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Retire In Mexico For A Better Health Care Experience
By Ilene Little

Baby-boomers living abroad are blowing the lid off the myth that medical care in Mexico is necessarily inferior to what you can get in the States. Many American retirees who routinely visit Mexico rave about the doctors they've found and tell entertaining stories about what makes the experience both different and in many cases superior to their medical experiences in the States.

Washington State baby-boomers Randy and Nancy Krause spend several months a year in Mexico. They chose Puerto Vallarta as their home-away-from-home largely because of the standard of health care abroad so vital to maintaining their active lifestyle.

The Krauses had no difficulty finding a qualified Mexican dentist and a chiropractor in Puerto Vallarta. "My husband woke up one morning with a tooth ache, so we had no choice but to go to a dentist, and as luck would have it the dentist shared his office three days a week with a chiropractor who turned out to be about the only U.S. Palmer trained chiropractor in Puerto Vallarta," said Krause.

The Krauses felt comfortable with the quality of the dental care they received in Mexico, and were also entertained by the cultural experience in the dentist's office.

"The office looked just like a dental office in the States," said Krause, "He was set up to look at our x-rays on his laptop. The only difference was that, while he was working on my husband's tooth, two or three of the dentist's friends hung out in the doorway talking to him."

The affordable price of dental care is also typical; a crown for $350, and $275 for a root canal that probably cost $1,500 in the States.

The chiropractor they met through their dentist turned out to be the best chiropractor they'd ever gone to, according to Krause. "Between me and my husband we probably have 60-70 years experience with chiropractors," said Krause, "and Dr. Margain is the best we ever worked with."

"Their whole philosophy in Mexico is so different," explains Krause, "certainly in the case of my chiropractor. His philosophy is to get you well in four or five visits, and he will say, 'let me work on you and if I don't do you any good don't pay me'. Well that never happens in the States."

"When we were down there this last time I had some medical problems, so Dr. Margain pulled out some forms from his desk, and he sent me out to the lab to have some tests," said Krause, " three hours later I had the answers." "That cost me $78," said Krause, "That's better and faster service than in the States."

"I know enough people, besides myself, who for one reason or another have had to go for medical treatment not to have qualms about being able to get quality medical treatment in Puerto Vallarta Mexico," said Krause.

For example, Krause tells a story of a woman who had a life-threatening experience due to an allergic reaction to noseems, and the good care she received at a hospital in Puerto Vallarta.

"She was in real trouble and was admitted for emergency treatment in a hospital in Puerto Vallarta for four days," said Krause, "She had a private room and a private nurse. She thought the treatment was great, and the whole medical experience cost her $700.00 Here you might have to sell your house to pay for it."

Ilene Little, founder of http://Traveling4Health.com is a former newspaper columnist for the Journal of the San Juans and The Key West Citizen, and Special to The Seattle Times.