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[quote=”costaricafinca”] You must be a legal resident to join CAJA.[/quote]
As of April 1, 2010 you must join CAJA before you submit your documents for residency. They are now looking for your cedula and proof of current payment.
[quote=”fredo”]I’ve searched for the answer and came up blank. Maybe I’m searching wrong. It seems like the answer should be here.
Anyway, how much does the required Caja that covers healthcare cost? My landlord, who’s interested in CR, asked and I couldn’t answer. HELP![/quote]
Some are saying it is a percentage of income but I find that to be untrue.
For my wife we pay 15,125 colones or about $30 to $31 per month. For myself we pay 32,250 colones or about $65 per month. This is somewhat under 1/4 of the 13% others claim.
I would think you landlord will pay under $100 per month.
Aside from the normal preventive care with appointments every six months my wife was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in January 2009 and just got out of the hospital after a series of heart attacks while I had bad run with appendicitis, peritonitis, hernia and septic infection.
My wife is cancer free and recovering from putting three stents in her heart veins while I am recovering nicely and will go back to have the abdominal wall strengthened in July.
My wife’s coronary surgeon is among the best in the world and has a private pracice as well as doing heart surgery for CAJA.There is no additional cost for clinic visits, hospitalization or any generic meds. If you require meds that have no generic equivalent they can be bought through the local pharmacies or ordered from the States.
We are totally happy with CAJA and I see it being as good or better than what you get in the States.
[quote=”maravilla”] isn’t costa rica basically socialist? how can anything be worse than living under capitalism?[/quote]
Costa Rica is basically socialist in perspective. While I admit there are problems here it is better than living in the States.
The problems in the States aren’t due to the economic system. It’s what the government has become. Congress is becoming totally disfunctional and this Ryan Roadmap to economic recovery is basically handing the economy over to the wealthy.:cry:Funny thing is very little of what she thinks are concerns motivated us to move here. For 6 1/2 years we researched all around the Pacific Rim but a Tico coworker kept whispering in my ear “Try Costa Rica, try Costa Rica.”
Living in California we wanted to get away from severe earthquakes and we had gotten tired of living with our nation at constant war. Costa Rica became the focus of my research for the next two years and I couldn’t find anything to dislike.
Commitment to the environment, lack of military and a history of many small earthquakes but none larger than 6.5 were attractions as was the variety of micro-climates.
We finally made a trip down here for ten days in September 2006 to get a feel for the country. No tour setup for us that’s no way to find out what it’s like…we scheduled the flight, the rental car, the meetings with various people here and our lodging.
We fell in love with the country, the people and the climate and by the time we left we had signed a contract to buy the “perfect property” to close at my retirement in December 2007.
After moving here we started discovering the benefits of national health care, low taxes, lower, but now rising, cost of living.
Are there downsides? Yes, at first there are. Frustration with the slow speed at which things are done, complete change in culture, new language.
Now we are three years down the road, no longer frustrated, living within the culture and learning the languge.
Would we change what we have done? Not on your life. this is truly “PURA VIDA”.
[quote=”sprite”]Corporations have only one mandate; profit. Governments have only one goal; consolidation of power. They have no other. To assume otherwise is not only naive, it is dangerous.[/quote]
You are quite right.
There seems to be some confusion about the involvement of Transocean in the Gulf oil spill.
The spill occurred due to a lack of oversight by the U.S. Departmant of Minerals Management Service, poor performance and shortcutting by British Petroleum and it’s crew and improper cementing of the bore hole.
Transocean simply owned the drill rig and leased it to BP for the Macondo prospect.
[quote=”sprite”] You don’t own property as the the State can take it from you at any time. They can (and do) seize bank accounts and property daily. Mortgage foreclosures, credit card defaults and loss of jobs and income are all due to the banking cartels and their absolute control of money, wages, the economy and your standard of living. Everyone is forced to work to survive and live under this paradigm. And it is not necessary. If you do not understand this, the ignorance is yours.[/quote]
Americans have been watching as corporate America, the wealthy and the lobby industry have gained more and more control over congress over the past 40 years to the point that they now own your elected representatives.
Now, too late, they are waking up to the fact that they have been sold into the slavery you speak of with the complicity of the very people they elect to represent them.
Congress is never going to outlaw those who line their pockets and the only way out now is what you are seeing in the Middle East. All it will take now is the time for the majority of Americans to have their eyes fully opened.
Presidents cannot be blamed for what has happened since they are term limited. It is the members of congress, many of whom are elected term after term, who are to blame. As newer member are elected they see what is going on and end up marching to the beat of the same drum.
This has never been a concern for us. We bank in the States but use the ATM’s here to draw colones and only do business with colones whith the exception of a few odd transactions.
We end up drawing a minimum of $2,000 per month.
I w0ould recommend that you go with metal screening. We are replacing all of our nylon screen material with metal as they have become split due to various causes including pets, kids and strong winds.
[quote=”diecha”]We are bring a cat and dog into CR via TACA cargo. I have an agent on this end helping me with the paperwork, etc. We are having a difficult time finding a customs agency to clear them in San Jose. One we found wanted $1600, which is ridiculous. It tried to contact the vet on We Love Costa Rica , but they never responded. Does anyone have any contacts with customs agents or other vets that could help us on that end? I would appreciate any input. Thanks so much.[/quote]
Try Charlie Zeller at http://costaricamover.com/
Phone toll free: 1-866-245-6923
email: shiptocostarica@racsa.co.cr[quote=”diecha”]Yes, that is why I asked, because I have heard of patients having to go back to the states for treatment. I want to make sure I consider all possibilities. Thanks.[/quote]
Costaricafincas statement “Two years to wait for prostate surgery.” is not what we experienced. Donna was in the hospital for breast cancer surgery in under two weeks, waiting only for bed space. In general life threatening issues get primary consideration. I don’t know the circumstance of the situations that finca speaks of so I can’t comment on them.
If you have an appointment and you particular doctor has been called on an emergency you have to wait until the emergency is taken care of first. Donna experiened that for the first time last week after two years of follow-up and had to wait three hours before she was seen.
I had experienced the same type of issue with Kaiser-Permanente in the States.
Most expats who use the insured private care here do so because they want private rooms and private care and have the resources to pay for it.
[quote=”diecha”] Do you feel that the technology is also as good, such as the equipment, etc.? I would prefer to remain in CR if treatment is necessary, as well as saving $2000 per year on premiums if we get INS as supplemental to CAJA. Do you live in San Jose or a remote area? We will be in Playa Bejuco on the Central Pacific.[/quote]
We live about 10 miles due west of San Jose in Ciudad Colon. If you use Google Earth you can find our general location by searching for “villa colon costa rica”.
Our experience is with Hospital San Juan de Dios in San Jose and they are equipped with all the modern technology including nuclear medicine.
One of the cost saving factors in Caja is very little duplication of technology. San Juan de Dios is the primary surgical hospital in our area For me, surgery and after care was only there. For my wife’s cancer the surgey was performed at San Juan de Dios and her radiation therapy was at Hospial Mexico.
We both wear glasses and while the optometrist was at San Juan de Dios the optician services and glasses were obtained at Hospital Calderon Guardia.Finding your way around can be an issue if you don’t speak fluent Spanish. We are not yet fluent in speaking Spanish but we have a Tica friend who assists us in obtaining appointments and finding our way around.
My wife and I have been here for three years having come from California. We researched where we wanted to be for six years and concentrated on Costa Rica for three years.
We live on the opposite side of the Central Valley from Maravilla about 20 miles from the central mountain chain and the nearest volcano.
It is a very rare earthquake that reaches 6.5 and the frequency of earthquakes tends to prevent a large devastating earthquake. Most earthquakes are not even felt if you are moving about.
Using Google Earth you can find the location of the volcanoes and earthquakes on the left side of the window under gallery.
Most important in selecting where you want to live is avoiding river bottoms and very steep hillsides. Those are the ares where earthquakes and flooding cause the greatest damage.
[quote=”diecha”] My question is, how is the Costa Rican healthcare system for treating diseases such as cancer, heart disease, ets. We are healthy now, but you never know. I have full confidence in Cancer Centers in the States, but not sure if the treatment would be up to par in Costa Rica. Any opinions on that? Any personal experience?[/quote]
The doctors and treatment are as good in Costa Rica as they are in the States. Doctors are educated in the States, Europe or at the University of Costa Rica utilizing the English language.My wife and I depend solely on Caja and our cost is approximately $100 per month combined.
She was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in January 2009 and had a lumpectomy, 33 radiaton therapy treatments and is cancer free. Followup visits are every three months.
I suffered appendicitis rupture, peritonitis and hernia last November and consider my care and treatment to be excellent.Cost saving strategies include:
In the hospitals there are no private rooms. They utilize men’s and women’s suites consisting of four dormitories each, each dormitory contains eight to ten beds.
Each suite shift is staffed by a doctor, charge nurse, 1 nurse plus nurses aides per dormitory plus labor crew for cleaning and general assistance.If you have further questions that I might be able to answer you may PM me.
