Why Is Health Care Less Expensive in Mexico?

The main drive for Americans who get their health care in Mexico is the lower price, right?

As usual, social phenomena is more complex that it seems. Yes, the prices are lower, but the quality isn't. Otherwise, Americans would have stopped coming years ago.

As to why Mexican health care is less expensive, despite what many people think, it's not just the lower labor costs and lower cost of living. There are several factors involved, and most of them have to do with medical practices.

For example, in Mexico, you are the keeper of your records. It is up to you to bring your medical history and all relevant documents with you, which means less work and less need for staff for the doctor.

Another one is that doctors in Mexico don't need as much malpractice insurance as American doctors. Thus they don't have an incentive to ask for lots of tests just to protect themselves. A Mexican doctor will ask for an x-ray only if he needs it for diagnosis or evaluation purposes. He will not ask for one "just in case."

Moreover, x-rays and other tests are frequently done at independent laboratories. So a doctor doesn't have a financial incentive to order an unnecessary x-ray, since it's the lab and not the doctor who will benefit from it.

Lastly, doctors typically own their practices. Since they do have an incentive to keep their costs down, they don't need to invest in expensive equipment that is available at the laboratory anyway. They are not the object of visits from pharmaceutical agents (pharmacy chains and government offices are), and since they don't deal with such sales agents, malpractice insurance salespeople, or record keeping in the same degree that their American counterparts do, they are able to keep their costs reasonable.

This is also the reason why they are able to spend more time with patients than their American counterparts, which is another reason why many Americans like to get their health care 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. 

Is Mexico Safe? What the Numbers Say

I love math. Math is the one thing that makes everything objective. And when dealing with subjects that are highly controversial, I find that math is your best friend.

It's not a secret that many Americans are afraid to come to Mexico because they don't think it's safe. While coming to Mexico is not for everyone, I think many people would benefit from having numbers that reflect the situation accurately.

I'm not going to write any comments, just take a look at the numbers and decide for yourself if Mexico is safe:

a) Number of Americans that visit Mexico everyday: 150,000

b) Homicide Rates in American Cities vs Mexican Cities (figures per 100,000)

Miami: 15.4
Philadelphia: 19.6
Chicago: 15.2
New Orleans: 49.1
Washington D.C: 21
Atlanta: 17.6
Mexico City: 9
Guadalajara: 12
Queretaro: 3

c) Homicide Rates in International Vacation Destinations

Ecuador: 19
Mexico: 14
Bahamas: 25
Guatemala: 52
Brazil: 23
Jamaica: 62
Dominican Republic: 24

d) Warnings of the US State Department:

No warnings for the following states:
Baja California Sur
Campeche
Chiapas
Estado de Mexico
Guanajuato
Hidalgo
Mexico City
Oaxaca
Puebla
Queretaro
Quintana Roo
Tabasco
Tlaxcala
Yucatan

States where touristic towns and  areas are safe but it's not recommended to leave them:
Aguascalientes
Baja California Norte
Colima
Guerrero
Jalisco
Michoacan
Morelos
Nayarit
Nuevo Leon
San Luis Potosi
Sinaloa
Sonora
Veracruz
Zacatecas

States that are considered unsafe
Chihuahua
Coahuila
Durango
Tamaulipas

Source: US Department of State

d) Violent Crime Rates

Assault:
Canada: 712
US: 757
Mexico: 144

Kidnapping:
Canada: 8.67
US: NA
Mexico: 1.3

Rape:
Canada: 73
US: 30
Mexico: 13.6

Please note that this data came from American sources and it took under reported crime into account.

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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. 

How High Is Your Fever... Abroad?

To be fair, the metric system is more efficient

Recently, a friend of mine went to a doctor in Mexico. While she was being examined she explained that the night before, her fever was 101 degrees. The doctor looked shocked, then a bit puzzled. Finally he asked her, "How much is that in Centigrade?"

Fortunately, it was no big deal, but if you're dealing with an emergency you are not going to want to spend precious time "translating" numbers. So, here's a quick guide for you. You can memorize the numbers that apply to you or print the guide and carry it in your purse or wallet

Weight: The rule for a good approximation is 1 pound equals 1/2 kilogram. But if you need more exact information, here are some quick equivalences.

Pounds           Kilograms
100                 45.36
110                 49.85
120                 54.43
130                 58.97
140                 63.50
150                 68.39
160                 72.57
170                 77.11
180                 81.64
190                 86.18
200                 90.71
210                 95.25
220                 99.79
230                 104.32
240                 108.86
250                 113.40
260                 117.93
270                 122.47

Height

Feet and inches            Meters
5'                                 1.52
5'4"                              1.62
5'8"                              1.72                             
6'                                 1.93
6'8"                              2.03

Temperature: Here is the range for detecting a fever.

Fahrenheit                   Celcius
98.6                             37
99                                37.22
99.5                             37.5
100                              37.78
100.5                           38.06
101                              38.33
101.5                           38.61
102                              38.89
102.5                           39.17
103                              39.44
103.5                           39.72
104                              40

When living abroad, it's best to understand the metric system, since most of the world uses it. Remember, it's you who has to adapt to the local culture, not the other way around.

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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.