Medical Tourism 101
There are millions of pensioners and digital nomads choosing to live in Mexico and other countries around the world. Usually they do so because the cost of living is significantly cheaper than it is back in the home countries, places like the United States or the United Kingdom, but there is also another reason that so many people choose to live abroad, and that is medical tourism. Using Mexico as an example, the cost of access to the universal system is around $250 per year at the maximum, but it allows you free medicine, lab tests, dental visits and work, eye tests and glasses plus much more, without any limits. And since the doctors in Mexico studied in the United States and European Union, they are just as educated as any other doctor, which means they have the same global standards.
But medical tourism goes beyond simply saving on your annual cost for access to the system. When you live in Mexico you also have the benefit of major procedures costing a fraction of what they would in the United States. An article written by Hilary Hylton for Time.com showed that a hip replacement that costs as much as $63,000 in the United States only costs $12,000 in Mexico, while a coronary bypass surgery that costs upwards of $150,000 in the United States averages around $21,000 in Mexico. When you start looking at the price difference, it suddenly becomes very clear why so many expats and pensioners are living in this Latin mega country.
Medical tourism doesn’t only exist for those who live in Mexico. The benefit of having access to free information around the world via the Internet is that digital nomads and pensioners can look abroad to find answers rather than simply relying on the propaganda machines of the mass media in their home countries. This allows people to research the fact that superior levels of care are offered in countries around the world, but at a fraction of the cost of the same services in the United States. The Archives of Internal Medicine, for example, showed that Canada has the same level of care and treatment for heart surgery as the U.S., but the costs are 83% less. And in another article at Time.com, Sara Tung talked about the fact that while a liver transplant in the United States will cost you around $300,000, you can travel to Taiwan and have the same procedure done for a mere $91,000. Colombia is another good example, costing the same as Mexico, while Bulgaria only costs around $50 per year.
But perhaps the more pressing concern for many individuals is the simple fact that they can have access to the same care around the world, and not for hundreds of thousands of dollars. As more and more digital nomads start to look abroad for their medical needs, the medical tourism industry is continuing to grow, especially among working expats and retirees living on a monthly retainer or pension. If you live in Mexico, for example, a pensioner can not only cover their cost of living but also have access to unlimited medicine and care for significantly less than the estimated $300,000 to $1,000,000 most adults between 65 and 80 are required to pay for housing and medical costs in the United States.
The most important thing to understand is that the medical tourism industry is growing at a rapid pace into a multi-billion dollar giant. Digital nomads are not the only people taking advantage of this fact, as there are numerous pensioners choosing to live in Mexico and other countries to get away from the oppressive cost of living and healthcare in the United States. Universal healthcare is a global standard that exists in almost every country, and when you combine that with first-class service and care, expats have more reasons than every to look abroad for their healthcare needs.
Adventures are only part of what you can expect living as an full time traveler abroad. There are many different ways to enjoy the world that it’s impossible to choose just one, which is why you should explore them all through expat living.
Tags: entrepreneur, expat, international living, leisure, medical tourism, retirement, tourism, travel, travel abroad, Vacations
July 08 2012 08:56 pm | Vacations
Glynna Prentice on 08 Jul 2012 at 7:16 pm #
In addition to the cheaper (but high-quality) medical care in Mexico, many expats live more healthily there because they’re getting out and about more due to the warm weather. And it’s not just healthcare that’s cheaper–overall living costs are lower too.