The Cost of Health in Guatemala
Posted on March 31, 2009 - Filed Under Guatemala | 13 Comments
This is a rather long article and I certainly haven`t covered everything here, but if you have further questions, leave them in the comments.
For anyone who is thinking about moving to Guatemala, health is a big concern. Most people are aware that a third world, tropical country is going to have a few nasty diseases kicking around and Guatemala is no exception.
Common ailments that happen around here include things like dysentery, the flu, dengue fever, GI tract infections, and in lower elevations, malaria. Fortunately, malaria and dengue fever are not that common, but they do occur, so it`s a good idea to make sure you don`t leave any water standing for more than two or three days.
Doctors
There are plenty of doctors to choose from in Guatemala. Finding a good one is the problem! When Dorian was born, we had a specialist for him, but were looking for a pediatrician. We went to FIVE different ones before we found someone who was ok. Not amazing, but ok. He prescribes antibiotics too often, in my opinion.
We now have a general doctor who charges about $6.50 per visit, is very communicative and a great doctor for kids and adults, plus he listens to you. There are no appointments though, so you show up early and have to wait your turn at the office. Most doctors here are like this.
Our doctor is very cheap. Depending on who you see and whether they speak English or not, you are looking at anything from $12.50 to $40 per doctor visit. I would suggest finding out who other expats are using and then trying different doctors until you find one you are comfortable with.
Dentists
The joys of having teeth. I`ve only been to the dentist twice here and we did find a decent one. But it took a long, long time. We spent an entire morning (4 hours!) trying to find someone who would simply fill a tooth for me the first time. Quotes ranged from $75-200! Finally, we found someone who`s rates were $6.50 for pulling the tooth, $13 for a simple filling. A very difficult tooth recently cost me $35 to get rid of. So, prices are all over the map for dental work and you`ll want to get several quotes. I recommend finding out who Guatemalans are using since they will probably be cheaper.
Hospitals: Private vs. Public
You have two options as a foreigner in Guatemala when it comes to hospitals, public or private. There is a third option, the worker`s hospital, but that isn`t open to non-residents. If you are married to a Guatemalan, look into this option since it is somewhere between the other two in quality . . . though it tends toward the lower end of the spectrum.
Public
Public hospitals are overcrowded, understaffed and abide by very strict rules. I had both my sons in public hospitals and have been hospitalized a total of three other times in the same public place. They frequently have only one or two doctors (when Dorian was born, not one single doctor was in the hospital!) overseeing a large number of students and interns.In many of these hospitals, equipment is rather out of date, as are techniques. I usually compare it to being hospitalized in the `50s in North America.They still do vertical C-sections, episiotomies, and family members are not allowed to accompany you except at visiting hours. Depending on the day and the hospital, visiting hours may be once or twice a day for one hour.
Each public hospital is quite different. The biggest one in the capital is supposed to be very good and have fairly up to date technology. The one in San Felipe (the closest public hospital to Antigua) is relatively decent, though I have had very bad experiences there. We once entered a hospital in Chimaltenango . . . or I did, since Irving wasn`t even allowed in the door. The waiting room was filthy, there was dried blood on the stretchers and I promptly walked out again! You do need to pick the best hospital possible if you go the public route.
Other things to know about the public hospital: No water is provided for drinking, you can either drink from the tap or wait for a family member to bring you bottled water. When you are admitted, your clothes and all belongings are removed and given to a family member, you can take NOTHING with you. However, during visiting hours, family members or friends can bring you just about anything you want. There is a small market outside most hospitals where you can purchase snacks, water, diapers, and soap and towels, etc. Friends and family have to check in at the door in order to visit you and there are no private rooms, only wards.
Public hospitals are free and provide basic health care. They provide very simple (very small!) meals and some medicine. If you are having a baby, you need to bring 2 baby diapers and 2 adult diapers with you into the hospital and they will often require your family to bring in any extra medicine that you might need.
Private
The private hospitals here are abundant and varying. If you have a specific doctor, you probably won`t have a choice in which hospital you go to . . . you`ll be heading to the one they work at. Otherwise, you can comparison shop. The Hospital Hermano Pedro is the most popular among foreigners. I`ve never been there, but you might want to pop over to Mark`s blog in a day or two, since I know he has more experience with private hospitals and will likely put up a post following this one.
Private hospitals are far from free and can knock you on your butt financially if you aren`t prepared! Dorian had two of his surgeries in a private hospital. They are, however, well worth the money spent. You can get a private room, family members can accompany you and there are real doctors to see you. These places are also very clean, quiet and have a very nice atmosphere. I don`t know the going rates, but when I was pregnant with Dorian, a natural birth was around $650, with a C-section being about $100 extra. For Dorian, we paid a total of $800 for his last surgery, the closing of his colostomy, which included a one night stay in the hospital, all his meds and a 6 hour surgery with three specialists. I think his previous surgery (anal reconstruction) was about $500, but he didn`t stay in the hospital, he went home a few hours after surgery.
Labs
Labs here are open to anyone. You can walk in and order any kind of test you like, urine, stool, blood, what have you. Results are often ready within an hour or two, depending on how busy the lab is . . . . cultures might take up to 48 hours.
Costs for common tests are as follows, though prices may vary depending on where you go:
Urine – $3-5
Stool – $3-5
Blood – $5-7
If you suspect a doctor is just going to send you for tests, you can have them done ahead of time and walk into the doctor`s office with results in hand and save a lot of time. We frequently do this.
Pharmacies
If you prefer to self-medicate, Guatemala is the place for you. You can literally buy anything without a prescription. As long as you know the name, or how to describe your symptoms, you can order medicine at the pharmacy and get it over the counter. Everything, including antidepressants, morphine, etc.
There are advantages to this system. You never have to go back to a doctor to get a refill prescription on a medication you`ll be using over and over. You can keep strong painkillers on hand, if that`s your thing, and if you already know what is wrong with you, you can just go to the pharmacy and cut out the middle man. This is particularly useful if you have had a lab test and don`t want to pay a doctor to tell you which meds to take in order to get rid of amoebas or parasites that are clearly stated right there on the paper.
Some pharmacies have doctors who will actually examine you right there in the shop, but most pharmacists can tell you which medicine you might need according to your symptoms. I suggest you take their advice with a grain of salt, however, because formal training is NOT required for this job!
No name brands will be cheaper than brand name meds. Brand name meds can cost up to ten times the price. If you know what you need, but not what the generic name is, you can ask and the pharmacist will look it up on the computer and tell you what the alternative is and how much it costs. Pharmacists will bring you the medicine you are inquiring about even if you only want to know the price. That doesn`t mean you have to buy it, you can say no thanks. If they don`t have it, often they will call another branch of their pharmacy to see if they have it in stock and will have someone drop it off for you.
A few prices to give you an idea:
Bottle of Tums – $3
Acetaminophen (30 tablets) – $1.50
Pepto Bismo (bottle) – $4
Hydrogen Peroxide – $0.05
Generic cough syrups – $2-10
Mebendozol (10 tablets, used for treating intestinal parasites) – $1-2
Metronidazole (10 tablets, used to treat amoebas) – $1-2
Next up in this cost of living in Guatemala series, I`ll talk about how much you`ll pay for a house around here.
Comments
13 Responses to “The Cost of Health in Guatemala”
Talk to Me, People!
what a great article. i’m printing it for when i move there!!!!!!!! plus, i’ll be bugging u about it more and more. see you soon:)
Sounds very Egyptian. Recently bought a treatment of name brand antibiotics (delivered after a call to the pharmacy) Zithromax for about $10. I have bought meds so cheap that the tip I give the delivery guy is half the price of the product! I’m going to miss these pharmacies! True, I can understand the problems of mis-use and abuse of easily available drugs. It is best to have educated advice, but if you’re responsible, it is so convenient!
Awesome, thanks for the info! Do you know anything about insurance in Guate? I had a surprise gall bladder removal surgery a couple mos. ago and man we were lucky that we had just gotten insured before that because the bill was like 5K or something. I just worry about something like that happening to one of us and not having money to pay. I was thinking the best alternative to insurance is to just open a money market account or other high interest account and put money away just for health expenses and then pull money out of there for anything health-related.
I got to watch one of those vertical c-sections at a public hospital in Huehuetenango because I was volunteering at a clinic in Xela and accompanied the doc on a trip there. Unfortunately, I also watched a woman give birth to an encephalic baby who died soon after birth.
The nurses at the hospital were really mean!! Probably underpaid and overworked though.
Birth expenses are pretty affordable there then! A natural birth in Japan costs $3500 at the very cheapest. Thankfully money from the govt. covers it in most cases.
Glad you found the article useful.
Health insurance is available through the banks here. Banco Agricola Mercantile has one that charges just under $40 a month. In most cases, you`re going to pay considerably less than that by just going to the doctor yourself. But like you mention, Kathleen, you would be in trouble if a huge medical expense comes up.
When Dorian was born, we had very little money and he needed a colostomy immediately. Luckily, Irving was covered by the worker`s hospital since he worked in a school and they were able to do the operation, since the public hospital didn`t have the facilities!
Just like the cost of eating post I LOVED this one too. Again, it was just another glimpse into the way of life over there. I can’t wait to read about the cost of living.
Will you be doing a post about how much someone makes a year over there? I know that’s kind of a really broad range but I’m curious to know what an annual income is like.
I probably will do a post on earning money. A lot of expats are wondering how to earn here, so I`ll cover local jobs, as well as working online like I do.
Most Guatemalans earn between $100-200 a month for a semi decent job.
Hello. I am new to your blog, so first I’ll start with the question I have…what is an expat? (Anyone other than a quate citizen?) Second, your blog is awesome. My husband is from Guatemala and while we currently live in the US, it is likely that within a year or two we’ll be packing up our little one and headed there. To be quite honest, I don’t know if I’m better off knowing what I am in for (after having read your (and Mark’s quateliving) blog) or if I should have just stayed ignorant as to what to expect:)But I am definately a new follower of your blog/life in Guatemala! thx!
Thanks for stopping by, Kimberly. Expat is short for “ex patriot” or basically someone who has left their country of birth behind. It`s not a term exclusive to Guatemala, anyone who lives in a country besides their home country is considered an expat.
You probably are better off knowing what to expect . . . at least now you can avoid some of the issues that Mark and I have faced! Like . . . don`t build your own house. lol, good luck!
Hello! The information you provide is good and very helpful and it’s pleasant to read too since it seems to be infused with your very down-to-Earth attitude.
I am a mom of five kids and my husband and I are seriously contemplating a year long move to Guatemala somewhere around 2010. We would be staying in the Itzapa area and working with Maya Pedal. Know anything about that?
Anyway thanks for posting. I will certainly be back!
Hello! thanks for posting your guatemalan experiences. My husband and I are seriously contemplating a year long move to the Itzapa area with our five kids to work for a volunteer project and your information has been very helpful and fun to read.
Sarah, that`s great! Another friend and I were just talking about Maya Pedal yesterday.
I don`t know a lot about it, just what is on their website, but it`s a great idea and I really hope it goes far. Let me know when you guys get down here and we can meet up for coffee or something.
Do you have any information about elementary schools for children of expats? In August 2010, we are moving to Antigua for one year and need to find a school for our 7 year old. Thank you.
I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog!
Antoinette, you might want to check out Colegio Boston and Colegio Bilingue, those are two popular schools here for foreigners.