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Mexico Assisted Living - A view inside Assisted Living in Mexico
Due to its geographical location, its weather, lifestyle and medical and nursing quality services, assisted living is a fast growing sector in Mexico. The country has been a preferred vacation and retirement destination for decades. Within the population in retirement age there are many who in the short term will need the services provided by assisted living facilities. In this article we will provide general information on assisted living in Mexico. In future articles we will share more specific information on providers, places and locations, quality, service levels and cost in Mexico.
Eight thousand Boomers turn 60 years of age every day of the calendar year and one of their lifestyle options in range is to move south of the border. Their numbers, in Mexico alone, are expected to grow to an estimated 10 to 15 million between the years of 2010 and 2025. Due to this fact, we are seeing a corresponding increase in the cost of real estate in all of the areas of Mexico that are well known for having long-term and well developed expat communities. While daily living expenses remain relatively low inside Mexico, real estate home prices are now reaching the outrageous sums that people thought they were leaving behind in the States. This will not prevent individuals from moving to Mexico, because they finally go there to enjoy the weather and the tranquil, simpler and in fact, less expensive lifestyle. However, the need of additional income is very likely to push them to either find or make work for themselves in Mexico.
The American immigrants to Mexico are mostly at retirement age, at least in the beginning of this migratory phenomenon. Within a few years, this generation will also need assisted living and/or nursing home care. Today, Mexico has relatively few of these types of facilities but the number is growing rapidly as well as the quality of the services. There is an open opportunity in the sector, the market is wide open, there are very few or no restrictions at all and the initial investment is within reach of almost everyone.
The cost of assisted living and nursing home care in Mexico can be as little as 35% of the cost of the same care in the U.S. As of now, even this modest cost must be paid out of pocket, since Medicare / Medicaid cannot be used in Mexico yet. There are Associations and private investors working with local and federal agencies as well as foreign governments and insurance companies to solve this. This should soon change due to the fact that Medicare/Medicaid savings to American taxpayers will be enormous.
If Medicare/Medicaid remains as it is, what is most likely to happen in the short term, is that potential assisted living and nursing home patients will move to Mexico during their “pay down” phase. This is the time they would be required to be “private pay” patients in the U.S. Then, when they go into the 100% funded by Medicare/Medicaid stage of their care, they will come back to the U.S. and tap the national budget on the wallet. It is expected that it will not be long before politicians see the logic of voting to allow Medicare/Medicaid to be used wherever qualified individuals choose to live or retire.
This mans that there is a wide range of opportunity for expats to start their own business in Mexico. Shared living homes and assisted living facilities can be started by almost anyone and require a minimum of expertise. The homes must be safe, staff members must be good to residents and the food must be nutritious. Planned activities and competent health monitoring are absolute necessities. Opening a nursing home in the States is a big-bucks operation, usually carried out by heavy-hitting investors. Opening a nursing home in Mexico is something that is within the financial reach of U.S. nurses and health professionals. This is an opportunity to start and grow a business in an arena that never would have been open to this level of health care provider in the States.
American assisted living residents and nursing home patients living in Mexico complain about a feeling of loneliness when surrounded by Spanish speaking people. The wise investor will look for a location that is near excellent health care, and in an area, such as the State of Yucatan, where the atmosphere is more European, or the States of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Baja California or Sonora which have had a vast foreign population for years. These places offer a less transient touristy feeling, bilingual staff that is available, and expats are integrated into the local community day-to-day, rather than living in a Little USA enclave. If you intend to reach those who have excellent health care coverage in the States, such as veterans, they might want to open their facility in northern Mexico near the Texas border, where there is access to many VA clinics and full service hospitals.
Eight thousand Boomers turn 60 years of age every day of the calendar year and one of their lifestyle options in range is to move south of the border. Their numbers, in Mexico alone, are expected to grow to an estimated 10 to 15 million between the years of 2010 and 2025. Due to this fact, we are seeing a corresponding increase in the cost of real estate in all of the areas of Mexico that are well known for having long-term and well developed expat communities. While daily living expenses remain relatively low inside Mexico, real estate home prices are now reaching the outrageous sums that people thought they were leaving behind in the States. This will not prevent individuals from moving to Mexico, because they finally go there to enjoy the weather and the tranquil, simpler and in fact, less expensive lifestyle. However, the need of additional income is very likely to push them to either find or make work for themselves in Mexico.
The cost of assisted living and nursing home care in Mexico can be as little as 35% of the cost of the same care in the U.S. As of now, even this modest cost must be paid out of pocket, since Medicare / Medicaid cannot be used in Mexico yet. There are Associations and private investors working with local and federal agencies as well as foreign governments and insurance companies to solve this. This should soon change due to the fact that Medicare/Medicaid savings to American taxpayers will be enormous.
American assisted living residents and nursing home patients living in Mexico complain about a feeling of loneliness when surrounded by Spanish speaking people. The wise investor will look for a location that is near excellent health care, and in an area, such as the State of Yucatan, where the atmosphere is more European, or the States of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Baja California or Sonora which have had a vast foreign population for years. These places offer a less transient touristy feeling, bilingual staff that is available, and expats are integrated into the local community day-to-day, rather than living in a Little USA enclave. If you intend to reach those who have excellent health care coverage in the States, such as veterans, they might want to open their facility in northern Mexico near the Texas border, where there is access to many VA clinics and full service hospitals.
