Even with Obamacare, Americans Are Still Going to Mexico to get Healthcare

Regardless of whether you're in favor or against the Affordable Health Care Act, many Americans are signing up for it, but that hasn't stopped several of them to continue going to Mexico for health care.

Despite the increase of people under health coverage, many Americans, mostly from California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico continue to travel to Mexican cities along the border for health care. However, while those areas receive the bigger influx of patients, some Americans from as far as New York and Washington are flying to central Mexico to get more complex treatments, like surgery (both needed and cosmetic).

Steven Wallance, associate director of the UCLA Center, may have the explanation: "Even with insurance, it can sometimes be cheaper in Mexico." Although more Americans have health insurance now, they save it for emergencies and continue to go to Mexico for regular health care.

Other patients claim that the lower prices are not the only reason. Irma Montalvo, from California, signed up for insurance, but she still prefers to go to Mexico, 16 miles south of her home in Chula Vista. "I can't use my insurance outside of California, but seeing my doctor costs me only $15 dollars and I don't have to worry about deductibles. But most importantly, she makes me feel comfortable."

This experience reflects an aspect of Mexican health care that many Americans appreciate: doctors spending time with their patients and, in the opinion of some, making them feel like people.

"She (the doctor) listens to me," says Montalvo, "I come here feeling really bad and three days later, I am better."

Xochitl Castaneda, director of the health initiative of the Americas at U.C. Berkeley's School of Public Health, expresses it in another way. "Mexican clinics offer something not always found in the U.S., quality (of service) and warmth. When you are sick, you need medical support. You also need emotional support. That is something that Mexican physicians give."

Another cultural difference that Americans are often surprised of is that most Mexican doctors give their patients their personal numbers and they answer them.

But what do you think about the Affordable Health Care Act and the influx of American patients in Mexico? Tell us your opinion in the comments. Alternatively, you can read about how safe Mexico is here or about the experience of an American woman who decided to retire in Mexico here.

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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 Best Health Care You Can Ever Get and the Health Industry's Most Well-Guarded Secret

Is this what you think doctors are like?

Look at the picture I chose for this article. Unfortunately, many people think this is how many doctors are like. And I understand why people think of them this way.

However, the reality is that doctors are no more evil than any other profession. I'm not going to say that every doctor is a saint, but in reality, almost all doctors choose their profession because of a genuine desire to help people. In addition, being a doctor is far from glamorous. A doctor will frequently have to deal with moral dilemmas and eventually live with the moral consequences of the death of a patient, including guilt and second guessing.

I would say that a doctor's greatest satisfaction is not about getting a sick patient healthy, but to get a patient to behave in a way so that he doesn't get sick again.

The culprit is not the individual doctor, but the corporations that have overtaken health care. As I said before, a corporation's main priority is profit over everything else. Their take on health care is more like this:

The Magical Cure at a Cheap Price?

Like any corporation, they don't want you to be a client now. They want you to be a client forever.

It's the same reason laptops and smart phones don't have batteries that are detachable anymore. When the battery dies, you'll be forced to buy a new one. They want you to buy the laptop now and a laptop in the future. However, this is people's health we're talking about, not a gadget.

Fortunately, the best and cheapest health care is at your disposal.  It's called prevention. If you want a long and healthy life, just follow these steps:

1.- Don't do anything that will shorten your life unnecessarily. Sadly, "doing something stupid" is the number 1 cause of death among American teenagers.

2.- Eat well. You don't need a specific diet. You're an adult and you don't need anyone else to tell you that having pizza and hamburgers everyday is bad for you.

3.- Sleep well. 7 or 8 hours at a minimum.

4.- Exercise.  30 continuous minutes (2 sessions of 15 minutes won't do) or until you break a sweat, 3 times per week. If you can't find time to do exercise, I assure you that your body will take time to be sick.

5.- Avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs.


6.- Be happy. This is the hardest part. Comfort is NOT happiness. You have to find out what happiness means for you and make it happen. Obviously in a responsible way.

This is the best-kept secret of the health care industry. If we all followed these rules, we wouldn't need them as often, we wouldn't have to spend so much money on health care, and the lack of demand would force them to make their prices affordable.

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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. 

Uninsured Texans Crossing the Border into Mexico for Medications and Sharing Their Insulin Shots

Paula Gomez, director of the Brownsville Community Health Center.

Is the bickering of politicians getting in the way of poor Americans getting proper healthcare?

I don't know if that's the case, but it sure looks like it in Texas. A recent article in ThinkProgress shows that many uninsured Texans have to cross the border into Mexico in order to get affordable healthcare because their medical bills at home are so high. Those who are afraid to go into Mexico resort to even more extreme measures: sharing their insulin shots.

"Many of those who live here (Brownsville) – including poor Latino immigrants, both legal and undocumented - suffer from diabetes and lack of insurance. Some of those uninsured diabetics, including American citizens and others living here legally, used to go across the border to Matamoros, Mexico for insulin. But now with the fear of brutal drug violence and tougher border restrictions, families share their insulin shots rather than risking the crossings"

The situation gets worse when there's a more serious illness or condition that requires expensive or long-term treatment.

“Once you diagnose a cancer, then what?” said Dr. Henry Imperial, the medical director of the Brownsville Community Health Center. “How are you going to give me chemotherapy or surgery or radiation therapy? It goes out of our hands.”

Unless politicians solve their differences, uninsured patients will have to find a solution on their own.

Want to read more? Learn how even Canadians are flying to Mexico for medical care.

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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. 

Cost of Cosmetic Surgery: US vs Mexico

Every year, the cost of cosmetic surgery in the US goes up. And every year, more and more Americans go south of the border to get it because they can't afford it at home or because they want to save a few thousand dollars.

Obviously, quality should be considered first, and that's why many others decide to stay home and pay the higher fee or just go without cosmetic surgery. However, there are many excellent Mexican surgeons and hospitals that measure up to US standards. In addition, hospitals in big cities or cities with an important ex-pat community will have English-speaking staff.

Here are the comparative prices of the most common types of cosmetic surgery*. All prices are in US dollars and researched in May 2013. The price in Mexico includes round-trip plane tickets New York City-Mexico City for two people and two nights at a first class express hotel in Mexico City's Reforma neighborhood, considered to be one of the safest and most expensive areas of the city, for one person.**


                                                                             US            Mexico***
Aumengtation Mammoplasty / Mammaplasty    $10,000        $4,700
(breast augmentation)                       

Rhinoplasty                                                     $8,000            $2,200
(Nose reshaping, nose job)

Blepharoplasty                                                $3,000            $1,530
(Eyelid surgery)

Liposuction                                                     $5,000            $2,600

Abdominoplasty                                              $7,000            $2,700
(Tummy tuck)

Rhytidectomy                                                  $10,000        $3,200
(Facelift)

Mastopexy                                                       $7,000            $2,700
(Breast lift)


   
* Prices are approximate only and may vary depending on your specific needs, the scope of the surgery, and the state where you live in.

** Prices during low season and plane tickets bought 3 months in advance. Plane Tickets $450. Hotel $260. Total $710.

***Exchange rate as of May 2013

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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 consider getting 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.