Nearly 40 percent of U.S. health care consumers said they would travel outside the country to save money on medical care of similar quality, Deloitte found in a 2008 survey. Another Deloitte fact sheet states that: “In 2007, an estimated 
750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care; this number is anticipated to increase to six million by 2010.”
Medical tourism is not only for those seeking major surgery. Lower-priced dental procedures are a strong lure for middle class consumers in the United States to travel to destinations such as Mexico. Mexican dentists often charge one-fourth to one-fifth of U.S. prices, according to this story in the Washington Post.
A 2008 study by the Mexican government of Americans and Canadians living in Mexico showed that:
- 85 percent said health care costs less than in the U.S., and
- 66 percent said the quality of care is the same or better than in the U.S.
Depending on the procedure, the expense of traveling to Mexico could easily be recouped several times over by a drastically reduced medical bill. The average cost of a coronary bypass in the United States is about $150,000; the average cost in Mexico is just over $20,000, InsideMexico reported in an article about the 2008 study.
‘Health City’ Planned. Looking to ride the trend of Americans looking to south of the border for affordable healthcare, is a hospital chain in India that is planning to build a “health city” in Mexico. The health facility would include 3,000 to 5,000 beds and be designed to meet the needs of patients from the U.S., the Economic Times reports.
One major sticking point for U.S. expats in Mexico is that Medicare reimbursements are not available to Mexican health care providers.
Thinking about going abroad for your a costly medical procedure? HealthCare Tourism International’s Web site features a database that allows consumers to search by medical procedure or country. In its Trends In Medical Travel 2007 Report, the group noted that in North America, Mexico was the most commonly searched country on its database.
The organization also maintains a comprehensive list of pros and cons in seeking medical treatment in another country. Another online resource for learning more about medical tourism is Healthbase. It includes detailed profiles of hospitals and doctors in Mexico, Costa Rica, and many other countries.
Photo by Saad Akhtar (Via Creative Commons)
on Apr 23rd, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Hey Stephen, nice aticle, and thanks for the name check. Medicare is definitely the biggest stumbling block when it comes to Americans coming to Mexico for health care but still the cosmetic industry is flourishing.
Guadalajara now has the second highest number of plastic surgeons in the world, and a second world class hospital is being built south of the city (reputably paid for by a major narco).
Still, ordinary surgeries are also very cost effective even without medicare. I recently bumped into a reader in Puebla who told me that she gets picked up in Lake Chapala, driven to Guadalajara for a mamogram and then friven home for 700 pesos which is frankly incredible value.
On top of that our readers said that 65% felt that health care was as good if not better than in the US. It’s hard to argue with.