Every year, more than 25,000 people, mostly Americans, hop a jet or cruise ship and travel south for medical care in Costa Rica. Why are more and more folks taking vacations to that country that also include medical tourism? Because they are finding that medical care in Costa Rica is now on par with the best hospitals in the States but at a fraction of the cost.
Only the world’s finest hospitals receive Joint Commission International Accreditation and three Costa Rica hospitals are so certified and accredited, providing assurance that they meet the highest international benchmarks for hospitals and patient care. Those hospitals are Cima, Clinical Biblica, and La Catolica Hospital, all in or very near to San Jose. The patient care and delivery of service is top drawer, often delivered by Board Certified physicians.
It is no secret that American health care is the costliest in the world—by a long shot. And, for the nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance, there is insult added to injury because hospitals charge uninsured patients much more for services than folks having good insurance. This is where medical care in this little Latin America country comes in for thousands of suffering American tourists. Why? Because they can save up to 65% in Costa Rica for the identical services they would receive in the United States.
Not convinced? Here is an example: for patients without health insurance, total knee replacement surgery in the U.S. can cost $35,000 or more. Clinica Biblica charges less than $12,000.
Internationally accredited medical hospitals and board certified doctors—many who have studied and trained in the United States and at world renowned universities-charge about $3,200 for breast augmentation. Lasik eye surgery that can run up to $5,000 in the States is less than $2,000.
For more and more women wanting plastic surgery, Costa Rica is the answer. Instead of paying $10,000 for a facelift, they hop a plane, pay $3,000 or less, recuperate in a tropical paradise on vacation, and go home with money in their pocket.
In addition to the three JCI accredited hospitals, there are three clinics accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Ambulatory Facilities. They are UNIBE (Universidad de Iberoamerica) which offers ambulatory and surgical care; Sonrisa Por Todo (Smiles for Everybody) providing dental care; and Pino Plastic Surgery Clinic.
Quality dental care is so affordable in this Central American country that more than a third of all its medical tourists now come for dental surgery or dental implants. Implants costing up to $3,000 in the United States are between $500-$750 in this tropical paradise. Periodontal surgery that is at least $2,500 in America is about $400.
With American medical and dental expenses heading into the stratosphere, tens of thousands of patients are being lost each year and Costa Rica is gladly providing the same quality of care and treatment. Unlike Mexico, it is safe to bring a family to this country.