For foreigners who are considering a move to Mexico, one important concern is the quality of healthcare. Often images of Third World conditions or swine flu emerge when most people think of “healthcare” and “Mexico.” However, the reality is that for foreigners living in Mexico, the quality of healthcare is far from second-rate.
Mexico has both private and public systems of healthcare that are accessible to foreigners.
The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) provides an HMO-style public health care program. The program is open only to Mexican taxpayers who pay Social …

Joint Commission International is a non-governmental organization whose mission it is to “continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.” Their efforts stem from a long history of professional health care providers who saw the need for standardization and improvement of care as early as 1910. As the world has grown smaller, Joint Commission International has broadened its reach to include every health care …

We are anticipating the availability of Medicare for eligible retirees residing in Mexico in the not too distant future. Once this obstacle to retiring abroad has been eliminated, not only will millions of baby boomers in search for a less expensive and better quality of life be heading south of the border, but so too will millions of retiring Mexican Americans desiring to return to their homeland.

There is not a better place on the planet for recuperating after surgery than in Vallarta during the beautiful winter months of November through May. Upon returning home, your friends will be duly impressed when they see you proudly “strut your stuff”, as you inform them that you rediscovered the Fountain of Youth while vacationing in Paradise!

The pressure to pass laws allowing the use of Medicare benefits in Mexico is growing stronger as the aging American population seeks a better quality of life south of the border. At this point in time, there are many hundreds of thousands of legal American residents living in Mexico, both American-born and Mexican-born, who are eligible for Medicare benefits but who must return to the U.S. to take advantage of the benefits for which they pay premiums. There are millions who travel back and forth, unable to make a permanent move because …

First, let’s define Pre-Boomer; obviously it’s before Boomer! The Baby Boomer Generation is defined as those born after World War II; generally between the years of 1944 and 1964. Consequently, the oldest of the nearly 80 million US born Baby Boomers are just now turning 65 years old.
The Pre-Boomer Generation is typically defined as those born during the 20 year period prior to the end of WW II or roughly from 1924 to 1944. There were approximately 50 million people born in the US during this time frame. These Pre-Boomers …

The State of Campeche, Mexico, has walked onto the 21st century world stage already a star, ready to do business and provide a good life for retirees. Publicity has recently come with the addition of two sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list: the Historic Fortified Town of Campeche and the Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, but there is much more to this state that makes it so attractive to both large and small investors.
There is no need to worry about how hard it might be to go …

Those of us who grew up in the 1950s or earlier recall Watkins, Fuller Brush, and if it was in a semi-rural community, the milkman, iceman and bakery truck. Today in Oaxaca door-to-door sales and services continue to thrive, perhaps less so in the centro histórico (historic downtown) apart from propane and water. But venture beyond and you’ll be amazed at the multitude of benefits available at one’s doorstep… in Third World Mexico we still have conveniences long lost in so-called “modern society,” and yes, Avon.
It may not …

Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.

Large trucks regularly wending their way through the streets of Oaxaca with signs stating “agua para uso humano” (water for human consumption) are not transporting drinking water. And what they are in fact carrying might be a yellow shade of beige.
Usually these pipas, as they’re commonly known, contain between 2,500 and 20,000 liters of water. Throughout the year they supply commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants, for their washrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms. They also provide water to many residences which are hooked up to city …

One often assumes that the years added to your life by leading a much more stress-free existence in Mexico, will be lost by the inferior health care system to which you will be exposed, subjected and restricted. This, then, is an assessment of the extent to which such presuppositions are accurate, together with information and advice for both would-be ex-patriot residents of and travelers to Oaxaca. It has general application for other Mexican cities.

Aside from the small, private hospitals, often referred to as clínicas, there are four publicly funded …