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Medical tourism shows U.S. health care inadequacy

Government-funded universal health care should be accessible

Samantha Rigante Opinions Columnist

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On Friday, March 3, four American citizens took an unexpectedly common journey to Mexico, one of them hoping to obtain a medical procedure across the border. Soon after driving through the Mexican city of Matamoros, they faced cartel gunfire, and all four were subsequently abducted. When Mexican officials finally found them, two were dead. The cartel associated with these killings has apologized, and five of its members have been arrested.

The whole affair, however, raised concerns surrounding the phenomenon of “medical tourism” — the process of traveling abroad in order to undergo medical procedures for less cost. According to the Mexican Council for the Medical Tourism Industry, nearly one million Americans travel to Mexico each year to undergo medical procedures that would be prohibitively expensive in the

United States. This is despite the fact that border towns, including Matamoros, are among the most dangerous medical tourism destinations. Many of these procedures, including cosmetic, dental and other medical surgeries, are far less expensive in Mexico, and American citizens risk their safety because they cannot afford the prices of medical care in the United States. According to the Associated Press, the price of a tummy tuck surgery in South Carolina could cost anywhere from $7,000 to $9,000, while in Matamoros the same surgery may only cost between $2,500 and $4,500.

The killing and abduction of the four citizens has brought to attention not only the dangerous circumstances surrounding medical tourism but also the outrageous prices of health care in the United States. Traveling long, unsafe distances to other countries simply because health care is too expensive is unheard of elsewhere around the world, especially in places that guarantee their citizens government-funded, public health care. According to Johns Hopkins University, “Americans on average continue to spend much more for health care — while getting less care — than people in other developed countries.”

Especially after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, more Americans will be putting their lives at risk simply because they cannot afford health care — especially reproductive care — within the United States. Women are already traveling across state lines in order to get abortions, which is especially the case for poorer women in southern states that have outlawed abortions — and the potential criminal risks involved have put many in danger as well. Not only is there a threat from cartels or other dangerous organizations, such as what occurred in Matamoros, but many of these medical procedures are often less safe because “quality and safety standards, licensure, credentialing and clinical criteria for receiving procedures are not consistent across countries and hospitals. If surgeries are conducted in substandard conditions, for example, the risk of poor results or complications is higher.”

America’s health care system is broken. No one should have to travel long distances simply because the health care system in their country is too expensive or inaccessible. In a 2019 Gallup poll, nearly 25 percent of Americans said they delayed getting medical treatment for a serious illness purely because the costs of treatment were too high, and even more Americans have trouble paying bills or totally covering the costs of their medical care altogether, leaving travel as the last solution for health care. Even those who have medical insurance sometimes must travel because their insurance will not cover many of the costs associated with medical care in the United States.

An obvious solution to the ever-increasing problem of the cost of health care in the United States is to introduce government-funded universal health care, as many countries across the world have. According to a study done by

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