Mexico's universal healthcare

After years of being accustomed to the healthcare costs in the US, a medical bill from a Mexican hospital is a refreshing glimpse at what it must be like to have something that is more affordable in a health-care cost setting.  

Americans today are facing high healthcare cost which are leading to large national deficits as a result of the increasing costs. When people learn about the difference in healthcare cost in Mexico compared to US, they can hardly believe it.  In most cases standard check ups, and common  treatment are almost free under their national healthcare system.  In contrast, in the US not only would one have to pay a co pay of at least $25 dollars at the time of visit but you would also receive numerous bills from the office, the lab, and various places depending on all the testing that you have done.  While one would not discourage to get check-ups, it just does not seem fair that standard and common visits should drain the bank account in the US, but it sometimes does.

A reasonable option, is just south of the border of the US.  While certainly there are hospitals and clinics of high and lower quality, one should still do research and look for treatment in the bigger cities, where hospitals in some cases look like resort hotels offering world class treatment.  

This has not always been the case in Mexico.  As a matter of fact it has taken Mexico many years to emulate the systems created in Europe that offer universal healthcare.  It was not until very recent that Mexico made it a universal right for everyone to have access to healthcare and for children to have free access to treatment in the case of cancer.  

Maybe this is a model that we can enjoy by visiting Mexico or a model that we can learn from, as the mortality rate is not much different and in some cases better than what we enjoy in developed countries.

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