[FONT="]Frank[/FONT]
I notice that some of you were moving abroad or thinking of it to recieve affordable healthcare. do you think it will be cheaper over there? do the people who moved to mexico realize better or cheaper healthcare? can anyone through out some numbers as far as costs in which countries?....
As far as cheap health insurance good luck with that. I would still like to hear more from people in canada, mexico, and other countries about the cost of health care.
[FONT="]Hi Frank,[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Billy and I are familiar with health care service and prices both in Thailand and in Mexico, and I can tell you the following:[/FONT]
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[FONT="]1. [/FONT][FONT="]** Generally there is no waiting for weeks for service. If you are ill and want to see a doctor, you can simply show up at his office. This is true for Bangkok and Chiangmai, (Thailand) or Chapala, Mexico. If there are other people in the waiting room, you might have to wait an hour or hour and a half. If you arrive when they open, you can be the first to be seen. Or you have the choice to simply go to another doctor’s office.
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[FONT="]2. ** [/FONT][FONT="]Office fees to see a general practitioner in Chapala range from 150 Pesos to 200 Pesos, currently about $12 - $17 USD. To see a specialist in Chapala or Guadalajara, the office visit runs 300 – 600 Pesos, or $25- $50.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]3. ** [/FONT][FONT="]To have your teeth cleaned in Chapala it runs from $12 - $21 USD, to have a porcelain crown put on it is $100 USD, a root canal with post inserted into the tooth before a crown is placed on it is $188 USD[/FONT]
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[FONT="]4. [/FONT][FONT="]** An Echo Cardiogram in Guadalajara is $100USD[/FONT]
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[FONT="]5. ** [/FONT][FONT="]A full executive physical in Chiangmai, Thailand with stress test, all appropriate blood work, x-rays, abdominal sonogram, PSA tests or female mammogram and pap smear will run from $250 - $350 USD with your tests, results and doctor consultations all done the same day, in the same location. You can have it done in the morning, go out to lunch and then meet the doctor in the afternoon for any information about your results.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]6. ** [/FONT][FONT="]You can schedule a colonoscopy in a Chiangmai hospital for tomorrow and it will run you $350 USD, and the prep procedure is more humane than in the States. The day before your hospital visit you eat normally. If your appointment is at 8 in the morning, you awake at 5 a.m., and prepare 2 liters of a special solution, drink it, and by 7 a.m. you are cleaned out. Take a cab to the hospital and by 11 a.m you are finished, complete with your take home DVD to present to any doctor in the future as your baseline. The hospital takes you to your home via ambulance, included in the cost. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Some time back, we wrote a piece for The Motley Fool called [/FONT][FONT="]Medical Vacations: The Retiree Health-Care Solution?[/FONT][FONT="] which listed cities, countries, hospitals and prices for certain procedures. If you are interested in utilizing this option, I recommend that you take a look at this piece as well as our [/FONT][FONT="]Medical Tourism[/FONT][FONT="] page. [/FONT]
[FONT="]While this choice might seem outrageous or extraordinary for some people, it is becoming more of a common alternative, with medical tourism being a $160-billion worldwide industry and growing. Singapore and Thailand are both medical tourism leaders.[/FONT]
[FONT="]LuvSouth [/FONT][FONT="]
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This means the rich and poor are treated the same, no queue jumping. That's the beauty of Canada !
[FONT="]In regards to Canada’s health care system, here is a recent article that might shed some unconventional light on the topic:
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[FONT="]Canada’s public health care at crossroads[/FONT]
[FONT="]Private medicine makes inroads as nation struggles with long waits[/FONT]
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Canadian health care at the crossroads - MarketWatch[/FONT]
[FONT="]or you might want to read articles written by Brian Day, the former President of the Canadian Medical Association – pros and cons of the Canadian system and the possibility of Canada opening its doors for Medical Tourism.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Why B.C. should become a destination for medical tourism[/FONT]
[FONT="]By Brian Day, Special to the Sun April 19, 2010[/FONT]
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[FONT="]In general, no one is pushing anyone to ‘try’ medical tourism. However it has been our experience that having more tools in our toolbox proves useful.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Best,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Akaisha[/FONT]
[FONT="]Author,
The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement[/FONT]