[Bret L]

Memo From Middle America (Formerly Known As Memo From Mexico), By
Allan Wall

Turnabout Not Fair Play—Gringos Don’t Get Free Medical Care In Mexico

"A certain Tom Shaw of Las Vegas wrote an interesting letter which was recently published on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website. It asked this question:

"Here is my question: If I had a life-threatening medical condition,
would it be acceptable for me to illegally enter Mexico, for example,
for free and endless treatment even though I'm not supposed to be in
their country in the first place? I could possibly explain to Mexican
authorities that I have no job, no insurance and no means to pay for
my hospital charges. What are the chances that their government would
be compassionate enough to overlook my selfish and law-breaking ways
and pass my financial responsibilities onto the backs of their own
citizens—no matter the cost? They might even move my family to the
front of the line at their emergency rooms since we have nowhere else
to go. Because I have a life-threatening condition, that would be the
humanitarian thing to do."["Mexico Would Take Care of Any of Us,
Wouldn’t It?" August 24, 2009]

Mr. Shaw makes an excellent point. After all, it sure works the other
way doesn’t it? Droves of Mexicans enter the U.S. illegally and avail
themselves of free medical care in our Emergency Rooms. If some form
of Obamacare eventually gets foisted upon us, this situation will most
likely continue.

As Tom Shaw asks, would it work the other way around? Would Mexico
allow the same sort of thing in its own territory?

What if we decided to test the proposition by encouraging hordes of
Americans to go down south and demand free medical care?

Somehow, I don’t think that would work.

In the first place, Mexico is much less tolerant of illegal
immigration than we are (see my VDARE.COM article More Hypocrisy : How
Mexico Handles its own Illegal Immigration).

Secondly, in Mexico they use Emergency Rooms for Emergencies—whereas
in the U.S., they´ve become free dispensaries of primary care.

(See my Why Mexican Hospital Emergency Rooms Aren´t Swamped, February
19, 2007).

And, don’t forget, unlike the U.S., Mexico doesn’t allow foreigners to
get involved in political demonstrations. Mexican officials might
consider an American version of the Mexodus to be a sort of
demonstration.

Meddling Mexican officials would go ballistic if a Mexican illegal
alien in the U.S. were denied medical service. Nevertheless, the
phenomenon of people being turned away for medical care is far from
unknown in Mexico.

For example, during the recent swine flu outbreak there were reports
of patients—Mexicans—being turned down for medical care. The
Associated Press reported that:

"Some [Mexican] patients suspected of having swine flu have said
public hospitals turned them away or forced them to wait hours for
treatment even after the [Mexican] government declared a national
emergency."[Fear of Public Hospitals Aided Swine Flu, By John Rice,
Associated Press, May 10th, 2009]

Another AP piece told of some ambulance workers refusing to pick up
people with fever, and of patients being turned away by health
workers. One patient reported actually being kicked out of an
ambulance and another said he was rejected by two different hospitals:
Some Mexican ill say doctors turned them away , Associated Press,
April 27, 2009

As for foreigners in Mexico, there are disturbing anecdotes about them
too:

*

In 2006, a Canadian couple was visiting Puerto Vallarta when the
husband had a heart attack. They had previously purchased travel
insurance in Canada, but at the Mexican hospital the insurance was
denied on a technicality, and they had to pay with a credit card.
(Apparently, the insurance company was not much help in the situation
either). The patient was eventually returned to Canada where he died
of complications. [One family's nightmare with travel insurance, Kathy
Tomlinson, CTV News, December 14 2006.]
*

Recently, according to a poster on Yahoo Answers, a honeymooning
American couple was visiting Cancun. The husband was paralyzed in a
swimming accident and his wife saved him with CPR. When his family
flew to Cancun to take him back, the hospital refused to release him
unless given an unlimited credit card. (See here).
*

In 2005, also in Cancun, American college student Paul Guzan was
attacked and mauled by a barracuda. Taken to a local hospital, he had
to wait for hours, his insurance was not accepted, and he had to pay
$10,000 with his parents´ credit card before they would even consider
treating him. Afterwards, they demanded another $5,000 to let him
leave the hospital. At this point, the U.S. Consulate intervened and
helped get him out of the hospital and the country without paying
more. [Mexico Demands Cash Up Front for Emergency Medical Treatment of
American]

Then there is this ironic incident which took place this year in Playa
del Carmen, near Cancun. Here is the report from the Med Politics
blog:

"A colleague of mine, who's been forced to deliver free medical care
to thousands of Mexican migrants here in Virginia over the years
(thanks to our laws), just returned home from a vacation trip to Playa
Del Carmen, Mexico.

“After his 6 year old daughter got high fever and nuchal rigidity
[neck stiffness], they went to a local hospital, concerned about
meningitis. Guess what? The ER doc/hospital would not see her or get
her admitted, unless the family deposited $800 in a credit card charge
upfront.

“There are a number of arguments for why our medical system is eating
so much money. But there is no doubt that one of the biggest causes is
that we are supporting millions of people in our Emergency Rooms and
wards, and they are from what is essentially a Third World nation". [A
Mexican Welcome, Med Politics blog]

What’s particularly ironic about the last incident is that this
doctor, who had treated so many Mexican illegal aliens, did not
receive reciprocal treatment in Mexico. But that’s not surprising, is
it?

It’s also been pointed out that sometimes the insurance companies—
American or Canadian—aren’t much help either and refuse to pay out. In
the incident involving the Canadian couple above, the Canadian
insurance company was also part of the problem by dragging its feet.

Nevertheless, from the point of view of the Mexican medical personnel,
what we had here was a refusal of services.

Mexican health care is a real mixed bag. Its quality varies greatly
depending upon who is providing.

Mexico has a large private medical industry. Especially in urban
areas, the upper class and even the Mexican middle class have access
to affordable medical care and to pharmaceutical products that are
much cheaper than north of the border. That’s why some Americans today
go south of the border for medical care and medicines. (And if
Obamacare ever gets instituted, you can expect a whole lot more of
that).

Private medical care in Mexico, however, is private—you have to pay
for it. That’s why private clinics and hospitals are so keen to demand
payment.

Mexico also has various government health insurance plans.

The biggest is Seguro Social, which includes all private sector
employees in the formal economy. That program is funded by the federal
government, private employers and private employees, whose paychecks
are deducted to contribute to the system

If you’re not in the system, however, the IMSS can turn you down.

The Seguro Social hospitals are typically overcrowded. That may be
their biggest problem. When I lived in Mexico, one of my wife’s
relatives had a punctured lung. She had to stay in the Emergency Room
for several days, as there was no space in the regular rooms. We
visited her there and the place reminded me of the hospital scene in
Gone with the Wind.

So Seguro Social doesn’t take un-enrolled patients for free, it has
enough problems as it is. Don’t expect to get treated for free in that
system.

Mexican government employees have their own health insurance program,
the oil monopoly PEMEX has its program, and the military has its
program. None of these programs are free of charge to outsiders, so
don’t expect to get free care there. (I did once go as a patient to a
Mexican military hospital, but paid for the privilege).

For Mexicans without health insurance, there’s a new program called
Seguro Popular. To join this program, you must pay for it, except for
those under a certain income level, who get it for free. That program,
however, is not designed for American tourists.

In 2006 the Mexican government began a new health plan for all babies
born after a certain date, and in 2009 announced universal care for
all pregnant women. So there’s no need for them to come north and have
anchor babies, now is there?

In addition, there are various medical facilities operated by
charities and churches. Where I lived, the Lion’s Club even operated a
clinic, which wasn’t very expensive.

The Red Cross does some good work in Mexico, operating ambulances and
hospitals. The Red Cross does sometimes treat people for free and
those who can’t pay anywhere else are sometimes brought to a Red Cross
facility.

When I was living in Mexico, one of my boys fell and cut his head on a
swing. We took him to the Red Cross where they checked his head,
cleaned the wound and put on a bandage. We offered to pay, but they
did it for free. Thank you, Red Cross.

In the Mexican urban area in which I resided, there was a university
hospital where medical students could practice on patients. It was
quite inexpensive for the patients. I heard of a story there, though,
in which a patient was unable to pay his bill and was kept in the
facility, with his bill increasing by the day. I don’t know how that
situation finally ended up.

In the U.S., under current interpretation of the EMTALA law, emergency
rooms are, for all practical purposes unable to turn anyone down, and
can be slapped with a $50,000 fine for refusing treatment, even if the
attending doctor determined a case was a non-emergency.

Interestingly enough, there is something similar to EMTALA in Mexican
law—Article 36 of the Ley General de Salud. [Word Document] It
stipulates that health care providers, public or private, must charge
Mexicans in accordance with their socioeconomic level and even exempt
them if they are unable to pay.

As for foreigners who come to Mexico for the primary purpose of
receiving medical treatment (as some do), legally, they must be
charged at the full rate, except in cases of emergency. [A los
extranjeros que ingresen al país con el propósito predominante de
hacer uso de los servicios de salud, se cobrará íntegramente el costo
de los mismos, excepto en los casos de urgencias.]

Nevertheless, most Americans who visit Mexico aren’t poor. As for
Americans residing in Mexico, they are generally either gainfully
employed or financially independent (because that’s how the Mexican
government wants it). So there’s not a big run on hospitals by poor
Americans. Nor will there be, I think, because the Mexican government
wouldn’t allow it.

Bottom line: there is no effort in Mexico to reciprocate the care
afforded to Mexicans in the U.S. by providing free care to Americans
in Mexico. And there isn’t going to be.

I plan to visit Mexico this Christmastime with my family. But believe
me, I don’t plan to intentionally injure myself and see if I can get
free medical care, though I’m sure that would provide some good grist
for a future VDARE.COM article.

In the meantime, I have a solution for the problem stateside. When
illegal aliens show up for medical treatment, detain them, treat them,
deport them, and send the bill to the Mexican government."

http://www.vdare.com/awall/090913_memo.htm