Americans Sending Their Aged Parents to Mexico.

I love Google Maps

What happens as your parents age and start losing their independence and capabilities?

In Mexico, the answer is simple, the parent goes to live in the house of one of the children, and continues to work as much as possible in whatever way he or she can. It's common for these old people to take care of the children, cook, or even sit all day long at a tiendita and sell soda and snacks. They do these activities until they die.

Sadly, many people suffer from one or more disabling illnesses that affects their independence greatly. Perhaps mental disabilities are the worst, since they make it hard for people to interact with their families or friends. One time, I was in my car and I saw an old man in the middle of the road. I offered him a ride, and he took me to several well-known towns, unable to figure out where he was or where he was going. He didn't even remember his own name or where he wanted to go. Fortunately, his relatives saw me and I was able to leave him with them. They told me it wasn't the first of his "escapades."

Illnesses don't respect borders and diseases such as Alzheimer's disease affect old people in the United States too. In these situations, many people opt to put their parents in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. Unfortunately, the prices of these facilities have gone up and many people can't afford them anymore, nor pay for the care their parents need at home.

The solution for many is to send their parents to a nursing home in Mexico. It is not only a much cheaper option than in the United States, but the weather is better and the food is more natural.

How much does it cost? I stopped by one of these places a couple of days ago. The cost for a single room with all care (referred to "as if the person were a baby") was $7,500 pesos for a month, which is about $570 American dollars. The home was run by nuns and they told me that they only admitted women over 70, that they were at full capacity, and that they had people on a waiting list.

The place looked clean. It had a big fountain with a statue of Jesus in the middle of a garden that was surrounded by the bedrooms. It didn't seem that it had more space than that, but considering the kind of situation people who lived there were, I don't think it's necessary. The place was clean and nice, and it had nice flowers and vegetation. Frankly, I think it's not a bad place at all to be if your mental capabilities are starting to fade.

Want to know more? Read about things about Mexican healthcare that surprise Americans.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.     

Things Some People Find Surprising about Healthcare in Mexico

Many patients prefer the way they're treated in Mexico

Visiting a Mexican doctor, even at a high-rated hospital, is somewhat different from visiting a doctor abroad. Here are some of the differences you'll find.

a) The doctor will spend at least 30 minutes with you, more if it needs to.

b) A doctor will make small talk with you. If you're a regular patient, he may even have a small conversation about a topic with you.

c) A doctor will give you his cellphone number and answer it.

d) If you're a regular patient, a doctor will give you his home phone and prescribe for you over the phone when possible.

e) A doctor will not require as many tests as they do in the US, just to make sure you wouldn't sue him later. On the same vein, a doctor will not typically have an expensive lawsuit-protection insurance that will raise his prices.

f) A doctor will expect you to keep your own medical records and bring them with you when necessary (it is advised to foreigners to get them translated to Spanish).

g) Some doctors still make house calls.

Do you want to know something in specific about a procedure or life in Mexico? Tell me about it.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.    

What Would You Like Me to Write About?

I would like to hear from you

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I sit here and write an article about medical tourism in Mexico, healthcare in Mexico, retiring in Mexico, or how life and culture is in Mexico.

Coming up with a new topic everyday is not easy, but I try to do my best. And the reason I do this is because I want to help you learn something about any of these topics that you didn't know about.

But if there is something that you think I haven't covered, or something that you want to read about, let me know in the comments. I will be glad to do some research and write about it if I can.

Also, if you like my blog, support it by buying a copy of either The English Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, a guide of the best doctors and health centers with experience treating foreigners in the most visited areas of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, a guide that explains how the Medical healthcare system works, what to do in case of an emergency, and what cultural differences you can expect from visiting a doctor in Mexico.

Thanks for reading, and see you next Friday!

Also, read about the top 5 countries with medical tourism growth potential.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.   

The Top 5 Emerging Medical Tourism Industries According to Fast Market Research

Are these the countries where you'll get medical care in the future?

One thing I learned from a professional journalist is to always look for the source. So let's start with that. Who is Fast Market Research?

According to their page, they are an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. As their name implies, they sell market and business research reports. They are based in the United States. I couldn't find any reviews about them, but they certainly have reports for all types of industries in several countries.

As usual, I didn't spend one thousand dollars on the report, but they did mention what the five emerging medical industries are. This means the countries with the highest growth and growth potential in the medical tourism industry. Note that this is different from the countries with the biggest medical tourism industries. For example, the US is third when it comes to the size of its medical tourism industry. However, it doesn't make it to the top 5 for growth or growth potential, at least according to Fast Market Research.

So what are the countries that rank the highest in medical tourism industry potential?

1. South Africa
2. Brazil
3. China
4. India
5. Mexico

Note that the order of the countries doesn't mean anything. It's not that South Africa has more potential than Brazil. It's just the order they appear in the table of contents. As I said, because of the price, I didn't read the report. But if you want to buy the report, you can find it here.

Out of these countries, the only surprise to me is South Africa. But what do you think? Tell me in the comments.

Want to know more? Read about why many Americans are afraid of a universal healthcare system.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.  

Why Are Many Americans Afraid of a Universal Healthcare System?

The American healthcare system is by far the most expensive one

To many non-Americans, it is puzzling that the US has a system that's so different and that results in terribly expensive healthcare in a country that produces so much wealth. While many Americans want to change the system, many others resist the change and are even afraid of it.

As a result of the system that it's in place now, profits are the only motivator behind healthcare services and because the demand is very inelastic (everybody falls sick and everybody wants to get better), the prices keep rising. In fact, this is the number one reason why the medical tourism industry exists. People just can't go without healthcare, especially if their loved ones are the ones who need it.

Yet, the American healthcare system doesn't seem like it's going to change anytime soon. Here are some reasons why many Americans don't want it to change.

1.- An assumption that a system based on universal coverage is the same thing as a single payer system.  It is not, but many politicians claim it is and many Americans believe it.

2.- A fear of rationing. That is, the idea that there will not be enough resources for taking care of everyone, and thus only the ones who can pay it should have it. However, since no country has limited resources, the truth is that all healthcare is rationed and under the current system, the incentive is for healthcare companies and pharmaceutical companies to use the limited resources there are to make the biggest possible profit.

3.- A fear of "sharing" the burden. Employers who give health benefits to their employees get a tax cut from that and like to take care of their own employees, but not of other employees, which they think it happens in an universal system, where employers contribute to the system, not to the companies that give healthcare to their employmees. However, even in an universal system, employers typically contribute according to the number of employees they have.

4.- A "We're number 1" mentality. Many Americans do believe that the US is the best in every single aspect, and they think that changing to a "foreign" system means going backwards or doing something wrong.

5.- The dark side of the American Dream. One of the most important beliefs of American culture is the American Dream, the concept that everyone, even the lowest of the low, can make it to the top as long as he has a vision and is willing to work hard for it. It is not a bad concept, in fact, it's great. However, the other side of the coin is that if someone didn't make it and is poor, is because he deserved it because he's lazy. And why should we pay for the healthcare of some lazy bum? In reality, poverty has little to do with unwillingness to work hard, and it's a very complex problem with roots that are outside the scope of this article.

Want to know more? Read about how every middle class woman in Mexico hires a maid and how this has impacted the Mexican culture.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.  

Life in Mexico, the Maid

It's common to have a maid character in Mexican sitcoms

In Mexico, it is almost a rule that any middle class family has a maid. Getting a maid is somewhat of a status symbol for many Mexican women, and woe to the married woman who doesn't have one.

How much does hiring a maid cost? It depends a lot on the area. In Mexico City's most affluent districts, it might cost 40 dollars per day. In lower income areas of the country, it might be as little as 8 dollars per day.  Most maids come once a week and work for several women. Others work two or three times per week in a single household. Some work everyday in the same household. And finally, a few of them live in the household, especially if they had to leave their hometowns in the countryside to go live in the big cities.

Sadly, almost no maid receives any benefits that they should get by law, for example paid vacations and social security. On the other hand, they typically get at least one meal. The ones who live at the employer's house also get free lodging, all meals, a small TV, and a day off.

The preponderance of the maid in Mexican households is so big that it's highly reflected on the culture. Telenovelas (soap operas) often have a poor, yet noble maid as a heroine that has to suffer the injustices of life and the explotation of the rich family she works for. However, her faith and her virtues help her overcome all obstacles and the family's son is able to see her for the great being she is, ditching the family-approved selfish bride to be for the true love of the maid.

As I mentioned before, having a maid is a status symbol. It is somehow denigrating for a middle class woman to do the heaviest house chores herself, especially if she has kids. However, the other extreme is when a woman relies completely on her maid to the point where the maid is practically the one raising her kids.

The relationship between a maid and a housewife is somewhat similar to the ones portrayed in the book "The Help." It is a love-hate relationship where two people on different sides of the paycheck (maids are always paid in cash, tho) live with each other. Some people treat their maids much better than others, obviously, and not all maids are the honest, noble women portrayed in telenovelas either. Lately, there's a movement toward ending the use of the word "maid" and substituting it for a word that's seen as less offensive. The one I personally dislike the most is "the woman that helps me." Moreover, no matter how much loved and appreciated a maid is (and they often are), she is never seen as an equal. They may eat the same food at the same table, but not at the same time. A maid might be brought with the family to the vacation in Acapulco, all expenses paid, but she's there to take care of the children and serve as an errand girl. I have never seen a maid being invited to a wedding of the family just like a co-worker or a relative would.

Does that mean that if you live in Mexico you shouldn't hire a maid? No, it just means that you have to pay her as fairly as you can and treat her humanely. In fact, for many poor and uneducated people, especially those from rural Mexico, being a maid is one of the best jobs they can aspire to, and it allows them to send their children to school.

I'm ending this article with a quote about maids that's common in Mexico: "When a new maid arrives, she doesn't bring happiness with her. But when she leaves, she takes it with her."

Want to know more? Read about how to find a good doctor or hospital in Mexico.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.  

Finding a Reliable Doctor in Mexico

I write a lot about medical care in Mexico, and how Americans and people from other nationalities can take advantage of the competitive prices of healthcare in the Mexican market.

However, what if you have already decided you want to move to Mexico or come get the healthcare you need? How do you know what doctor or hospital to go to?

One good idea would be to get a copy of The English Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, which includes listings of doctors, dentists, specialists, hospitals, and clinics in the most populated or popular parts of Mexico. All the doctors on the book have experience working with foreigners and have the experience and accreditation needed for their respective fields.

If you're planning to visit Mexico on vacation, you might want to get a copy too, just to be safe and know where to go and what numbers to call in case something happens during the vacation.

You can buy the Guide on createspace.com here, or on Amazon.com here. 

If you'd like to know more, read about Coca-Cola and diabetes in Mexico.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.