Medical Tourism in Mexico

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Medical Tourism in Mexico, Now Trending

Tourists used to go to Mexico to lounge on pristine beaches but now they are just as likely to travel south for low cost plastic surgery. and health care. In 2009 over 8 million Americans went to the Mexican town of Tijuana alone for medical reasons. With border towns just south of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas all benefiting from flourishing medical tourism industries, the total number of Americans who visit Mexico for healthcare is unknown but must be staggering.

The most popular procedures are dental work, cancer treatments and low cost plastic surgery. In particular, breast augmentation costs are a fraction of what they are in the United States. Doctors in the U.S. normally charge about $9,000, but breast augmentation costs. in Mexico average around $2,500.

Mexico has an excellent healthcare system which compares well to the United States for safety. Facilities are modern; doctors and nurses are well trained; and best of all, everything costs 30 to 50 percent of what it would in the U.S. According to a report commissioned by Families U.S.A., 90 percent of Americans who receive healthcare in Mexico feel that their care was excellent. The same report shows that only 80 percent of patients who got healthcare in the U.S. feel that they had an excellent healthcare experience.

Many healthcare clinics in Mexico offer excellent aftercare. Packages that combine medical procedures and recovery with a resort-like setting are popular, and patients can relax by the ocean while their stitches heal. Prescription medicine in Mexico is also a fraction of its normal U.S. cost, so patients can save even more money by filling any prescriptions they’ll need in the foreseeable future.

With healthcare costs in the U.S. at an all time high, traveling to Mexico is an excellent option for many Americans—especially those who live near the border. Increasing numbers of Americans are retiring in Mexico to reap the benefits of the country’s excellent healthcare system, and some companies in California are making trips to Mexico a standard part of their employee healthcare plans.

Mexico has responded by welcoming American medical tourists and putting major effort into building more and better health facilities to accommodate these visitors. Medical tourism boosts the Mexican economy while saving Americans an impressive amount of money. Unless healthcare costs in the U.S. go down dramatically, medical tourism in Mexico will likely develop into an even bigger industry and become a much more mainstream way for Americans to access affordable healthcare and plastic surgery.