AZ hospital helps Mexican moms have babies with U.S. citizenship

When U.S. citizens think about medical tourism, they envision a vacation-like trip offering heavily discounted procedures in lush surroundings. But medical tourism can also involve patients coming into the U.S.--and in the case of expectant moms, can confer benefits which few medical tourist get.

Of late, a growing number of well-to-do Mexican mothers have been coming to the U.S. to have their babies, who automatically get American citizenship since they were born on U.S. soil. One hospital that is capitalizing on this trend is Tucson, AZ-based Tucson Medical Center, which is marketing a "birth package" offering cutting edge technology, cozy settings and the chance for mothers to grant their babies American citizenship.

It's one of 13 packages aimed at Mexican families, including some that advertise resort stays and shopping trips. Along with maternity services, TMC offers varied screenings and services, including mammograms and urology procedures.

The TMC birth package costs $2,300 for a vaginal birth with a two-day stay, and $4,600 for a c-section and a four-day stay. The hospital imposes a $500 surcharge for each additional child.

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

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Medical tourism or global healthcare? [3]
Middlemen take uncertainty out of medical tourism [4]
Patients, employers choose overseas care [5]