Medical Tourism in Mexico - Government forecast and view of the Sector

Medical Tourism consists in traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment and/or services and in the spear time do a little touring around the city and in some cases the country (depending on the country you are).

Mexican government forecasts to receive 500,000 tourists in the year 2014, mostly Americans coming to Mexico for some kind of medical reason. They would leave the country with 1.3 billion dollars in the process.

SECTUR’S projections for 2010 are to receive just over 300 million dollars from medical tourism. The final objective is to attract Americans to use Mexico’s medical services and to procure this goal it’s necessary to adequate Mexico’s medical infrastructure to fit the expected demand and to eliminate the obstacles arising in this sector.

Mexican authorities have two strategies: the first one is a pilot program of 5 years that will focus on the Hispanic population that has no insurance or social security in the US and in some specific groups with private insurance coverage looking for dental, ophthalmologic and cosmetic surgery procedures. It will also focus on orthopedic and heart procedures, and basic and intermediate levels or degrees of cancer.

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The second 5 year phase will try to position Mexico as a medical tourism destiny with one of the most advanced medical services in the world. The idea is to attract all the non insured population and the insured part of the population looking for specialized and advanced procedures.

The geographical proximity between Mexico and the US, the much lower costs in medical services and treatment, the capability and capacity to offer rehabilitation services after surgery in specialized centers (physical therapy) are among Mexico’s competitive advantages in this sector. For example: in 2009 a bypass in the US cost around 140,000 dollars while in Mexico the same procedure will be at around 38,000 dollars.

Mexico’s strategies have contemplated success stories like Brazil, Costa Rica and Colombia. The states in Mexico that have developed their medical infrastructure with a clear potential are: Mexico City, Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Baja California, Sonora and Colima.

Mexico has over 40 mayor private hospitals with the capability to offer high Standard services. Eight out of these 40 hospitals have been approved by the "Joint Commission International" (JCI), which is the principal and mayor organization certifying hospitals in the U.S.

It is a key process to have and agreement and understanding between private insurance companies in the U.S. and Mexican hospitals and clinics in order to reimburse them for the services rendered to Americans in Mexican soil. There are already efforts been made at the US Congress in order to achieve this goal.