Costa Rica has a pretty decent healthcare system with many public hospitals and Ebais clinics. By becoming a legal resident, you will have access to this social healthcare system.
To obtain legal residency in Costa Rica you are obliged to register at the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social or C.C.S.S. This government-managed health care system has been doing a pretty good job for the middle and lower classes of CostaRica.
To see any doctors, you will need to start standing in line at 4:00 am. Sometimes, you will get an appointment 6 months later. The system works though, for those who do not have private healthcare insurance like I.N.S. or any other insurance company, you just need to be a bit patient and bring a book.
It doesn’t matter where you decided to live in Costa Rica. The time will come that you will need medical attention.
I hear from foreign retired people and expats that the Costa Rican public hospital system is a lot better than it is in many parts of the world. I really don’t know because I have been to a public hospital twice since 1980. The first time was to pick up my wife after giving birth to our kids. The second time was after an accident during a soccer game.
If you have decided to live outside the Greater Metropolitan area, you are too far away from private hospitals in case of an emergency, so the Hospitals of “the Caja” as we call the public hospitals, can be your lifesaving solution.
Ambulance services
Most ambulance services in Costa Rica are given by the Red Cross. They have over 600 ambulances at your service in Costa Rican territory. To call an ambulance or ambulancia, dial 911. There are also several private ambulance services throughout the country, you can read up on that in a separate blog.
Costa Rica public hospitals
The CCSS offers great healthcare through a chain of public hospitals in larger cities. At this moment, there are 29 Public hospitals in Costa Rica. Click here to see where they are located.
Ebais clinics
Furthermore, the CCSS also offers healthcare services in small local public hospitals or clinics, called Ebais. If you don’t have anything serious and you need simple medical attention or you have monthly prescriptions to fill, 760 Ebais are the solution to that.
Ebais is a local health clinic that is part of the CCSS. It was created to release some pressure off the hospitals. The Ebais clinics give medical attention, nurse services, shots, gynecology, pediatric and internal medicine.
There are Ebais everywhere, just Escazu offers 5 Ebais. So, when you rent or purchase a home in any city or town in Costa Rica, make sure you check first where your Ebais is located. Then contact us for expert real estate assistance.
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I DO want to remind our readers that we appreciate any referrals you can send us. Also, please remember the GoDutch Realty agents when you talk about your home in Costa Rica, we appreciate it.
