Study: 1M Californians per year get care in Mexico

Well, here's a medical tourism tidbit that deserves more attention: According to a new UCLA study appearing in the journal Medical Care, almost a million California residents seek medical care in Mexico each year.

According to the study, roughly 488,000 of the 952,000 Californians who go to Mexico for healthcare, or about 51 percent, are Mexican immigrants. The study found that cost of care in the U.S. and lack of insurance were the two main reasons both immigrant and U.S.-born Californians crossed the border for care. Among non-Latino whites, the most common reason for making the trip was getting lower-cost prescription drugs.

Along the way, the study notes that almost one-third of Mexican immigrants who've lived in the U.S. for more than 15 years are uninsured, and 51 percent of those here for less than 15 years have no coverage.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1] (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Study: Substantial minority of Americans would try medical tourism [2]
Health plans begin to cover medical tourism [3]
WellPoint begins paying for medical tourism [4]
Middlemen take uncertainty out of medical tourism [5]