More and more people choosing to travel abroad for health care. This chart from the Medical Tourism Association shows that medical tourism may be the answer to lowering such large medical bills.  While travel costs are not considered in this graph, the costs in America are so large that it is likely travel expenses will not be enough discourage medical tourism.

The movement is inspired by four year old Anghella Torres who weights 66 pounds. This is twice the normal weight for her age. However, the four year old is well aware of her weight problem and is working with her grandmother and caretaker to limit the amount of sweets she eats. Unfortunately, not all little girls are as ambiguous as Anghella.

The problem spans across all social classes and is not just an issue with children. Over 70% of Mexican adults are either overweight or obese as well.

Starting this year, pre-schools and elementary schools will no longer offer soft drinks or junk food.  Cafeterias will include more vegetables and low-calorie snacks. Middle school will be required to only sell sugar-free drinks. In addition to food quality improvements, school officials are also increasing the number of physical education hours from one to three hours per week.

Many school officials worry that the efforts will fall sort of expectations as many parents are not supportive and vendors of high calorie snack foods still gather outside schools. However, Chessa Lutter, a regional advisor on food and nutrition for Pan American Health Organization says, ”Any efforts to improve the school environment are very important to combat the epidemic.”

Take a look inside Hospital Angeles in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The Medical Tourism Corporation takes viewers on a virtual tour of the hospital and explains why Hospital Angeles is a popular destination for people all over the globe seeking medical attention.

“It was really like night and day compared to last year’s conference on the part of the audience and the AARP folks. There was a tectonic shift in attitude,” says medical travel expert Josef Woodman. “It seems that the concept has sunk in – that real people actually do travel for medical care.”

Woodman also believes that this in an excellent indication of how globalized and fluid healthcare is becoming. He feels this growing trend should not be ignored as the United States struggles to confront the high health care costs of an aging population.

Mario Juarez, medical tourism panelist of the Mexico Trade and Investment Board points out that gone are the days when Americans only crossed the boarder for cosmetic and dental procedures. Recently, procedure requests have become more complicated and have included bariatric surgery, orthopedic, and vascular procedures.

Woodman also adds that Mexico has seen a great increase in medical tourism from large cities in Arizona, California, and Texas.  Procedures are generally very successful, causing positive word of mouth for Mexico when travelers return home.

A decade ago, half of Mexico’s population was without health insurance. Since then, the government passed a law to guarantee care and created an insurance program called Seguro Popular. Salomon Chertorivski was appointed to run the new program.  In an interview with NewsHour, Chertorivski explains why this year brings excited news for health care in Mexico.

Chertorivski explains that since Seguro Popular, which directly translates to Popular Insurance, was organized, over 50 million Mexicans have registered. These people, paired with those receiving health care benefits from a formal job, are helping the country reach an important milestone in December of this year: universal coverage.

Despite this, Chertorivski says reaching this milestone is not without its challenges. The government has constructed over 1,000 hospitals and clinics over the past five years but is concerned that the quality will not be consistant. The government will have to make maintaining the new hospitals a priority to ensure that excellent service is provided no matter where in the country a patient receives care.

Mexico is also concerned with an aging population. Today, only 9% of the population is over 60 years of age. However, in 2040, one out of every four Mexicans will be over 60. The country will experience a problem similar to the United States and the aging Baby Boomers.

Even with the global recession, Chertorivski is not concerned with health care fitting into the Mexican budget. Health care is a top priority of President Calderon and $40 billion US dollars are invested annually.  He also believes that an investment in health care is also an investment in economic growth, development, and higher productivity.

MexicoToday

Mexico City’s goal for Breast Cancer Awareness 2011 is to give 50,000 free diagnostic mammograms throughout the city. An additional goal is to construct a culture of ‘self-care’ and ‘prevention’, especially when it comes to the detection and initial treatment of breast cancer, something that is also being promoted by the Mexican organization, Red Rosa (Pink Network). Read the full inspiring story form MexicoToday.

Public health authorities working at the Arizona-Sonora border in many ways exemplify the necessity of working across the fence, when it comes to protecting the health of border area residents. In Cochise County, in particular, public health officials have created the Binational Border Health Program, an international initiative coordinated by both the Cochise County Health Department and the Sonora Ministry of Health. This program serves to address a number of border health concerns, including environmental health, maternal health, substance abuse, and the spread of communicable disease.

The news media frequently brings stories to the public concerning the contentious relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. We hear about the failure of the two countries’ governments to work together to stop violent drug cartels. We hear about the ways in which U.S. immigration policy continues to drive a wedge between these two countries’ peoples and their governments. We hear about free trade programs that too often benefit U.S. elites at a severe cost to the Mexican people. We hear quite a lot about the need to build an impenetrable fence, permanently separating the North from the South.

However, in quite a lot of ways, the U.S. and Mexico are inextricably linked. And there are quite a lot of people reaching across the border in order to accomplish amazing things. Just like public health authorities have joined hands across the international border in the service of accomplishing a shared task, so too are Mexicans and U.S.-Americans working together in protecting the environment, in developing binational education programs, in creating art, and in doing charitable and activist work. It is important to acknowledge the ways in which these two countries are working together, especially during times when so many forces seem to be tearing them apart.

The CDC committee voted yesterday in Atlanta to officially recommend the HPV vaccine for all boys ages 11-21. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to make the vaccine mandatory is up to each individual state. According to CNN Health, 50% of sexually active Americans will contract the virus at some point in their lives making HPV the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Because of high transmission rate and the dangers the disease poses to women, Mexico decided to administer the vaccination to all girls starting in 2012. The CDC already recommended for girls ages 11-12 to get the vaccine, but so far only one state has made the shots mandatory.

Part of the reason why males are now being encouraged to get vaccinated in America is because the number of females receiving the shots has been lower than expected. The more males get vaccinated, the less likely the disease is of being spread. In addition to protecting against HPV, the vaccination also protects against genital warts and cancers of the penis and rectum.

Scientists cured sickle cell in adult mice through the activation of a blood protein which is normally only produced prior to birth.  The new study could help in developing a treatment for people with the genetic disease.

The cause of sickle cell is a defect in hemoglobin, the protein which carries oxygen in red blood cells. It is most prevalent in people of African, Hispanic, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent. While bone marrow transplants have cured some patients, the procedure is dangerous and it is extremely difficult to find matching, healthy bone marrow donors.

Lead researcher Dr. Stuart Orkin says that this study is the first to prove that blocking the production of a protein called BCL11A can eliminate sickle cells. The treatment is certainly promising, however more research is needed before it can be used for humans.

The new high resolution PEM system in Mexico, can detect tumors as small as 2mm in diameter.

Dr Elissa Meites from the CDC’s Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention commented on the report, saying “These data show that HPV vaccination programs are being implemented in more countries throughout the Americas, but we still have a long way to go.” She went on to explain how because of the high cost of the vaccination, many countries in the Americas with poor public health funding are unable to add it to their immunization programs.

In Mexico, the immunization program was nationally upgraded in September 2011 to provide the vaccination for all 9 year old girls in school. Such advances demonstrate Mexico’s progressive health care system.

In this message, the president spoke on efforts within his administration to provide medical access, medicine and treatment for all Mexican citizens. He spoke on this step for Mexican healthcare and the results of the country’s largest ever investment in health through the National Committee for Social Health Protection.

The president credited these investments with enabling the building and equipping of over 3,000 clinics, hospitals and health centers throughout the country. Furthermore, he went on to say that in the last ten years, medical coverage has increased from 45 million people to 100 million. However, he stressed that to achieve universal healthcare, healthcare services must continue to improve and move forward.

“The majority of Mexico’s population has access to public or private services.  Three-fourths of this majority use public health care services.  Emergency medical care is available and accessible to everyone regardless of employment status, but many people can afford private medical care.“

Wellness retreats are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world with their focus on holistic healing and well-being of the mind, body and spirit. Setting the standard of excellence for such retreats is Rancho La Puerta, the gorgeous 3,000 acres of gardens, mountains and meadows which sprawl across Tecate, Baja California. Take a look inside this unique experience from Mexico Today and see what Rancho La Puerta’s general manager Roberto Arjona hopes for the future of medical tourism in Mexico.

1. Salud Today – Has an online forum to stimulate “an ongoing discussion among Latino families, community leaders, health researchers and all others who are interested in improving the health of Latinos across the U.S.”

2. Hispanic Latino Health – provides health information “with a focus on the Hispanic/Latino community in the United States.”

3. Por Tu Familia – The American Diabetes Association’s provides prevention tips on diabetes. “Your family needs you to be healthy and feelings your best, so that you can be there for them.”

4. Latino Nutrition Coalition – Tries to change the way people eat through “practical and positive programs grounded in science, traditions and delicious foods and drinks.”

5. Go Red Por Tu Corazon – Their mission is to “build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.”

Insurance companies available from CARSA Insurance Brokers

The Mexico Good Life continues its article on health coverage by drawing on some of the major differences between health care in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as between private and public coverage.

The article strongly recommends keeping certain issues in mind when talking to your insurance broker about your new policy. The primary difference to keep in consideration is in the coverage itself. Typically, most policies are designed to cover expenses for significant illnesses or injuries and NOT minor infections and scrapes.

The article give the following example — it is unusual for policies to include coverage for regular office visits that are not a significant emergency or related to a long-term illness. A doctor will typically charge between $26-$52 U.S. for such visits. As an alternative, pharmacies offer cheaper consultations onsite for minor health issues.

Trustworthy Insurance Companies
As in any country, Mexico has both very reliable insurance companies, as well as some that are not well established. Opt for companies that have a long history of stability and high levels of customer service. The most reliable insurance brands recommended in the article are MetLife, Allianz, and GNP Seguros but there are others you can consider. The most important thing to look for in a policy and a broker is an association with the National Insurance Bonds Commission. Avoid any policies or brokers without a license from this Federal commission.

If you are such a traveler, there is a likelihood that you have a number of questions to ask before you make the move. I’ve linked to articles from The Mexico Good Life before, and they recently posted an interesting article regarding this very issue. While Mexico’s health care system is considered quality as well as affordable, it can still pose a challenge learning the structure of an entirely new system.

Public Insurance
As I mentioned before, the system that expats can use is called Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social or IMSS. IMSS is free for Mexican citizens but will cost expats with valid visas about $300 US a year. The problem with this system is simply the volume of people you will be grouped with compared to the staff and facilities available for treatment.

Private Insurance
As I mentioned in my initial coverage on Mexico’s health care policy, private insurance can be purchased as additional coverage or as your primary option, and many sources recommend this for expatriates. The price of these policies range between about $500 US to over $1000 US for individual plans depending on your age, deductible option, previous conditions, and level of coverage.

One strong consideration to keep in mind that speaks to the benefit of private insurance is access to bilingual professionals.

To read more on the differences between the two programs, and ways to select what would be preferable for you, visit The Mexico Good Life.

Smoking will increase your risk of cancer, emphysema, heart disease, stroke, and dying young, but if you manage to dodge all those bullets, it may actually reduce your need for joint-replacement surgery later in life.

Curious as it may sound, a new study of nearly 11,000 older men in Australia has found that the longer the men smoked, the less likely they were to undergo surgery to replace hips and knees damaged by arthritis or other conditions.

Those who smoked for 48 years or more — the bulk of their adult lives — were 42 to 51% less likely (depending on their age) to need the surgeries than men who had never smoked, according to the study, which appears in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. … Read More

via CNN Health

Mexico has implemented various policies to regulate the consumption of tobacco, which has greatly improved the proportion of smokers, bringing the number form 26.4 to 18.5 percent of the urban adult population.