H Hospital San Jose del Cabo

[easyrider]

We were on our last week In Cabo and my wife tripped over a cobblestone which sent her down and on top of a cactus. She had multiple cactus spines punctures and a dozen or so cactus spine slivers under her skin. The resort nurse was no help and probably made matters worse by pushing splinters in deeper. I called a friend who lives in Cabo and his wife recommended H Hospitial near San Jose del Cabo. She said that most of the expats go here. I was told this hospital can bill Medicare.

We then went to H Hospital which is a very clean and English speaking facility. There are differences but overall it was a good experience. The doctor worked on my wife for about three hours. Our total visit lasted about four hours. This visit also included xrays. The total cost was about $800 for the hospital charges and doctors charges. The doctor could get all of the slivers out but did get the largest slivers out. We were told to let the slivers encapsulate under the skin so they would be easier to remove.

We decided to go home and were lucky to get the only seats available for the next day with the help of Alaska Airlines who really went above and beyond for us. The two seats were a first class upgrade.Today is Presidents Day and our doctors office isn't open so a trip to the ER is happening after another cup of coffee.

The bummer part of this trip , besides the cactus, is my friend who lives in Cabo has a boat and the dorado and tuna are on the bite. We did go out a few times in the Pacific so the younger family members could catch marlin which were released after a picture. The other bummer is it is cold here. The good things about coming home outweigh the bummers. I can tell we are both happy that we can go to our ER and that we are home. There is nothing better than home and family, imo.

Bill

 

[CalGalTraveler]

OMG...what a freak accident! I hope your wife is not in too much pain. And recovers quickly.

Did the H Hospital bill U.S. Medicare? I heard that Medicare doesn't work internationally unless you have a Medicare Advantage program.

 

[Passepartout]

Bill, as one with far more experience with foreign medical care, please believe, I understand. Kudos to Alaska Air to get you home as quickly as they did. Also to H Hospital for your wife's care. Here's to wishing her a speedy and complete recovery.

We are now 14 months past when Paula fell on an uneven sidewalk in Mazatlan and breaking her (dominant) right arm. The bone break still has not healed, and likely will not ever. We had travel insurance, so never sweated our own Medicare Advantage coverage. The hospital did require pay upon her discharge, but reimbursement was almost instantaneous.

All the best to your wife, and to you. Keep your TUG family in the loop.

Jim

 

[easyrider]

OMG...what a freak accident! I hope your wife is not in too much pain. And recovers quickly.

Did the H Hospital bill U.S. Medicare? I heard that Medicare doesn't work internationally unless you have a Medicare Advantage program.

I used a credit card to pay the bills and plan on turning this cost over to our trip insurance. I'm not sure how Medicare works on Mexico but there were expats going in for lab work while we were there. My friends wife told us to go this hospital saying most of the expats do.

Bill

 

[easyrider]

We left our ER and the ER doctor said that it was a surgeon at H Hospital that did the work and it will be a surgeon here that will complete the cactus spine removals. Since it's a Holiday we will go in tomorrow. This is the cactus that got us at check in.

Bill

 

[easyrider]

 

[Passepartout]

I used a credit card to pay the bills and plan on turning this cost over to our trip insurance. I'm not sure how Medicare works on Mexico but there were expats going in for lab work while we were there. My friends wife told us to go this hospital saying most of the expats do.

Bill

OK, so you've notified the travel insurance, and gotten home? This is the first step. Then this insurance will handle billing additional insurance. If you bought 'Primary' travel insurance, that's where it ends. If not primary, they wait until whatever other insurance pays, then they pay up to whatever your policy limits are.

 

[amycurl]

I am so sorry to hear this. The moral of these stories seems to be: mind your step over uneven ground/pavement in Mexico. I am sorry, @Passepartout, that the diagnosis is that your wife's arm will never heal properly. How scary! And I am glad, @easyrider, that you found good care both in Mexico and at home. Hope all will be well with her tomorrow!

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Ouch! That looks like one mean cactus.

 

[easyrider]

Ouch! That looks like one mean cactus.

Yup. I don't know why anyone would place these near an entry way or any public place with alot of foot traffic. Especially near uneven paver stones. The Hacienda Encantada isn't the only business with these cactus in areas where people can get hurt. Costco in Cabo has these all over the parking lot dividers and other businesses use them too.


Bill

 

[ilene13]

I am sorry to hear this. My husband and I were in Cozumel last year. It was the first stop on a 16 day cruise. We went on an ATV jungle excursion. Unfortunately they used 3 wheelers (banned in the US) instead of 4 wheelers. We have done it many times on a 4 wheeler. It was off roading. The ATV swerved- my husband and I were both thrown off. The good news was that we went to the right and the ATV went to the left. I had a broken wrist and he had 3 broken ribs. They took us back to the ship- the dr there couldn't help (Viking Cruise). We were packed up- all our luggage and belongings and taken to Amerimed Hospital. The doctors there were terrific. Their English was fluent- although my husband is a physician and he went to medical school in Guadalajara. We were there about 6 hours. If we had been admitted they would have taken our Medicare and Secondary insurance. It was emergency room only. So I paid the $3500 fees via credit card. The bottom line my secondary insurance which is a traditional Blue Cross Blue Shield platinum plan has an international component. They paid all except $344. My travel insurance covered the balance.

 

[Janann]

I'm adding some additional information about the hospital in case anybody needs it someday. @easyrider, I can make corrections if needed.

Hospital location

Hospital H+ Los Cabos - Cuidamos + de ti

En el Hospital H+ Los Cabos ofrecemos servicios médicos de excelencia, con calidad, ética y trato humano. Tenemos un compromiso con la calidad y seguridad de pacientes, médicos y colaboradores. Cuidamos + de ti.

hmasloscabos.hospitalesmac.com

The website is available in English and Spanish.

 

[PamMo]

Wow! I wondered what the cactus story was in your other thread. I'm SO sorry to hear about your wife's tangle with the barrel cactus! What an awful experience at any time, but especially on vacation abroad! It's nice to read a good review of H+ Hospital. (My SIL had a bad experience with a different hospital in CSL after she tripped on an uneven pathway at GSLE.) I've always thought desert landscaping with beautiful spiny plants close to pathways is hazardous, but it's oh so common!

Glad to hear your wife is OK!

 

[easyrider]

(My SIL had a bad experience with a different hospital in CSL after she tripped on an uneven pathway at GSLE.)

The hospital that the few expats I spoke with recommended to not visit is St Lukes. I'm not sure why.

Bill

 

[jeff123]

The hospital that the few expats I spoke with recommended to not visit is St Lukes. I'm not sure why.

Technical Difficulties

 

[easyrider]

I finally spoke with the trip insurance people. Every thing seems ok. The one consideration is that if you come home from a trip the trip insurance coverage stops. For us it didn't matter as we could have stayed and had the same surgery in Mexico that we can have here.

Staying in Mexico would have been loads faster than going to the ER here. We waited in the ER for about 90 minutes. We waited in the ER room for another 30 minutes. The ER doctor said she couldn't do anything so we would need to speak to a surgeon. We waited for a referral for another 30 minutes. The surgeons office set an appointment for next week. The hospital surgeon was busy doing serious surgeries. We called our regular doctor to see if my wife could wait that long and apparently with no infection or other symptoms besides pain they say she can. I think we will hit all of the deductibles by the time this is over.

In Mexico, the surgeon said we could come back when ever we needed to or in two days. If we had stayed we would have been done with this yesterday. We would also have been in the nice weather. We also wouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket as the trip insurance is primary.

Reflecting on this situation I came to the conclusion that we should have stayed in Mexico.

Bill

 

[emeryjre]

Emergency rooms are not the best way to get into a hospital/doctor visit
Unless it is a true emergency
Number or reasons why
Your experience is an example

 

[jorcus]

Technical Difficulties

What a great resource! Thanks for posting that.

 

[easyrider]

Emergency rooms are not the best way to get into a hospital/doctor visit
Unless it is a true emergency
Number or reasons why
Your experience is an example

I decided to do this procedure myself. We are using a large syringe with a rubber suction tip, tweezers and a magnifying glass. So far we have removed 17 pieces of cactus. Most of the splinters are small cactus tips but one that was about 1.5 cm long. I can see there are other punctures that may be holding and as these particles swell and rise to the surface we will remove them. My helpers include a couple of family members. It looks like we might be canceling the appointment with the surgeon next week.

Bill

 

[KarenLK]

In February, my first full day in Cancun, I slipped on a wet walkway and broke my ankle. I was transported via taxi to the Amerimed Hospital in Cancun. I have an annual policy with Allianz with coverage up to 20,000 dollars for the year.
I needed surgery…3 breaks. This was on Sunday….it took until Tuesday to confirm my coverage, and I needed 15,000 dollars more…I put it on a credit card. i returned to my resort on Friday. Then I needed to arrange for my evacuation insurance…I had to wait for seats on a plane and a companion to get to Cancun. I was at the resort for 10 more days. When I got home I went directly to the ER and the next day was sent to a rehab facility…I am home but still need to wear the CAM boot for another month. I am so glad I purchased the insurance but next year I will buy 50,000 dollars coverage.

 

[klpca]

In February, my first full day in Cancun, I slipped on a wet walkway and broke my ankle. I was transported via taxi to the Amerimed Hospital in Cancun. I have an annual policy with Allianz with coverage up to 20,000 dollars for the year.
I needed surgery…3 breaks. This was on Sunday….it took until Tuesday to confirm my coverage, and I needed 15,000 dollars more…I put it on a credit card. i returned to my resort on Friday. Then I needed to arrange for my evacuation insurance…I had to wait for seats on a plane and a companion to get to Cancun. I was at the resort for 10 more days. When I got home I went directly to the ER and the next day was sent to a rehab facility…I am home but still need to wear the CAM boot for another month. I am so glad I purchased the insurance but next year I will buy 50,000 dollars coverage.

What a bummer!

 

[b2bailey]

I decided to do this procedure myself. We are using a large syringe with a rubber suction tip, tweezers and a magnifying glass. So far we have removed 17 pieces of cactus. Most of the splinters are small cactus tips but one that was about 1.5 cm long. I can see there are other punctures that may be holding and as these particles swell and rise to the surface we will remove them. My helpers include a couple of family members. It looks like we might be canceling the appointment with the surgeon next week.

Bill

OMG -- your wife is a trooper to undergo this at home.
Hopefully she had some form of pain reliever?