OT: Health Care in Mexico vs. U.S. (related to “Father is visiting and hospitalized…”)

[davelj]

I read the “Father is visiting and hospitalized by a stroke” and couldn’t help but think of the stark differences between the cost of health care available 20 minutes south of downtown SD (that is, Mexico) and what we have here in the US.

Full disclosure: My dentist and doctor are in Tijuana. I see my doctor once a year for a check-up and my dentist twice a year for cleanings. But I would be completely comfortable having them handle more complicated matters. While I’m considerably more than conversationally fluent in spanish (but not fully fluent), my medical visits are conducted in english, as my doctor and dentist are both fluent in english. My last teeth cleaning visit was $38. I believe my check-ups run about $70, which includes the blood work, etc. A visit for a simple prescription would run $35-$40. I have a catastrophic health insurance policy with a $10,000 deductible that costs me $160/month. The cost is largely irrelevant to my lifestyle, but I just can’t bring myself to participate in our silly system (with the exception of my catastrophic policy) – it’s just too absurd. It’s like shopping at a grocery store that charges you 3x-20x the price of other stores just because it’s around the corner.

So, some observations on Mexican health care.

First, according to the our own government, Life Expectancy at Birth is “a measure of overall quality of life and health care in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

As you can see, the average life expectancy in the US is 78.2 years while in Mexico it’s 76.2 years. A difference, yes. But not what you’d expect when you take this fact into consideration: Mexico spends just 6% of its GDP on healthcare while the US spends over 16%. For perspective, most of the European countries and Canada spend 8%-11% of GDP on healthcare. Most of these countries have life expectancies greater than that of the U.S. (I think most Piggs are already aware of the non-Mexico stats, but they bear repeating in this context.)

This is the hospital that my doctor practices out of:
http://www.angeleshealth.com/tijuana/about.html

I’d be willing to bet that the quality of care that patients receive at Angeles is indistinguishable from that received at the typical US hospital… but at a fraction of the cost.

To wit, the brother of a friend of mine got pneumonia last year and ended up staying at Angeles for over two weeks. Total cost: $890. It was $35/day plus the cost of medication. I’m guessing this would have been closer to $20K here in the US.

Anyhow, my point is that if you’re not happy with the cost of health care here in the US, you have another choice living in SD. And that’s Mexico. To the extent that I can, I’m opting out of the insane system we’ve built here.

Which gets back to the poster whose father had a stroke. With 20/20 hindsight, I bet he could’ve been cared for with equal effectiveness in Tijuana for $20K or less. That’s assuming he made it to the hospital alive, of course, so I’m NOT suggesting that this would have been the optimal solution (I don’t know the circumstances) – just one that most folks don’t consider.

[meadandale]

If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.

[meadandale]

If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.

[meadandale]

If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.

[meadandale]

If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.

[meadandale]

If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.

[ocrenter]

for routine care, yes, go to Mexico.

this guy’s dad was having a stroke.

Time = Brain cells!

[ocrenter]

for routine care, yes, go to Mexico.

this guy’s dad was having a stroke.

Time = Brain cells!

[ocrenter]

for routine care, yes, go to Mexico.

this guy’s dad was having a stroke.

Time = Brain cells!

[ocrenter]

for routine care, yes, go to Mexico.

this guy’s dad was having a stroke.

Time = Brain cells!

[ocrenter]

for routine care, yes, go to Mexico.

this guy’s dad was having a stroke.

Time = Brain cells!

[davelj]

[quote=meadandale]If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.[/quote]

Clearly, we could learn something from Mexico in this regard.

[davelj]

[quote=meadandale]If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.[/quote]

Clearly, we could learn something from Mexico in this regard.

[davelj]

[quote=meadandale]If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.[/quote]

Clearly, we could learn something from Mexico in this regard.

[davelj]

[quote=meadandale]If he’d have been brought to a hospital in Mexico in an emergency, the hospital would have demanded proof of insurance or his ability to pay before they even began treating him since he’s not a citizen. This happens all the time to US visitors who have been in serious automobile accidents in Mexico, often with tragic results.[/quote]

Clearly, we could learn something from Mexico in this regard.

[Author]

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