Medical Tourism: High-tech hospitals across the border

Posted March 20, 2008

"Carlos Slim, Mexican business magnate and second-richest man on the planet, is planning a system of high-quality hospitals in Mexico specifically to cater to U.S. babyboomers." — Dan Prescher

by Dan Prescher

Baltimore – (TFN): The U.S. health care system is overpriced and out of reach for millions of Americans… and Mexico has the answer.

According to Mexican news sources, Carlos Slim, Mexican business magnate and second-richest man on the planet, is planning a system of high-quality hospitals in Mexico specifically to cater to U.S. babyboomers.

One of Slim’s companies, Ideal (IDEAL: Mexico), has purchased a 49% stake in Grupo Star Medica, a Mexican national hospital chain. Plans are underway for new, high-quality medical centers in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, and Los Cabos on the Baja California peninsula to cater to U.S. baby boomers who are buying second homes in Mexico… or who simply want to come to Mexico for cheaper healthcare than they can find in the United States.

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Vacation homes sales in Los Cabos increased an estimated 30% and an estimated 45% in Puerto Peñasco in the last three years. Claudia Velazquez, an analyst for Softec, a real estate market analysis firm, said companies like Grupo Star Medica are just filling niches created by those new homeowners and vacationers. And she adds, "[Babyboomers] are also choosing Mexico because its health system is much cheaper than in the United States.”

Slim isn’t the only Mexican businessman who sees an obvious opportunity in the failing U.S. health system. And plans are underway to get more U.S. private insurance companies to pay for medical treatment in Mexico. Read on to learn about other companies following Slim’s lead.

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Posted by TFN-International · Filed Under International Investing