Medical Tourism in Latin America

Medical Tourism is increasing rapidly in Latin American countries as more and more people realize they can travel abroad and have plastic surgery and save some cash.

Many Latin American countries are embraciing Medical Tourism as more and more Westerners learn that they can travel to these countries, have their surgery, and save significant amounts of money. travelers can get the same qualified surgeon performing the exact same operation and same orthopedic treatment as anywhere in the United States but at half the price, including airfare and hotels. For instance, a coronary bypass surgery that costs $60,000 in Miami costs just $30,000 in Panama, while a breast implant that's $12,000 in the U.S. is done in Panama for $6,000. Prices tend to be even lower in South American nations.

Medical Tourism is increasing rapidly in Latin American countries, particularly Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Andrés Oppenheimer, a Latin America correspondent for the Miami Herald, believes that medical tourism will be one of Latin America's biggest industries in the 21st century.

At present Costa Rica recieves 150,000 medical tourists every year, that's well below Thailand who recives more than 400,000, but the munber is growing. Many American doctors are from outside the US and more than 60% have studied outside the US, so there is a natural trust factor. Most of the patients are Americans who cannot afford insurance or Canadians who do not want to wait 8 months for a surgery to be performed.