Mexico Medical Tourism 

Americans, particularly those living near the Mexican border, now routinely cross to Mexico for medical care. Popular specialties include dentistry and plastic surgery. Mexican dentists often charge one-fifth to one-fourth of US prices, while other procedures typically cost a third what they would in the US.

This trend has alarmed American healthcare providers who, fearing a loss of business, warn patients away from Mexico. "The phenomenon has unsettled US-based dentists who tell horror stories of rampant infections, undetected cases of oral cancer and shoddy work south of the border -- claims hotly disputed by Mexican dentists." "In Texas, legislators explored the possibility of allowing health maintenance organizations to operate on both sides of the border. However, physicians in south Texas lobbied against the changes, arguing that local doctors could not compete with the lower costs in Mexico". US doctors point out that the Mexican legal system makes it almost impossible to sue Mexican doctors for malpractice.

However, many who travel to Mexico for care report that they are satisfied. According to a report commissioned by Families U.S.A., a Washington advocacy group for health-care issues, "About 90 percent [feel] the care they had received in Mexico had been good or excellent. About 80 percent rated the care they had received in the United States as good or excellent".

Indeed "some U.S. dentists ... have conceded to the competition and begun a 'reverse migration' opening offices in Mexico to take advantage of lower costs". More American insurers are providing coverage for travelers, as the out-of-pocket costs to them are much lower. "With healthcare costs in the United States continuing to rise, many employers in Southern California are turning to insurance plans that send their workers to Mexico for routine care, plans that are growing by nearly 3,000 people a year".

In addition to dental and plastic surgery, Mexican hospitals are popular for bariatric surgery for weight loss, considered an elective procedure that is not covered by some US insurers. A popular bariatric procedure, lap band surgery, which was approved by the FDA in the US in 2001, has been performed for longer by Mexican surgeons.

Medical care in Mexico is safe, more personal than medical care in the United States and less expensive than medical care in the United States. Mexican pharmacies are 50% to 70% less expensive (for most drugs) than pharmacies in the United States. Medicines in Mexico are manufactured by well-known international companies like Pfizer, Roche, Abbot Labs, Bristol-Myers Squibb etc. Medicine from pharmacies in Mexico is as safe as medicine from U.S. drug stores.

Mexican hospitals generally have larger rooms and more private rooms. If I had to be hospitalized, I'd rather be in a Mexican hospital than a U.S. hospital. I like Mexican doctors and dentists because they seem to interact with patients on a very personal level. I recently went to physician in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico and paid $20 for two office visits and $70 for a battery of blood work. The Mexican pharmacy charged me $45 for medicine that would have cost more than $200 in the States. A fellow patient had an open MRI for $400, which would have cost him $2,000 in Michigan. Sure, you can fly to India for medical care, but wouldn't you rather be closer to home?