A Boom in Medical Tourism to Mexico Predicted if Obamacare Ends Caitlin Dickson - Yahoo News
go to original March 24, 2017

Universal Health Care: Why Are We Arguing Over Obamacare and Trumpcare? While everyone is arguing over Obamacare and Trumpcare, the U.S. spends more on health care than any other country but gets less. It's possible to offer health care for all without breaking the bank. Other countries do it, so why can't the U.S.? (Fusion)

Update: The Campaign to End Obamacare Has Officially Failed (GOOD.is)

In recent years, rising medical costs compounded by the introduction of stingy federal exchange plans under the Affordable Care Act have begun to force more Americans to follow the path forged by snowbirds and migrate south of the border in search of affordable health care.

As a result, Mexico has quickly emerged as a world leader in medical tourism, luring an estimated 1 million patients each year, many of them from the U.S. — not just with cheap pharmaceuticals and dental services but also a range of procedures, from heart surgeries to in vitro fertilization and cancer treatments. They can receive care by specialists at high-quality hospitals and clinics for a fraction of the cost in the States.

Now, as Congress considers a new federal health care law predicted to leave approximately 24 million Americans uninsured by 2026, Mexico’s burgeoning health care industry ironically stands to be among the Republican bill’s biggest beneficiaries.

“Clearly this legislation will set the stage for increased out-of-country care,” said Patrick Goodness, CEO of the Goodness Co., a medical tourism marketing and public relations firm that works with a variety of international hospitals, medical centers and dental clinics.

Though difficult to predict exactly how many Americans will travel outside the U.S. for medical or dental care as a result of the Republican’s proposed American Health Care Act, Goodness told Yahoo News that he’s seen medical tourism from the U.S. steadily increase since 2013, with cost being the biggest driving factor.

“By nearly all accounts the U.S. medical system is broken,” Goodness said. “Sky-high hospital bills and staggering prices for pharmaceuticals push many Americans to seek care south of the border.”

Read the rest at Yahoo News

Related: Mexico Continues Its Dream Run in Medical Tourism (Dr Prem)

>Related: Republicans Admit Defeat on Health Care Bill: 'Obamacare Is the Law of the Land' (NPR)

Related: Why Trump Can't Spin His Healthcare Defeat (Newsweek)

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