Mexican medical tourism attracts American tourists

The concept of medical tourism – combining travel with medical treatment – has long been popular among many Americans. “Molar City” (also known as the dental city) is the nickname Americans have given to Los Algodones, when there are more than 300 dental clinics with about 600 dentists practicing in this town of only 4 main streets.

The name Molar City has been around since long before the internet made it easy to shop for health care. Naturally, Los Algodones has embraced the nickname, and local officials have even set up a website called molcity.org to help potential clients from the neighboring country find dentists and travel information.

The large number of dentists practicing and the influx of customers have pushed the competition in this medical tourism market to a fierce level, with colorful signs hanging on every neighborhood balcony, and flyers advertising discounts on teeth whitening, tooth extraction, and dental implants everywhere. During the peak season from November to April every year, Molar City's population of 7,000 people doubles, when the number of Americans coming here during the day is equal to the town's population. Even in the hot summer months, about 2,000 people come here every day from the US border states of California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Why is this place so popular with Americans? First of all, it is quite easy to travel across the US-Mexico border. American citizens only need to present their passport or driver’s license to enter Mexico and return very simply. However, the most important point is the low cost of advanced medical services.

“In California, the cost of getting four teeth implanted is the same as if I had a Tesla in my mouth,” AFP quoted the humorous answer of Rene, a 65-year-old Uber driver from California, who came to Molar City for the first time for dental services. $57,000 for four teeth - a pretty steep price. That's also the starting price of Tesla's Model Y Performance. Dental services in Los Algodones are much cheaper than in the US. The difference is not only enough to cover travel expenses, but also enough for multiple trips back and forth in case the dentist schedules additional appointments.

Dental care in the United States is funded through private insurance policies tied to workers’ jobs and is often capped at a rate. This means that people who are unemployed are not covered by insurance and are instead paying very high prices for dental services. A report by the University of Illinois Chicago found that about a quarter of Americans do not have dental insurance.

David Barry, a retired Arizona resident who has been receiving dental care in Molar City for more than a decade, says that many Americans simply cannot afford to pay a dentist: “In California, for the dental service I requested, they quoted me $35,000. In Molar City, I only had to pay $6,000-8,000 for the same service with the same quality.” In fact, dental care facilities in Los Algodones have not hesitated to actively invest in the most modern medical equipment to attract American customers.

Dr. Carlos Rubio is one of the longest-serving dentists in Los Algodones. In 1985, when he opened his clinic, it took him an average of four months to get one client. By April 2023, he was examining and consulting with 30-35 clients a day. According to Mr. Rubio, even after the kidnapping and murder of several American citizens in early March while traveling to Mexico for medical treatment, the number of American visitors to Los Algodones shows no signs of slowing down.

A survey of 427 American medical tourists to Mexico published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association found that most respondents said that Mexican health care services were of equal or better quality than those in the United States, while costs were 50 to 70 percent lower. More than 400 of these people expressed satisfaction and said they would continue to do more medical tourism in the future.

Before the pandemic, up to 1.2 million Americans traveled to Mexico each year for medical tourism. Today, the number of American medical tourists traveling to Mexico has recovered and is on the rise. This partly reflects Mexico's success in investing heavily and promoting medical tourism as a key business sector of this North American country.

HA PHUONG

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