www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I am planning to retire in Costa Rica and I am wondering what the best options for health insurance are while I am waiting for my residency to be approved.

Plan a trip to coincide with the ARCR monthly seminar. Two days held in San Jose, generally on the last Thursday/Friday of the month for $140 + VAT. The price includes lunches and coffee breaks. A wide variety of topics are covered including insurance options.
https://arcr.cr/monthly-seminar/

You can also read back copies of their magazine here:
https://arcr.cr/magazine/

The Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) has been around a long time and can provide some good information and discounts. They used to be a lot more active before the founder was abducted off the streets of San Jose and held for 5 weeks chained by the neck to a tree for $50,000 in bitcoin as ransom, but that's another story.
https://ticotimes.net/2015/10/23/50000- ... kidnappers

I used them to file for residency and administer my CCSS enrollment/payments.

_________________
If you lose your temper you’re phucking yourself - Garcia Marquez

I just spoke with my INS agent regarding private health insurance with INS. He said that you can’t get any INS health insurance until your residency is approved (with approval number) but the coverage is limited. Once you have the Cedula in hand then you can get more inclusive coverages. In both cases one will need a medical exam and any pre-existing conditions could be excluded. I don’t know about other private CR insurance companies.

One thing you can do is get a travel insurance policy from a USA company. I have used IMGlobal Patriot health insurance when traveling outside CR (ie, Colombia, Argentina and etc) and it is pretty reasonable. A friend broke his arm in Cuba and he had to pay in the spot but IMG reimbursed him in full and quickly. Another friend did used them while he was awaiting residency approval - thankfully he has not needed their services. It doesn’t require a medical exam and it does not exclude pre-existing conditions. I’m sure there are other good companies as well but I just have first hand knowledge of this one. Worth looking into ….

Finally, MediSmart. You can get it now with or without residency. It is a plan offered by Hospital Metropolitano that covers doctor visits, exams (x-ray, CT scans, colonoscopies and etc), blood tests and some prescription at a very significant discount (between 20% and 80% depending on the procedure or type doctor). There is an annual cost of about $150 (or one can pay monthly) and one can apply and pay online. Others can be added to the primary account for a discount. The list of doctors and clinics is always increasing as is about 1,000 now. Surgeries are typically not included. I have used it for as long as it has been available and I pay for the annual fee in the savings from 2 or 3 doctor visits. Appointments can be made online easily and often for the same or next day. Example - I had a colonoscopy in October for $280 soup to nuts. There is nothing to file. I strongly suggest that anyone that lives here in CR with or without CAJA or private insurance have Medismart. Info at: medismart.net.

I hope this helps.

Woozo