Will Your Medical Insurance Cover Air Evacuation from Mexico?

When you’re planning for medical and healthcare coverage on a visit to Mexico, you’ve probably considered travel insurance for short trips, and healthcare coverage options for longer visits.  Medical evacuation may not immediately spring to your mind but if you or a member of your family become engulfed by a critical medical situation, it will provide essential support through what would amount to very difficult circumstances.

If your visit to Mexico is of a short-term nature, you’ll probably have a travel insurance policy issued in your home country that provides defined coverages for a limited period—usually not exceeding 60 or 90 calendar days. These coverages vary enormously, and while many include some form of medical repatriation, this may have strings attached which limit the circumstances under which an expensive repatriation would be agreed by the insurance company.

If you come to Mexico for a longer period —for example, on a volunteer job, on a sabbatical, or to live here for an extended stay— short term travel insurance policies won’t cover you, and local healthcare policies which are ideal for treatment in-country don’t cover medical repatriation costs.

Having a medical evacuation insurance plan with transport to your home hospital of choice secured in advance of a medical emergency is critical in several circumstances.

As we explained in a related article, the out-of-pocket costs of medical repatriation are high—indeed, out of practical financial reach for most people.

If you’re visiting Mexico for a short-term or defined period, you might be covered by a health insurance scheme or policy in your home country while you’re here—but you’ll need to be there to avail yourself of the service. Commercial airlines won’t fly you home if you’re in a critical medical condition.

When you’re in Mexico for a longer period, you might have a private healthcare policy (or possibly IMSS) that provides adequate healthcare coverage while you’re here; but in circumstances where you become critically ill or injured, there’s an additional benefit in being able to return home once you’re stabilized: to your own doctors, a local hospital, and close to where family members can attend and provide support as you convalesce.  Common healthcare insurance policies that cover local medical care won’t include a provision to fly you home; instead they will fly you to the “nearest suitable facility” which may leave you far from home and wondering what to do next.

Medical repatriation encompasses a great deal more than a private flight out of Mexico.  It involves an accredited team of medical professionals and specially trained medical transport specialists coordinating complex logistics between doctors, hospitals, airports and government agencies—all the while keeping your family members apprised throughout the evacuation effort.

The price of a medical evacuation insurance plan is affordable, and coverages offer good value considering exceptional support it provides—plus the peace of mind knowing that, in the event of a critical medical emergency touching you or your family, you’ll get back to your home without having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical evacuation fees.

Be prepared and learn more about your health and medical care options on our healthcare section, as well as get insights about the services and costs of medical evacuation from Mexico on our detailed medical evacuation guide.