A study by UCLA estimates that hundreds of thousands of people living in California head south of the border for healthcare each year.
While Mexico has long been a popular destination for healthcare for Americans trying to get medical treatment at a fraction of the cost in the United States, no HMO plans covered such services until 2000.
Today, there are several such plans including Blue Shield’s Access Baja. All offer discounted health insurance coverage in Mexico. The trend has prompted some medical experts to express concern over a lack of medical oversight in Mexico.
Nonetheless, more and more Californians are likely to be heading south to the doctor, as employers in the U.S. - the nation’s leading consumers of healthcare insurance - look for cost shortcuts in an ever more expensive market.
Update November 22, 2006
Access Baja is working to improve services and access in Mexico. In 2006, they focused on improving access to providers and quality initiatives. Overall costs in 2006 have gone up at about the same rate as the California base - a 10% increase.
Judy Lowe is doing well and is no longer going through chemotherapy. She said that she gained weight and has hair now. Judy has gone to Tijuana for medical treatment for a total of 2 years and still finds herself satisfied. She will return to Tijuana for her follow-up visits.
Judy doesn’t have to lie down anymore and is able work around the house. Judy keeps herself busy at home with several projects, including sewing for friends and organic gardening. She grows wonder green beans, tomatoes, 11 plants of cucumbers, melons, morning glories, basil and sunflowers.
Marlene Rangel had a hysterectomy in 2005 and she says everything is OK, but she sometimes feels a pain on the left side of her stomach. She already went to her doctor in Tijuana who said that everything is fine. She plans to go to another doctor in Tijuana to get a second opinion. She had the surgery in Excel Hospital in Tijuana.
Marlene no longer has Access Baja or any other health insurance. She still chooses to go to Tijuana because of low costs and extended clinic hours.
- “Healthcare is Migrating South of the Border,” Los Angeles Times, via Physicians for a National Health Program
- “Health Care In Mexico Drawing U.S. Clientele,” Los Angeles Times, via The Tampa Tribune
- SIMNSA, Sistemas Medicos Nacionales, SA de CV. According to the American Medical Association: SIMNSA was “the first Mexican health plan to receive a license in California,” allowing it to “market its HMO as a California-licensed organization that provides health care in Mexico, not the United States.” To do so it has to meet “the same requirements for capital reserves and other standards as a U.S. HMO.”
- Access Baja HMO Plans, Blue Shield of California
- United States-Mexico Border Health Commission