Californians go to Mexico for Medical Care

Tagged: America, California, Medical Tourism, Mexico, Prescription Drugs

According to a research paper by UCLA researchers, published recently in the Medical Care journal, close to 1 million Californians travel to Mexico to undergo medical procedures.  According to the study, the two main reasons Californians travel to Mexico for healthcare are they lack of insurance and the rising healthcare costs in the US.  The paper is based on data gathered in 2001 through the California Health Interview Survey. Out of the 952,000 Californians who traveled to Mexico for medical services, 488,000 are Mexican immigrants.

Aside from medical care, patients also troop to Mexico for dental care.  There is high incidence of non-insurance among Mexican immigrants.  As much as 51.5% of short-stay Mexican immigrants or those who have been in the US less than 15 years are not medically-insured. A larger percentage is not insured dentally. Aside from medical and dental services, patients also travel to Mexico to obtain affordable prescription drugs.

The study also revealed that even though the primary reason medical patients travel to Mexico is the lower cost of healthcare and medical procedures, those who travel to Mexico aren’t exactly the poorest. This is because there is still the travel expense to deal with.  Those who travel to Mexico to undergo medical and dental services are those that have money to travel to the country. The cultural and linguistic barriers can also be motivating factors for Mexican immigrants to travel back to their country to undergo medical procedures.  People often feel more comfortable undergoing treatment in the country they grew up in.