a Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card on me wherever I go.

Because I don’t want to see stars in the daytime, I always do what Kim asks.

What happened to me could have been much worse. If that mango-sized knot on my skull and nausea that came with it had rendered me unconscious, I would have ended up in a Mexican hospital where the people are great, but the technology may not be up to snuff. If you are like me and you prefer to choose where you receive medical care, a medevac card could be as important as your ICE card.

We recommend that everyone carry two cards: One is a Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card you can get by clicking the link below. The second card you should always carry is an Air Rescue Card.  The ICE card will help first responders and the trauma team treat your medical condition appropriately and your Air Rescue Card will get you to the hospital you choose back home.

The Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card is FREE and PV-Health.com offers a 40% discount on your Air Rescue Card!

So do one easy-peasy thing: Click Here to get a free Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card and a 40% discount on the Air Rescue Card for emergency medevac worldwide.
 
These are the two cards I always carry and recommend you do too!

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​Gracias y viajes seguros,
Mike Altman
PV-Health.com
MikeAltman@PV-Health.com
www.PV-Health.com
Health Insurance for Mexico and the World!
Toll-Free Anywhere in Mexico: 01-800-681-6742
​USA & Canada: 949-720-1664


PS: Don't let our misadventure stop you from enjoying one of life's greatest pleasures - getting lost in Mexico. We do it all the time and the risks are certainly worth the rewards!

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Is Your Spanish Good Enough to Save Your Life in a Medical Emergency?

10/25/2016

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A friend told me how she had passed out on the beach and several locals and a taxi driver - who wouldn’t take a peso - rushed her to the hospital where she fully recovered.  Such is the warmth and humanity of the Mexican people.  Mexican doctors put the “care” in healthcare, but when every second counts, they need our help to give us the best care possible.
 
Is your Spanish good enough to save your life in a medical emergency? Can you make it clear to the first responders and ER doctors who you are, what allergies or reactions to drugs you may have, what medications you take, if you are diabetic or have a pacemaker? Without this information, your care may be severely compromised. 

What if you are alone when something bad happens and you end up in surgery, how will the hospital contact your significant others?
 
What if you are unconscious? Who will speak for you? It’s a hard question with an easy answer: Carry a Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card in your wallet.
 
Using a simple template that handles the Spanish for you, it will only take you a few minutes to create your personalized Spanish-language In Case of Emergency (ICE) card that tells first-responders and ER doctors who you are, what health issues you have and who to contact on your behalf.
 
Click here to get your FREE ICE card today. Do it now!
 
Viajes seguros,
Mike & Kim Altman,
Your Friends at PV-Health.com
PS: By planning for the worst, you can relax and enjoy the best the world has to offer.
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The Cost of an Air Ambulance Medevac is Obscene

4/6/2016

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International travelers expect the cost of an air ambulance medevac to be high, but those costs are extremely high back home too!

From  The New York Times
From ABC News


We offer a 40% discount on The Air Rescue Card
For about a buck a day, Air Rescue Card members are medevaced to a hospital of their choice  You can join today and be covered today!

Just CLICK HERE or call the Air Rescue Card in the USA at 866-500-0333 or 574-272-5400. To get your 40% discount (on the phone or online), use the promotional code “PV-Health.”




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There are only two seasons in Puerto Vallarta: Summer and Perfect!Loving life in our perfect little slice of paradise is about more than the weather. Unplugging from the "get-it-done" frenetic pace of life up north and plugging into the mañana mentality

12/16/2015

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There are only two seasons in Puerto Vallarta: Summer and Perfect!

Loving life in our perfect little slice of paradise is about more than the weather. Unplugging from the "get-it-done" frenetic pace of life up north and plugging into the mañana mentality requires a period of adjustment.

Mexicans care more about relationships than about completing their To-Do List - as if they had a To-Do List! They are never too busy to stop and chat with a friend or a stranger. They are always willing to help with a willing hand and a willing heart. We are slowly learning to be more like them - forgiving and accepting of life's inevitable ups and downs and that's the best thing that has happened to us since we moved to Mexico!

Being guests in this beautiful paradise, we've learned how to keep the inconveniences of life here from  dampening our enthusiasm for living Puerto Vallarta's unique version of the Expat Lifestyle.  The secret to loving life in Mexico has three key parts: Food, Fun and Friends!

FOOD: Along with a long list of time-tested favorites, we sampled and raved about Bistro Teresa's new digs down by the Cathedral and the Barrio Bistro out in Versalles. There are so many outstanding, affordable restaurants here, we are unsure why we have a kitchen in our condo!

FUN: Vallarta is blessed with more theaters and live entertainment venues than any place south of Las Vegas! There are so many shows and so much talent available that seeing everything is impossible! Just this week, we've been serenaded by my wife's favorite singer Jorge Acosta (he's a great singer, but just a little too good looking to be singing Volver, Volver to Ms. Kimberly), we were appropriately "surprised" by a flash-mob supporting the Orquesta Escuela de Puerto Vallarta, we took a tour of the statues on the Malecón, and will hike to Yelapa to swim in a waterfall.  It is impossible to be bored in Vallarta!

FRIENDS: I can't imagine another place where it is so easy to meet and bond with so many adventuresome adults of the Medicare Generation!  Thanks to organizations like ExPats in Vallarta, The PV Garden Club and The International Friendship Club, there is no excuse for sitting alone or bar-hopping in hopes of making long-lasting, quality friendships. Some wise person said something to the effect that the quality of one's life is in direct proportion to the quantity and quality of the friendships he enjoys. Works for me!

Puerto Vallarta's unique version of the Expat Lifestyle (Food, Fun and Friends) isn't without its challenges. There is an expression up north that applies perfectly: "Skating on thin ice." The only ice here is in the margaritas, but the financial risks of illness and accident are all too real and are no place for the mañana mentality!

American and Canadian Medicare, and many domestic medical insurance plans are all but useless here so almost everyone needs affordable travel medical insurance. At PV-Health.com we can cover anyone of any age and any health condition. Not everyone qualifies for every benefit, but everyone can be insured against accidents and most illnesses.

Where your health and financial well being are concerned is no time for mañana mentality - Apply today and be covered tomorrow!

Even with travel medical insurance, you can easily find yourself in an expensive predicament. If you are sick or injured, you´ll have enough trauma without having to put $30,000 or more on your credit card for an air ambulance!  With a medevac plan, you fly home for FREE!

If you’d like to chat about travel health insurance, how medical care works in Mexico or emergency medical evacuation, just click here. A simple form will open. Enter your phone number and a convenient time to call and we'll give you a no-cost/no obligation proposal that will protect you and your wallet!

Now, let's get back to the Food, Fun and Friends!


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A (very) Satisfied Customer

7/31/2015

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The August 1st issue of The PV Mirror includes a nice endorsement from a satisfied customer!

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We  helped Frank get the money he was entitled to by fighting the insurance company!
We represent the companies, but we WORK for you!

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Vacation Time!

4/27/2015

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The annual migration of snowbirds leaving Puerto Vallarta for the summer has begun. And many expats (we who call Puerto Vallarta home) are also packing and planning our escape as well. Some feel the need to touch base with family and friends up north while others are leaving to avoid the heat and humidity.

So, what will you do this summer? Where are you going to go? What will you see? What life-informing, if not life-changing, experiences will you seek?

International travel is chock-full of unexpected delicious moments – even the moments that don’t seem delicious as we are living them! Savvy travelers expect the unexpected and are not surprised when things are not exactly as anticipated. The fact is that when it comes to keeping the mind sharp, nothing compares with international travel!

Living the expat lifestyle has inoculated us against thinking that nothing bad will happen to us so we take these reasonable precautions:


  1. We get health insurance that will cover us anywhere in the word for about $5.00/day.
  2. We get trip cancellation insurance – for less than 5% of the non-refundable costs of our travel.
  3. For less than $1.00/day, we carry emergency medical evacuation protection that will safely fly us home if we end up hospitalized somewhere we don’t want to be.
  4. We carry an international In Case of Emergency card everywhere we go!    [Click her for a template for your International ICE card]
Stuff happens, but we don’t let that keep us from going and growing! We love to explore too much to let a few bumps and bruises keep us stuck anywhere!

Getting a no cost/no obligation custom proposal for international health insurance, including trip cancellation and emergency medical evacuation, is as easy as sending an email to
MikeAltman@PV-Health.com with the names, ages, nationality and travel dates of everyone you want to enjoy peace of mind while traveling. Now would be a good time to get your proposal!

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You Must Carry a "In Case of Emergency" Card!

1/2/2015

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My wife and I are "accidental expats." We came to Puerto Vallarta on vacation, fell in love with the place and sort of forgot to go home! If we had planned on becoming expats (which we didn’t), we would have learned before we came that Medicare is useless here and that if we needed an air ambulance to take us back to Southern California, we´d need an extra $40,000 in cash! Anybody have an extra $40,000?

What saved our bacon was our membership in ExPats in Vallarta – the largest and most helpful community of snowbirds and expats in town. Whenever we ran into a speed bump or a “tope” as they are known hereabouts, an expat was there to offer assistance in the spirit of: We are all in this together!

Another bacon-saver is Pam Thompson. She not only fixed us up with a local doctor, but she also encouraged us to help others with international health insurance and emergency medical evacuation services through our website www.PV-Health.com.

We know that we are all in this together so, when someone asked me a question that was not covered by my experience in international health insurance and medevac, I gave her advice gleaned from living the expat lifestyle – another expat’s experience being the best source of reliable information!

She wanted to know who would speak for her if she was incapacitated and unable to speak for herself in a medical emergency in Mexico.

To answer her question, I did something that YOU MUST BE ABLE TO DO: I reached into my wallet and pulled out my international In Case of Emergency card.  

You can´t buy an international In Case of Emergency card, but you can make one in just a few minutes and, should you end up in a Mexican emergency room where they don’t speak your language or have access to your medical records, it could make a very big difference for you!

Creating your international In Case of Emergency card is a three-step process.

Step One: Scan your passport´s signature and photo page. Then shrink it when you print it to 4 ¾¨ tall by 3 ½¨ wide. (That´s 12 cm tall by 9 cm wide in Canadian.)

Step Two: Create a separate document titled, En Caso de Emergencia / In Case of Emergency (Using red ink for the title can´t hurt).

On this document, you will identify yourself, your health history and your emergency contacts.

The following is a template for the card, You can complete your card by replacing the information I have in black with your personal information: 

En Caso de Emergencia/In Case of Emergency       
Your name as it appears on your passport (ex. Jack Snowbird)
Edad/Age: (ex. 66)
Reacciones o condiciones pre-existentes:    
List any preexisting conditions, current medications (scientific name and dosage), and allergies (ex. diabetes, asthma, heart conditions, and cancer, drug reactions and allergies to food, medication, latex, penicillin, bee stings, etc.).
 
En Caso de Emergencia:
Who should be contacted
(ex. Esposa/Wife/Partner:
Karla Ann Snowbird
MX Land: 322-221-5128 
MX Cel.: 044/322-172-0599           
KarlaSnowbird@aol.com)
 
(ex. Your Local Doctor:
Dr. Antonio Matilla, Amerimed Hospital                       
044 322 205 7268              
matillaaathotmail.com)
 
(ex. Your Next of Kin back home
Jerry & Mary Ann Snowbird            
snowbird01ataol.com
EE.UU./USA: 001-555-1234)
 
(ex. Your international health insurance ID)             
Seguro/Insurance:  Patriot PATII80961312                                      
EE.UU.: 001.317.655.4500  1.800.628.4664 
insuranceatimglobal.com
 
(ex. U.S. Consulate Puerto Vallarta)
(322) 222-0069
ConAgencyPuertoV@state.gov
 
(ex. Canadian Consulate Puerto Vallarta)
(322) 293-0098 & 293-0099
Fax: (322) 293-2894
pvrta@international.gc.ca)
 
Step Three: Shrink your page to fit on the back of the copy of your passport signature and photo page when you print it and tape the pages together. Fold them so they fit in your wallet with the title En Caso de Emergencia / In Case of Emergency sticks up a little above the facing page so first-responders will see it.

Depending on the computer, scanner and printer you are using, creating your international       In Case of Emergency card will take a few minutes or a few aspirin. In any case, it is worth the effort!  If you need help, call me (USA: 949-720-1664 or MX: 322-221-5128).

There is much more to say about the necessity of understanding how different the health care system is here than the one we were used to before we came to Mexico!
For example, with few exceptions:        

Doctors here don’t keep your medical records – you must!

Doctors here didn´t learn English as their first language. Use your international In Case of Emergency card to help them spell your name correctly and learn your health history!

Doctors here won’t give you a receipt unless you ask for one.


Doctors here won’t accept insurance for payment. They expect to be paid in cash.
      

Hospitals here will accept your international health insurance for payment provided you get a Guarantee of Payment from your insurance provider. You or someone speaking on your behalf will need to contact your insurance provider to get this done.

If you don’t have a local doctor, contact Pamela Thompson and get one before you need one!
pamela@healthcareresourcespv.com
Tel: 044-322-107-7007
www.HealthCareResourcespv.com
 

If you don´t have international health insurance and emergency medical evacuation protection, contact Mike Altman at www.PV-Health.com  
MikeAltman@PV-Health.com   
Tel: USA: 949-720-1664   
MX: 322-221-5128

Be sure to register with your consular agent. They can assist in locating appropriate medical services and communication with your family or friends back home.  If necessary, a consular officer can also assist in the international transfer of funds to pay for your care and, in the worst case, repatriating your mortal remains.

Most importantly remember: We are all in this together!
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Why We Love Life in Mexico.... (Part 456 in an infinite series of parts)

9/13/2014

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A friend of mine who lives Guayabitos called to share one of those “bad news/good news” stories that I just have to pass along.

The bad news is that his wife slipped, fell and messed up her knee. She tried to ignore the pain and avoid seeing a doctor for a couple of days. Then, her knee gave out and she fell again! She went to see her local doctor who examined her knee including an MRI - which cost less than a third of what it would in the USA.

The amazingly good news is that the next morning the doctor drove my friend and his wife 60 miles in his personal car to a hospital in Tepic and a day later drove them home!

The really good news is that my friend’s wife is recovering nicely from her surgery.

This is just another example of the extraordinarily caring treatment we receive from the medical community in Mexico.

Do you think there is a doctor in the USA or Canada who would transport a patient in his personal car over 120 miles to and from the hospital?  

When somebody asks why we love life in Mexico, tell them that Mexican doctors treat us like people, not patients or (worse yet) cases!

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    1. Health Insurance that works in Mexico and the world; and
    2. Navigating the health care delivery system here.

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