what about this aspect of healthcare

[kimba1]

is it worth being a doctor today.

remember a very good percent of a doctors energy & money goes into paper work not patient care.

despite all the glamour displayed on tv and movies, it`s very hardwork .

[Christians4LessGvt]

KIMBA...Americans may soon have to do like the Canadians do
run away from socialized medicine....we might have to head to Mexico!



Mexican health care for Americans studied
Regulatory reforms needed, experts say

By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 9:09 p.m.

Rising medical needs in the United States are creating new opportunities for Mexico's health care industry to serve a broad range of U.S. patients, from baby boomers to Southern California's large Latino work force.

But participants in a daylong conference Wednesday at the Institute of the Americas on the UC San Diego campus said that a range of legislative and regulatory changes are needed. The event drew health care experts, tourism officials, nonprofit groups, real estate promoters and others who see the potential for growth in cross-border care.

With health care costs in Mexico available at a fraction of U.S. prices, Mexican facilities can help fill a growing demand for services including dentistry, surgery, long-term care and assisted living, advocates said. But providers still face hurdles, and one major step would be certifying private Mexican hospitals to U.S. standards so that older Americans could use their Medicare benefits in Mexico.

"Congress is not going to approve Medicare for Mexico until they're very comfortable that the quality of medical care is there," said Paul Crist, president of Americans for Medicare in Mexico. As a first step, he urged Mexico's federal government to carry through with plans to accredit the country's private hospitals by 2011.

President Felipe Caldern is expected to urge President Barack Obama to consider the issue of Medicare reimbursement in Mexico when the two meet in Washington next month. But Jeffrey Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas, was doubtful there will be imminent changes.

"I personally think the biggest changes are coming through the private insurance companies," he said.

U.S. health care reform is expected to expand the pool of workers with medical insurance, with 100,000 to 300,000 additional enrollees expected in San Diego and Imperial counties by 2014, said Frank Carrillo, chief executive of SIMNSA Health Plan, which sells group insurance plans to U.S. employers whose workers receive medical care in Mexico.

"The system cannot handle it here, so they need to look at Mexico as a safety net," Carrillo said, adding that many of the newly insured will be legal immigrants from Mexico who are comfortable with Mexican physicians.

In Baja California, the state government recently joined with the private sector to promote the state as a destination for those interested in medical procedures. Oscar Escobedo, Baja California's tourism secretary, said 500,000 people crossed into the state for medical care last year, and the aim is to increase that number.

Escobedo said that two key medical projects are in the pipeline in Baja California, including a plan by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's Grupo Carso to build a "world-class hospital and hotel" complex in Tijuana, which would open in late 2012. Another facility is being planned next year in the Guadalupe Valley, he said, but did not provide details.

The National City-based International Community Foundation, which expects to release its study on health care for Americans in Mexico next week, has found a need for assisted living and long-term care for older Americans in Mexico.

"Mexico is a great place for active retirees, but it?s not a very good place to age in place today," said Richard Kiy, the foundation's president.

Mauricio Monroy, a partner in a Tijuana accounting firm who has long been active in cross-border issues, said the conference was a good first step. He said Mexico's federal government must now play a central role, through guidelines and regulatory reform.

"That's the starting point: How do you license a hospital, doctors, nurses, land use? How do you take care of immigration?, tax issues?, There's a lot to do," Monroy said.

Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716; sandra.dibble@uniontrib.com

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/21/mexican-health-care-for-americans-studied/

[kimba1]

uhm
 whenever I vacation in san diego I go across the border for my check ups
I literally shave hundreds of dollars off my medical expenses.

even though i got excellent insurance from my job it`s still abit costly to get a full check up.

[Christians4LessGvt]

you have excellent insurance but it is "costly" to have a check-up?
in mexico i assume you had to pay 100% of the costs?
so 100% of the mexico costs was significantly less than your office co-pay for a check-up?

[Michael Tee]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism

Everything you need to know about medical tourism.  Some interesting stuff in there, one being how Germany is cashing in on wealthy Middle East patients who have been running into increasingly difficult visa problems with the U.S.A. after 9-11.  If price is no object, obviously the U.S.A. would be their first choice, but they consider Germany the next best thing.

We know people who go to India for dental care, and to Florida for joint surgery (to avoid the waiting lines in Ontario.)  The people who go to India were born there and can visit family at the same time and the lady who goes to Florida has always timed her visits to avoid the Ontario winters during both surgery and recuperation.  So on the basis of my limited experience, I'd guess that it is usually more than one factor that drives the medical tourist.

[kimba1]

so 100% of the mexico costs was significantly less than your office co-pay for a check-up?


on the co-pay alone ,no

but if you ask for a test beyound a very short check list(ex. blood test,all x-rays) then the cost is quite high.

but if you got serious injuries the insurance is a better bet since it`ll definately eat up the deductable and activate the full coverage.

truthfully all insurance companies should have a banking or credit union that set aside money out of a paycheck to offset the deductable cost .so people can actually be able to see a doctor without having to wait till they save$ 500 to $1500 .

co-pay is hard enough for people but getting a $ 180 bill a month later because the doctor suggest a glacoma test is abit much.


I`m not saying  these cost shouldn`t get paid, but getting these bills after the doctors office is quite a deterent in going for a check up

[Amianthus]

truthfully all insurance companies should have a banking or credit union that set aside money out of a paycheck to offset the deductable cost .so people can actually be able to see a doctor without having to wait till they save$ 500 to $1500 .

Health Savings Account (HSA). Many employers nowadays will fund one for you with a payroll deduction. It's your money, too, so it goes with you if you switch employers. And some employers will even put extra money into your HSA if you choose a lower cost insurance plan (like catastrophic coverage) - I've collected over $3,000 from employers above and beyond what they contribute to my insurance via HSA contributions over the last 3 years.

[kimba1]

that`s where I got the idea, you brought it up before.
but I`ve never heard of this anywhere else.

[Amianthus]

that`s where I got the idea, you brought it up before.
but I`ve never heard of this anywhere else.

Every employer I've had in the last 5 years has offered it.

"HSAs were established as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003. They were developed to replace the Medical Savings Account system.

"A survey of employers published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in September 2008 found that 8% of covered workers were enrolled in a consumer-driven health plan (including both HSAs and Health Reimbursement Accounts), up from 4% in 2006. The study found that roughly 10 percent of firms offered such plans to their workers. Large firms were more likely to offer a high-deductible plan (18%), but enrollment was higher in small firms (8% of covered workers, versus 4% in larger firms)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_savings_account

[kimba1]

wow thats pretty low percentage.

but it makes sense it would have a low turn out since it`s not an easy thing to sell to folks.

medical,dental,eye, drugs and on top of that you add a medical savings programs

generally speak people don`t like making decisions.