The Doctor Who Comes to the House
When my father needed a doctor in Mexico, one came to the house.
When my father needed a doctor in Mexico, one came to the house. I remember paying about 1,000 pesos for a visit. At today's rate that is about US$56.
I wanted to know whether that was a usual price, so I looked at what the booking platforms list. The pesos below are converted at 17.96 to the dollar. The euros are converted at 1.126 dollars to the euro. Both are the Xe mid-market rates for 6 October 2026.
These are prices that companies publish, not statistics. They change with the hour, the district and the doctor.
| Where | What | Price | About US$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico City | What I paid, from memory | About 1,000 pesos | 56 |
| Mexico City | Typical house call on platforms | 1,200 to 1,800 pesos | 67 to 100 |
| Mexico | Range across platforms | 800 to 2,500 pesos | 45 to 139 |
| Mexico | Office visit to a general doctor, average, for comparison | About 700 pesos | 39 |
| Spain | House call, daytime, one provider | 120 to 250 euros | 135 to 282 |
| Spain | House call, night or holiday, same provider | 180 to 350 euros | 203 to 394 |
| Madrid | General medicine home visit, "from" | 68 euros | 77 |
| Portugal | House call | No published price |
The Mexico City platforms listed arrival times of 30 to 120 minutes. Home physiotherapy was listed at 650 to 1,400 pesos a session, about US$36 to US$78. A home nurse for a basic two-hour visit was listed at 240 to 400 pesos.
Spain costs more per visit in these listings. The Madrid "from" price came from a clinic page with no date, so the Spanish range is the sturdier figure. For Portugal, no house-call price is published. A family there could ask a clinic or a neighbor.
The State Department says Medicare does not cover medical costs outside the United States. A house call abroad is likely a payment from the family's own pocket unless a private policy says otherwise. Which private policies pay for visits at home is a question for the insurer, in writing. What tests can be done at the house, and how prescriptions are handled, is a question for a doctor.
You could…
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Ask a local doctor or a neighbor which service they use, and what it charges, before you need it.
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Keep the clinic's phone number and a short list of medicines near the door.
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Ask your insurer in writing whether it pays for visits at home abroad.
Who comes to the house where you live, and what does a visit cost? Share it here. Someone reading may be looking for the same answer in Spain or Portugal.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Sources: cuantomecuesta.com Mexico and Spain (May 2026); SaludOnNet (undated); Cronoshare physiotherapy and nurse pages; Xe currency tables, 6 October 2026; US Department of State, Your Health Abroad (August 2025). My own price is what I paid.
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