Technical article

What Public Health Care Costs a Retiree in Mexico and Uruguay

They want to know what the public system would ask of them, and what it would not cover.

By Neil Solomon · 5 min read

Picture a couple named Dale and Ruth. Dale is 63 and Ruth is 61. They are thinking about living in Mexico or Uruguay for a few years. They do not want a policy from a company back home. They want to know what the public system would ask of them, and what it would not cover.

I read the official pages for both countries. Mexico gave me more detail than Uruguay did. I will say where each page stopped.

Mexico: the IMSS family health insurance

The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) sells a voluntary plan called the Seguro de Salud para la Familia. The page says it is for families "que no cuenten con un esquema de seguridad social", which means people with no social security cover of their own. You pay once a year, in advance. The page says the fees apply from 1 March 2026.

The page shows these amounts with a peso sign and no currency code. I read them as MXN. My arithmetic: 20,600 a year is about MXN 1,717 a month, and 22,150 is about MXN 1,846 a month.

Medical services start on the first day of the month after you join. You may join at any time of year. The page says IMSS will not return any of the payment, in whole or in part.

Who it leaves out. This is the part I would read twice. The IMSS procedure page says people with existing illnesses cannot be insured. Its examples are malignant tumours, long-term degenerative diseases, chronic kidney failure and heart failure. It says the list is only examples. It also lists alcohol addiction, psychosis and HIV-positive status.

What it covers late, or not at all. The same page says waiting times apply to the conditions in article 83 of the regulation, and that conditions in article 84 are not covered. I read both articles in the regulation published on the Chamber of Deputies site. The page has no date.

Article 84 does not cover, among other things: glasses, contact lenses and hearing aids; dental treatment except extractions, fillings and cleaning; and "tratamiento de padecimientos crónicos que requieran control terapéutico permanente", which means long-term conditions that need constant treatment. It also leaves out check-ups you ask for yourself and the after-effects of strokes or injuries that happened before you joined.

A second IMSS page says that foreign nationals with legal residence may join the social security system voluntarily, under article 84 of the Social Security Law. That page lists no fees and no date. It is a different route from the family plan above, and the pages do not show how the two fit together.

Uruguay: the national health insurance and the mutual

In Uruguay, most people use a mutual (a mutualista), a private non-profit health provider, or the state provider, ASSE. The national health insurance pays the mutual for people who qualify.

The Social Insurance Bank (BPS) page for retirees says "Son beneficiarios del Seguro Nacional de Salud todos los jubilados", meaning all retirees who draw a Uruguayan pension. The rate depends on the total of those pensions and on family:

The page gives the BPC as 6,864 with no currency code and no date. My arithmetic: 2.5 BPC is 17,160. The page was last updated on 11 June 2026.

I cannot say whether this applies to someone who retires from abroad on a foreign pension. The page is about retirees with pensions paid in Uruguay.

ASSE has a second route. The ASSE page lists a monthly fee ("cuota ASSE") for people above the income limit for free care. It also says someone with no residence permit "podrá ser beneficiario de ASSE mediante el pago de una cuota mensual". For a resident, the page asks for a residence certificate (or a certificate that the residence application is in progress), a migration certificate, an identity document and proof of income for the household. It was last updated on 9 April 2026.

What is left open

• The monthly fee of the ASSE route. The page names it and gives no amount.
• The monthly price of a mutual for a retiree with no Uruguayan pension. The Ministry of Public Health price page would not open for me.
• Whether the IMSS family plan accepts people who are not Mexican citizens. The page says "families in Mexico" and does not mention nationality.
• Waiting times in Uruguay. None appears on the pages read.