Costa Rica Expat Living: My First Experience Of Using Caja (CCSS) :

When you are an expat in a foreign country, your worst nightmare is falling ill or getting injured. In some cases, you are living alone, so you don’t have your family to visit you in the hospital and take care of you. And even if you are living with your family, it’s not the same as your home country. One is generally more comfortable in his/her home country and knows how the system works.

And as someone who knows Spanish very little, I had my reservations about using the public healthcare facilities in Costa Rica. One of my friends told me she visited a private clinic once, and the doctor didn’t know English. She ended up taking a steroid injection because of the language barrier and miscommunication. This experience of hers made me fear the language barrier more.

Therefore, I signed myself up for private insurance last year. I have been visiting private clinics for over a year and always request an English-speaking doctor. It was not until recently that I was speaking to an Indian friend of mine who was telling me how smooth her experience of going to EBAIS was. And how she could find an English-speaking doctor there. It is at that moment that I decided to try it out myself.

There were many factors that influenced my decision. Firstly, my husband is contributing a lot to Caja (CCSS) every month, so it’s only fair that I use the services. Secondly, we are not expected to pay the doctor’s fee at CCSS, so there is no harm in visiting the nearest EBAIS for a feasibility check. And lastly, though private insurance is faster and more reliable, you do end up paying some amount from your pocket, whereas Caja is free.

What is CCSS or Caja?

For the unversed, CCSS refers to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social or the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, commonly known as Caja. It is a government institution that provides healthcare services and social security to the residents of Costa Rica. The CCSS is funded by contributions from employees, employers, and the government.

CCSS ensures that all residents of Costa Rica have access to affordable and high-quality healthcare through a network of healthcare facilities. It also manages social security programs, including pensions and disability benefits.

The CCSS provides coverage to both employed and unemployed individuals, as well as retirees and dependents. It is also open to expatriates who have obtained residency status in the country.

My experience of using CCSS

I was already registered with Caja as a dependent. So I decided to visit the nearest EBAIS clinic at 11 am on a Friday. For this, I asked one Costa Rican friend if she could assist me in the process as it would be difficult for me to use a translator for every sentence exchanged. When I reached EBAIS, I was told that I have to go to a bigger clinic (Clínica Lic. Jorge Volio) and register myself with the nearest EBAIS. I reached Clínica Lic. Jorge Volio at 11.30 and got in the queue.

The lady registered me in the nearest EBAIS and told me that I could book an appointment for the next day through the app called EDUS or go back to the EBAIS near my house and get a coupon for the appointment. She advised me to collect a coupon as that was a faster and more reliable method of obtaining an appointment. It was 12.40 pm when I returned to EBAIS, and I immediately got in the queue. My friend had left by then.

Using a translator, I could understand that only 16 coupons would be distributed for appointments on Monday. And the coupon distribution would start at 2 pm. It was only 12.40 pm so I had another hour to wait. I started to count the number of people ahead of me, and if I could make it to the 16 LUCKY people. I figured I was probably the 13th or so.

At 1.45 pm, a lady came out and started distributing coupons. Before handing out the coupon, she was asking if the appointment would be for general medicine or odontology. There were a few people for odontology (which I was not aware of earlier), and I could make it to number 9. At 2 pm, everyone formed a queue to get to the window where a slip with the appointment timing was being handed out. I got an appointment for 9 am on Monday!

My biggest fear all along was if the doctor spoke English!

I reached EBAIS at 8.45 am on Monday and gave my slip at the window. They kept the slip and asked me to wait in the hall. Soon after, I was called for a pre-examination. The attendant measured my weight, my blood pressure, and asked me a few questions. He then asked me to wait. At around 9 am I was called in the room by the doctor. I greeted her in Spanish and asked if she spoke English. To my relief, she said YES!

I explained my problem to her, and she did a quick examination of me and prescribed some medicines. By this time it was 9.30 am. I went to the medicines counter and showed the prescription she gave me. The attendant started telling me something in Spanish. I told him that I didn’t understand what he was saying, and took out my phone for translation. After a few exchanges, I could understand that I would not be able to collect the medicines at that point in time and that I had to return at 11.30 am. I asked him the reason for this, and he told me that they needed time to assemble the medicines.

I went back at 11.30 am and asked someone what I had to do to collect the medicines. He told me that I had to collect my token number and get in the queue. I got in the queue with the token number 9 in my hand. I could see that the queue was moving fast. Soon I was at the medicines counter and was relieved to see the attendant getting up to get my medicines on seeing my prescription. Well, that was pretty quick! I was back home by 10.15 am.

Key takeaways from my experience

Below are a few takeaways from my experience. The experience may or may not be the same for the EBAIS clinic near your home.

You have to register yourself with the EBAIS clinic near your home.

Once you have registered yourself, you can sign up on the EDUS app.

The EDUS app has a very limited number of slots. I was told that we have to try booking at 6 am, or we won’t be able to find any slots.

The EBAIS clinic near me hands out 16 coupons every day at 2 pm for the next day’s appointments.

You can only get appointments for the next day whether through the app or through the coupons. In the case of Friday, you get an appointment for Monday.

Based on my experience, it is quite likely that the doctor will speak English. In my case, the attendant (who did the pre-examination) spoke English too.