Strategies for Seeking Healthcare in Mexico

Abstract

Accessing affordable healthcare is one of the central issues of our time. As the United States continues to debate the best strategy to address the problem, the cost of healthcare continues to rise, and an increasing number of people are becoming uninsured. In response, a number of patients are looking to Mexico for pharmaceuticals, dental care, primary care, and even surgery. Attracted by the possibility of saving up to 70 percent on medical care that is advertised as "the same as the United States," some United States residents are starting to see Mexico as the only option to meet their health care needs. It has been estimated that in 2007, 29.4 percent of people living along the Texas/Mexico border traveled to Mexico for pharmaceuticals, and 19.9 percent sought medical care there (Warner and Jahnke 2010). In addition, the Winter Texan Market Survey found that 51 percent of winter Texans (retirees who spend the winter in Texas) living in the Lower Rio Grande Valley bought pharmaceuticals in Mexico, and 36 percent visited a dentist in 2008 (Ghaddar and Simpson 2008).