Health insurance in Costa Rica

It depends on your visa. The Digital Nomad "Estancia" visa (Ley 10008) legally requires private international health insurance with a minimum of USD 50,000 in medical coverage for the full stay — and explicitly bars CAJA enrollment. Every other resident visa (Pensionado, Rentista, Inversionista, Family Reconciliation, Permanent Residency, Work Permit) requires mandatory CAJA enrollment once your cedula issues, typically USD 80–500/month based on declared income. Private cover isn't legally required on those visas, but most expats carry it to skip CAJA's 6–18 month specialist waits and to bridge the cedula gap.

Yes. Our plans meet the Digital Nomad Estancia visa's legal requirement for private international health insurance with USD 50,000+ medical coverage valid for the full 1-year stay, and exceed what Migracion typically requests on Pensionado, Rentista, Inversionista, and student visa applications. We include medical repatriation coverage and provide your insurance certificate in both English and Spanish so it's accepted at Migracion, though officially certified Spanish translations require a Costa Rican Traductor Oficial.

Yes — and for most resident visa categories it's not optional. Every legal resident with a cedula must enroll in CCSS ("La Caja") and contribute monthly, regardless of nationality. Once enrolled, you get GP and specialist care, hospitalization, surgery, maternity, and free medications from the official list. The only exception is the Digital Nomad Estancia visa, which is legally a long-stay tourist permit and explicitly bars CAJA enrollment. Tourists have no public coverage — emergency care at public hospitals is billable.

Pay your doctor or hospital, then open the Feather app, take a photo of your invoice, and submit. We handle the rest and reimburse you directly to your bank account. No paper forms, no Spanish-language documents needed.

Yes — English-speaking care is widespread in private hospitals in San Jose, Escazu, Santa Ana, and Heredia (Hospital CIMA and Clinica Biblica are both JCI-accredited and have large English-speaking staff), as well as in expat-heavy areas like Tamarindo, Nosara, Atenas, Grecia, Ojochal, Jaco, and Quepos/Manuel Antonio. Many Costa Rican physicians are US-trained or have done residencies abroad. With Feather, you can see any licensed doctor in Costa Rica — we don't restrict you to a network.

Because CAJA is mandatory but slow. Every resident with a cedula must enroll in CCSS and pay USD 80–500/month based on declared income — but specialist appointments and elective surgery routinely run 6–18 month waits, and adult dental is barely covered. The dominant expat strategy is a "CAJA + private" hybrid: use CAJA for chronic medications, emergencies, and major hospitalization (where it's genuinely excellent), and pay private for routine specialist care, dental, and faster access. Private insurance also covers the 6–14 month gap between visa approval and cedula issuance, when you have no public access at all.