Tijuana Health Care

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I recently found this article about how to get your teeth fixed in Mexico. The author explains how he saved a bundle of money crossing the border to get his teeth capped. Instead of paying $750 for each tooth in the US, he paid $250 for each tooth at a dentist in Tijuana. He goes on to explain how impressed he was with the Dr.’s know how and technique.

The story reminded me of my experience living in Tijuana. During that time, I had to make a few visits to the Dr. I‘ll admit that when I first went, I was expecting crappy health care. Mexico is after all a third world country. To my chagrin, I found the health care in Mexico to be awesome. The doctors were really knowledgeable and friendly and the facilities were comparable to many American Drs. offices. The best part was that it was hundreds of dollars cheaper than in the United States. Medications were also cheap and easy to get a hold of. I also liked how you could buy many medications without a prescription. Yeah, I’ll concede that a system like that is open to abuse, but when you know what medication you need to take for certain illnesses, why spend the money so a Dr. can tell you to take it?

Have any of you been to Mexico to have medical treatment done? Would you consider it if it would save you a ton of money?

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6 Comments

1. Katie on 26.06.2007 at 09:51 (Reply)

   When I lived in Juarez, I occasionally got medicine without a prescription because I knew the condition and the necessary treatment (and it was much cheaper). The one time I had a medical problem I didn’t know how to handle, I ended up going to a doctor on the other side of the border in El Paso, but that was because of the language barrier, not any inhernt fear of the Mexican health system. I know that cross border travel for health care is how many binational families make ends meet, and part of the fear about a crackdown on border crossing.

2. The Scam on 26.06.2007 at 15:13 (Reply)

   I haven’t had anything done in Mexico, but I had some work done in Thailand. I’m sure the situations are similar (probably just not as feasible). The office was great. The procedure was super cheap and I even got a foot massage during the whole process.

   I don’t know if this is the case in every third world country, but most of the time the facilities and know-how are comparable but the cost is much lower. You just need to be careful about where you go. Maybe ask around for recommendations and what not. It can certainly be risky.

3. strange bird on 26.06.2007 at 17:00 (Reply)

   I haven’t, but my aunt had. She had a knee surgery there because her health insurance in the U.S. wouldn’t cover it. Instead of $20,000, her surgery cost her $5,000 in Tijauna. She never had a problem with her knee again.

4. Brett McKay on 27.06.2007 at 13:30 (Reply)

   Katie-
   You lived in Juarez? My family lived in El Paso for a while when I was younger. I’ve heard El Paso has gotten pretty bad since we’ve left.

   I can see the language barrier being a problem. I noticed though that many of the doctors in Tijuana could speak English. I just spoke in spanish with them to make things easier and to avoid any type of misdiagnosis.

5. Brett McKay on 27.06.2007 at 13:33 (Reply)

   The Scam-
   Excellent point about asking around. The trick is to know who to ask or you might end up in some back alley chop shop.

   A foot massage, eh? That would be nice. We really should push for that here in the US.

6. Brett McKay on 27.06.2007 at 13:34 (Reply)

   Strangebird-
   Wow! That’s amazing! $15,000 in savings. If I ever had to have major surgery done like that I would definitely consider going back to Tijuana.

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