Tourists often come to
Mexican border
towns looking for some kind of illicit adventure, trotting among the bars,
strip joints and seedy motels that dot the streets. Here, though, the visitors
are searching for something more basic: a root canal they can afford or surgery
they have been putting off for months.
Mexicali has adopted medical care as its primary tourist lure, and it
has been attracting a growing number of health care commuters from California
and other nearby states. Hospitals offer operations for gastric bypass,
liposuction and chronic back pain. Dentists promise that extractions, fillings
and whitening can all be done for less money. And ophthalmologists advertise
laser surgery and routine exams.
Thousands of people are
crossing
the border and
driving to Mexico
in search of care they either cannot afford or wish to get more cheaply. The
influx has grown steadily over the last several years, attracting uninsured
Mexicans who have made their lives in the United States and desperately need
affordable care. But it increasingly includes a smaller but growing group of
middle-class patients from all over the country looking for deals on elective
surgeries that most medical insurance will not cover.
“At first, I was like, Mexicali, where is that?” said Stephanie Rusky, a
26-year-old social worker from Perkins, Okla., who paid roughly $8,000 for some
liposuction, a breast lift and a tummy tuck (a combination known as a “mommy
makeover”) that would have cost about twice that in the United States. “But I
asked every question I could think of and eventually felt really comfortable
with it.”
Last year, more than 150,000 patients
drove to Mexicali, pumping more than $8 million into the city’s
economy, officials said. There are some dozen hospitals that regularly see
Americans, and many have a special administrator to coordinate medical and
travel plans. With nearly 100 medical offices in a six-block radius, the city
hopes to create a special medical zone by improving streets and sidewalks and
adding more services for tourists.
Just across the border in Southern California, the small city of
Calexico has struggled for decades. The area has one of the highest
unemployment rates in the country.
Many of the residents in the Imperial Valley there rely on seasonal
agricultural work and have no insurance. For them, coming to Mexicali for care
can seem obvious. A few
insurance
providers have even expanded some
coverage
into Mexico, encouraging their customers to seek the less expensive care. A
2010 study showed that roughly 85 percent of those who
crossed the border into Mexico for medical care were Spanish
speakers.
In strip malls and office buildings here, there are far more medical
offices than anything else. Hotels offer special rates for patients, and the
local tourism office has begun subsidizing van rides from Las Vegas to bring in
those who would rather avoid the drive themselves. And this year, the
government opened a special lane to allow
medical
tourists to bypass most of the wait on the
Mexican side of the border, which can often take as long as three
hours.
The doctors, with strong support from the local government, are hoping
to attract more Americans for elective procedures or more basic care that they
may not be able to afford at home. And many here believe that the market will
only grow as health care costs continue to rise and more people, particularly
low-wage workers along the border, are desperate to find affordable care.
Here, many Mexicans talk with pride about the easy access they have to
their doctors, sending them frequent text messages with questions and expecting
calls back within minutes. One oft-repeated anecdote illustrates a sign of more
compassionate care: nurses will warm a patient’s hand before sticking him with
a needle.
“The people who live a few miles
away from the
US Mexico border can’t
afford the care,” he said, “so we will provide it for them for less, whatever
they need.”
Since the special
medical lane
at the border opened at the end of April, doctors have issued roughly 1,600
passes, which are required to use the lane.
“We want to make it as easy as possible, so that there is no hesitation
to
drive to Mexico,” said Diana
Cota, who oversees
international care
at Hospital Almater, where roughly 20 percent of patients come from outside
Mexico. “Even before the point where someone says they can’t pay for what they
want in the U.S., we want them here.”
