Need Health Care? Go to Mexico
By Robert Higgs • Tuesday November 25, 2008 2:44 PM PDT • 16 Comments
Porfirio Díaz, the Mexican strongman of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, famously described his country’s situation by exclaiming, “¡Pobre México! ¡Tan lejos de Dios y tan cerca de los Estados Unidos!” (Poor Mexico! So far from God and so close to the United States!) I cannot say whether Mexico is now any closer to God, but its proximity to the United States is definitely proving to be a godsend for many Americans in need of medical and dental care.
Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry, estimated to bring in gross revenues now well in excess of $60 billion per year, and Mexico is a convenient destination for many Americans in need of pharmaceutical drugs, dental work, and surgical procedures. Prices may be as much as two-thirds below those in the United States for comparable goods and services. The Los Angeles Times reports, for example, that at Los Algodones, a Mexican town of about 10,000 population on the border with California, “dental offices outnumber restaurants 49 to nine. Add in the 26 pharmacies, 20 optical shops and 14 physicians offices, and you’ve got something of a mecca of medicine.” Similar towns may be found here and there along the entire Mexican border, especially across from Texas.
U.S. hospital firms are now investing in the construction of new care facilities in Mexico, to serve Mexicans, to be sure, but also with an eye toward the norteamericanos who are expected to seek their services.
These developments are one of the many unanticipated consequences of the jerry-rigged interventionist nightmare known as the U.S. health care system, which is geared to soak up money from people with so-called health care insurance (more accurately described as prepaid health care, because insurance principles have little to do with how the policies are formulated or implemented). If, like me, you have no insurance to cover noncatastrophic health contingencies, you quickly discover that the pricing arrangements for medical care in this country savagely discriminate against those who pay out of their own pockets. (Insurers have made arrangements for the providers to accept much less than I must pay on my own account.) So, a huge potential market exists for cross-border health care. Of course, too, Medicare does not pay for dental work, so that situation also draws many elderly customers south of the border.
If the Obama administration moves in the direction it has indicated it will seek to move, toward even greater government intervention in, or perhaps complete takeover of, the U.S. health care system, look for the growth of the Mexican health care industry to become extremely rapid. As the United States has long been to Canadians (who seek to escape from the national health care system up north), Mexico may become to Americans, who will need a similar refuge from their government’s “compassion.”
Tags: Business, Economics, Healthcare, Insurance, Latin America, Trade 
If health-care in the u.s. becomes “free” to all, then it seems to me this would tend towards fewer, not more, people going to Mexico or other countries for health-care. Why would people go abroad for something they can get free at home?
I agree that the quality of care will decrease in the U.S. under a system where Doctors are treated as quasi-slaves, as they are treated now in England. This will tend to push people out of the country, it is true.
These are confounding factors, I admit, and the net effect on importation of medical treatment to the U.S. remains to be seen, in my view.
Grant Reiner | Nov 25, 2008 | Reply
Under a system that provides “free” health care, the care will be in extreme excess demand, and the provider will have to ration it. Such systems commonly set long waiting times for certain treatments. Sometimes they simply exclude certain people (e.g., those above a specified age) from eligibility for a particular treatment. These attributes drive people abroad in search of services that are effectively unavailable to them under a system of “free” care. Canadians, for example, have been coming to the United States for heart bypass operations and other surgeries for many years because of the long waiting times in Canada. Seattle and other “border towns” in the United States have served as supply centers for such patients.
Universal “free” health care is a fraud. Everyone who has looked at such systems has reached the same conclusion. Yet most people in the countries that have such systems like them–because they have not had to deal with a serious illness or injury. That is, such systems work well for people who need little or no health care, especially when the care they do need involves only garden-variety services.
Robert Higgs | Nov 25, 2008 | Reply
Wouldn’t this “flux” cause an increase in prices of medical services in Mexico, potentially becoming a problem for Mexican citizens?
Paulo | Nov 28, 2008 | Reply
Considering the law of supply and demand, this “flux would possibly reduce the prices of medical services in Mexico. If there are lots of hospitals and medical companies, then these companies may compete through lowering of prices.
Vic | Nov 29, 2008 | Reply
As a life long recepient of “socialized medicine” as a military dependent, soldier, veteran and now military retiree I feel everyone in America should be so blessed with quality healthcare. The military health care system emphasis is on preventative and holistic approaches to maintaining the well being of active duty servicemen and women, as well as the retirees. Such a system for all Americans would be one of the best investments in human capital we can make as a nation. Many of the affluent are opposed to universal health care becasue they have theirs and they do not feel the pain of no health care that 40% of our citizens feel everyday. It is time to think of the greater good and not just what is best for me.
William Bache | Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
Mr. Bache,
Certainly, everyone should be blessed with health care. How else can we get surgical treatment when the government shoots us for defending our hard-earned property?
You speak about pain of no health care, but can you imagine the pain of having a gun shoved against one’s head and told “contribute to universal health care, or else”? It happens to millions of innocent, peaceful Americans every year at tax time.
Human beings must never initiate violence against other human beings, even in the name of health care. This commitment to consideration for our fellow man through non-violence is what separates us human beings from the lower animals. Only through peace and respect for our fellow man can there exist civilization.
Grant Reiner | Dec 2, 2008 | Reply
Great article.
I got 5 caps put on in Mexicali, across the border from El Centro, California. The Dentist was great. It was a two week process. I’d go there every two to three days for an hour visit. He’d fit and refit the caps, til they were perfect.
My cost?
$900.00 total. Same procedure would have cost me close to $10,000 in California.
Eric Dondero | Dec 5, 2008 | Reply
Hi,
I agree that the quality of care will decrease in the U.S. under a system where Doctors are treated as quasi-slaves, as they are treated now in England. This will tend to push people out of the country, it is true.
Albert Martin | Dec 15, 2008 | Reply
I have been preparing for over a year to help Americans find the best medical attention in Mexico with a enormous price difference. I believe once the health system in America sees they are gauging the Americans too much and are loosing business they will lower their prices. Until people need to live a healthy life and no one has the right to take that away from them.
John d | Apr 5, 2009 | Reply
How do you know healthcare quality will decrease? As it is, Canadians live on average over 2 years longer than Americans. If you remove the top 35% from both countries, this number more than doubles. If you remove only the top 35% of Americans and not Canadians, this number still virtually doubles which indicates the consistent level of care enjoyed by Canadians.
larry | May 29, 2009 | Reply
Larry,
Healthcare quality can’t improve when it’s rationed.
Matt R. | Jun 8, 2009 | Reply
Ethics being synonymous with morality, I question the ethics of any individual, organization, or corporation that supports a health care system that profits from the denial of medical claims. It will be interesting to see in the coming months, those who truly support high moral or Christian values, and those who are practicing hypocrisy.
Mike Mc | Aug 5, 2009 | Reply
From all indications dental tourism especially for pricier items like dental implants, implant dentures and veneers will continue. These materials and procedures are simply too costly in the west, plus they would never be covered by insurance.
M Kelleher | Apr 5, 2010 | Reply
I believe healthcare insurance only covers tooth extraction and cleaning. Any implants, dental veneers, etc. would never be covered by insurance. I guess nothing is for free nowadays.
Dental Veneers Colchester | Oct 24, 2010 | Reply
As what I’ve searched, Mexico is now both one of the world’s largest economies and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Meaning to say, the economic development of this country is very productive. These includes good health care & productions of this country.
good health products | Nov 8, 2010 | Reply
As a provider of dental care in Mexico, I can attest to the fact that Americans are flocking across the border for all kinds of medical procedures. Prices in Mexico are low because doctors are not required to carry liability insurance and also because they don’t expect or need 6 figure incomes to live well. As long as health care costs continue to skyrocket in the US, Mexico dentists and doctors will continue to benefit from Americans crossing the border for medical care.
Joseph | Mar 1, 2012 | Reply