It was bound to occur with medical expenses relentlessly going higher in the United States : overseas medical tourism.
Like America’s car industry in the 1980s, the U.S. medical industry often acts like it is a monopoly having a captive audience and that, because of this, the American public will continue to pay constantly rising costs because there are no practical options.
The U.S. health care industry would do well to recollect two things
- – - Americans have learned how to vote with their pocketbooks
- – - Detroit
America’s Auto Industry
We all remember what happened to the Big 3 auto makers. An upstart—-an overseas company at that—-came along, offered better quality automobiles for less money and sold millions of foreign-made autos while Detroit was in a near state of denial.
Consumers voted with their pocketbooks and Detroit lost to an overseas rival it had dismissed as unimportant.
America’s Health Care Industry
Gallup, one of the most respected polling companies, has published polls showing that 40% of Americans surveyed have indicated they’d be willing to travel abroad for major medical care if they knew they’d get equal standards of care at significantly cheaper cost.
That percentage rises more for uninsured Americans (now approaching about 50 million).
And, like they demonstrated with the U.S. vehicle industry, they're increasingly willing to vote with their pocketbooks, boarding a jet for their medical treatment in foreign lands.
As the U.S. medical industry seems, at times, hell-bent on pricing itself out of the market for millions of Americans that void in care is being met by overseas rivals that have seen explosive expansion in the last few years.
Just as Toyota transformed American car buying habits thirty years ago, Costa Rica and other nations like India, Mexico, Malaysia, and Thailand are aiming at cutting into the American medical industry—- each aiming to take a piece of the projected one hundred billion dollar medical tourist pie.
And, though it’s one of the littlest nations on earth, Costa Rica is consistently ranked in the top five medical tourism destinations.
It’s easy to see why.
1. Cost . In 2009, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions said that average prices for American patients was 30-70% from what they’d usually pay back home.
2. Standard of Care . The best hospitals in the world are awarded Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation and Costa Rica has 3 privately owned hospitals having that distinction, the most of any Latin America country.
Additionally, many physicians are board licensed (frequently trained in the U.S.) and speak English.
3. Prompt Treatment . Many British tourists also travel when they have significant medical problems because, although they have socialised health care the wait time can be terribly lengthy. Not so in Costa Rica.
4. Ease and Affordability of Travel . Unlike India, Malaysia, Thailand, or other Asian nations, Costa Rica is only 2 and a half hours from Miami. Combined with enough savings to often cover for the cost of transportation the convenience and price are powerful inducements.
5. Safety . Fact is that places like Mexico and Thailand have serious safety issues, unlike Costa Rica that has a stable democracy.
It’s little wonder, then, that over 35,000 annual travelers combine a tropical holiday with medical treatment in Costa Rica.
One of our favorite pastimes is traveling and, with its many attractions and wonderful climate, vacations in Costa Rica are always popular. Come visit the Land of Pura Vida.
And, with Costa Rica medical care offering top flight treatments and care at unbelievably inexpensive prices, why not combine that vacation with a bit of that care.
Tags: costa rica medical tourism, medical care in costa rica, medical tourism costa rica, medical tourism in costa rica
