P.E.I. man suffers medical crisis in Mexico, faces challenges due to expired insurance

A Maritimer whose travel insurance expired is dealing with medical bills in a Mexican hospital.

The family of 65-year-old Robert Wagner is doing everything they can to keep him alive, as he faces a medical crisis far from home.

Wagner travelled to Mexico with his partner, a place they typically go in the winter months.

He left his home in Summerside, P.E.I., on Nov. 4, 2025, and was in Mexico for nearly two months before he called his son on Dec. 28 to tell him he wasn’t feeling well.

“We booked him a flight for the next morning to come home. He collapsed at the gate, the Air Canada gate,” says his son, Rob Wagner.

“Puerto Vallarta Hospital took him by ambulance to a private hospital.”

He says his father suffered an aortic aneurysm and needed immediate surgery.

“We’re several centimeters past what would be considered critical in requiring medical intervention. If he doesn’t get something soon, that’s going to rupture, and he’ll die within minutes,” he says.

But Wagner’s Air Canada travel insurance has expired.

His son says it only provided coverage for 30 days.

“It’s something we probably should have topped up (in) hindsight, but that’s just the situation that we’re in,” he says.

• Download the CTV News App for breaking news alerts and video on all the top stories

The Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada says it’s a cautionary tale for Canadians about the importance of getting medical coverage before travelling abroad, and even within Canada.

“It’s unfortunate when situations like this come up because the impact is real. We see individuals sometimes forgetting to get coverage entirely or forgetting that if they’re going to stay longer … they need to call and extend and make sure that it covers them right up until their return date back to Canada,” says Will McAleer, the association’s executive director.

McAleer says travel insurance is designed for unexpected emergencies, especially in countries with exorbitant medical costs.

“The risk is so large for a medical emergency happening abroad, whether that’s in the United States, where we see some of the highest costs on the planet, or in places like Mexico, where what we’ve seen is very much close to health-care costs similar to the United States,” he says.

“We saw about a 27 per cent increase in desires to go to places like Mexico this winter. It’s a real risk. You want to make sure not only have you got the proper travel insurance in place, but you’ve got all the assisted services to go along with that. So help’s there when you need it the most.”

Wagner’s son says the hospital in Puerto Vallarta told him surgery would cost more than $100,000.

“I don’t have the cash to pay this up front. We’re not wealthy folks, and the amounts that they want at that hospital are staggering,” he says.

“When we didn’t get enough of it together, (the hospital) would cancel the surgery or postpone it and they kept doing this for about a week or so. We spoke to some outside medical professionals who suggested that we get out of that hospital.”

“As it stands, we’re looking to get an ambulance now for transportation to another city where we’ve spoken with a surgeon, and we’re hoping to get the surgery within the next few days. We’re still trying to scratch up the funds required. We do have a GoFundMe that’s going right now. And it’s been great. Everybody’s been very wonderful with helping us out, but we’re not still quite there yet.”

CTV News reached out to Air Canada for confirmation on travel insurance details but has not received a response.

For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.