Mexico may become a major 'Medical Tourism' Destination

By Kent Paterson

Carefully observing the changing demographics of US society, Mexico's federal government is wagering that the graying of Gringolandia will give a strong impulse to medical tourism. "A million baby boomers, as they are called in the US, could come to live in Mexico in the coming years," said Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos at an event held earlier this month in Mexico to mark National Nursing Day. An opportunity exists, Cordova said, for tourism promoters to sell not only sun and sand but also "treatments or surgeries."

In coordination with other federal agencies, the Health Ministry plans to build up the medical tourism infrastructure during the next two years. Important components of the initiative include training a corps of bilingual Spanish-English nurses, and increasing the number of private Mexican hospitals accredited by a joint US-Mexico commission already at work. According to Cordova, eight such private institutions have been certified under the commission's standards.

Although regional initiatives to promote medical tourism are underway in the northern border states of Chihuahua, Baja California and Nuevo Leon, Cordova said greater coordination at the federal level is needed to tap a global market enjoyed by nations including Thailand, India, Costa Rica and Brazil. Mexico's leading health official stressed the new program will benefit the private sector.

"This is going to be an incentive for the private market," Cordova said. Cordova acknowledged that training bilingual nurses risks a bigger brain drain to the US, where some localities are already recruiting Mexican nurses for much higher pay than they receive at home, but he was careful to add the envisioned training will focus on elite sectors of Mexican health care delivery like cosmetic surgery and other specialized treatments. Pilot programs to train bilingual nurses are in the stage of preparation, Cordova added.

Whether or not medical tourism booms in Mexico will depend on a variety of social, economic, political and security trends both to the north and south of the border. Continued violence in parts of the border region is likely to hamper potential growth in the short-term. A big factor will be the outcome of so-called health care reform in the US, especially if legislation is passed that increases rather than lowers costs as the Obama administration proposes.

Medical Tourism in a Tourist Town

A former head of the Puerto Vallarta Medical Association who currently serves on the municipal health committee, Dr. Jorge Roberto Cortes, or "Doctor Jorge" as he likes to be called, is skeptical that health care will be a bigger reason for people to come to Mexico than it is now.

Still, coincidental visits to the doctor or dentist are increasingly important in tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta. For instance, Cortes estimated his patient load consists of 50 percent foreigners and 50 percent Mexican nationals. In Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere in Mexico, sick tourists from the US will discover that medical costs are far cheaper than at home. According to Cortes, office visits hover around $40, while x-rays costing as little as $40 can be turned around in less than 45 minutes.

After several years in the US that included a stint at Mt. Sinai, Cortes speaks English with barely a hint of an accent. And he is not the only local, bilingual health care provider. A city of more than 300,000 people, Puerto Vallarta has a plethora of public and private hospitals, hundreds of doctors, modern medical labs and ready medical evacuation services.

"It´s a lot, but Vallarta is growing up," the general practitioners said. "We have all the specialties. You die if you want to. We have everything here."

A local medical services guide distributed in Puerto Vallarta contains ten pages advertising specialists, family doctors and even psychologists. On its website, the Guadalajara-headquartered San Javier Hospital lists foreign insurance companies from which it will accept payments.

The companies include Cigna, Aetna, Tricare and International Health Insurance of Denmark, among others. The hospital advertises birth delivery for about $700 and hysterectomies for approximately $1,000. The prices include one and two night hospital stays, respectively.

Another local facility, Medasist Hospital, charges less than $30 for a short emergency room visit, between $20-$30 for urgent care, and from $90 to $120 per night for hospital rooms. Doctor's fees are extra.

Dr. Cortes is among the physicians who prefer to deal on a cash basis. Echoing complaints familiar in the US, Cortes said bureaucratic delays and nay-saying can make private insurers troublesome. Typically, insurance companies take months to pay Mexican health care providers.

In tropical areas like Puerto Vallarta, new residents and tourists should be aware of the possibility of contracting unfamiliar illnesses like dengue. The State of Jalisco operates a spraying program to eradicate mosquitoes in Puerto Vallarta, but at least 13 people contracted the disease in January according to a state health department report cited in the press.

From Braceros to Baby Boomers

Hailing from a nurse's family in California's San Joaquin Valley, Pamela Thompson once treated Mexican farm workers in the emergency room. Nowadays, Thompson's HeathCare Resources Puerto Vallarta company networks US expatriates and tourists with Mexican healthcare providers. Thompson said interest in Mexican medical care is growing among both US consumers and private insurers.

Interviewed on a busy high season day, the consultant said the recession had not significantly slowed visits from foreigners, especially gay men, seeking operations like plastic surgery. According to HealthCare Resources Puerto Vallarta's website, several specialized surgical packages are 30-40 percent cheaper in Mexico than in the US and Canada.
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