Why Medical Tourism in Mexico is so popular

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by: Evans Roisin
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Word Count: 474
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 Time: 11:29 PM

Medical Tourism in Mexico is an industry of considerable size. Americans frequently cross the border to Mexico to receive medical treatment. They save from 50 to 75 percent on their medical costs by doing so. Dentistry and plastic surgery are particularly popular procedures. Some Mexican dentists charge just 20 to 25 percent of what dentists in the US charge for their treatments. Other procedures usually cost a third of what they would in the US. And the fact that many Americans live incredibly close to the Mexican border means it is no surprise that Medical Tourism Mexico is becoming a huge hit.

To deal with such competitive prices a number of US dentists have opened offices in Mexico to take advantage of lower running costs.

Legislators in Texas have also considered letting health maintenance organizations work in both the US and Mexico. However Texan doctors lobbied against such action and the changes did not go ahead. Due to the low cost of medical treatment in Mexico they felt local doctors could not afford to compete.

Employers in Southern California have even started offering their employees medical insurance plans that provide nonemergency care in Mexico. These plans cost 40 to 50 percent less than they would if the medical attention were received in the US. It just means those covered have their routine doctor appointments outsourced to Mexico, a few miles south. According to the Washington Post such plans are growing by almost 3000 people per year.

In 2000 California became the only state in the US to regulate insurance plans that include medical tourism. In the years following this over 700 businesses, excluding agriculture, have offered their staff insurance plans that include treatment in Mexico. In addition about 120,000 migrant farm laborers have received similar coverage from their employers.

The response from people who do travel to Mexico for medical care is incredibly positive. A report commissioned by Families U.S.A., a Washington health-care advocacy group, states that 90 percent of those surveyed rated the care they received in Mexico as good or excellent. Conversely, only 80 percent surveyed felt their level of care in the United States had been good or excellent.

One only needs to watch Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko to see the medical insurance problems encountered by Americans. Millions are uninsured and many people who are covered experience problems with insurance company fraud and red tape. To add to that the medical costs in the US are rising. Medical tourism is therefore becoming a more and more attractive option.

Bariatric surgery, a form of weight loss, is also popular with medical tourists in Mexico. One form of this treatment, lap band surgery, has actually been offered in Mexico for a longer period of time than in the US, as it was not approved by the FDA until 2001.

About the Author

Angeles Health International is a leading provider of Medical Tourism Mexico and offersall of the procedures mentioned, plus many more.

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