IESS - Medical Insurance in Ecuador

Since I now have my Cedula I am eligible to apply for medical insurance in Ecuador. The medical insurance I am applying for is through Ecuador's Social Security system (i.e., not private medical insurance). 

If you work in Ecuador you automatically pay into the Social Security system. For expats, we are required to pay $72 per month. Bo and Linda mentioned that their's cost $81.63 ($11.59 more for Linda as a dependent). This includes full medical, dental and optical. I think there are some exceptions like cosmetic surgery that are not covered. And I think that some medications are not covered or not completely covered. But since I am new to this, the specifics will have to wait until later.

So, the other night Nieve helped me sign up online. The IESS website is in Spanish so it was a great help in having Nieve along for the ride. In fact it was even difficult for the both us to find the correct link in the menu system to make the application. To help with that go to the IESS website, look at the bottom of the page and hover your mouse pointer over "Personas Independientes" and then select "Generar clave por primera vez". Then follow the prompts. And of course you will need your Cedula number to complete the application.

I signed up on Oct 12th. Nieve says I will have to start paying next month. I am not sure how this payment will take place but I will update this page when I find that out. 

UPDATE - January 26, 2015:  The payments are happily come out of my Banco Pichincha account here in Cuenca. Fortunately, I have not had cause to avail myself of the IESS services.