20 June 2008 502 views 3 Comments

The Baby Boomer nickname is changing to Active Adults, mostly because nearly 8,000 Boomers turn 60 years of age every day of the year and almost 70% of them will have to continue working past retirement age. One of their lifestyle options is moving south of the border and it looks as if their numbers, in Mexico alone, are expected to swell to an estimated 10 to 15 million between now and 2025. As their numbers increase, we are seeing a corresponding increase in the cost of living in all of the areas of Mexico that are well known for having long-term, well developed expat communities. In fact, while daily living expenses remain relatively low, home prices are now reaching the outrageous sums that expats thought they were leaving behind in the States. This will not deter them from moving to Mexico, of course, because they really do go there to enjoy the tranquil, simpler - and yes, less expensive - lifestyle. However, the specter of needing additional income is very likely to mandate that significant numbers of these Active Adults either find - or make - work for themselves in Mexico.

A hint to one of the best future segments of business in Mexico can be found in almost every sentence of the paragraph above. The American immigrants to Mexico are mostly at retirement age, at least in the beginning of this migratory phenomenon. They will be moving, some of them, far from home and facing the prospect of leaving behind aging parents who need either assisted living or nursing home care. Within a few short years, the Active Adult generation will also need assisted living and/or nursing home care. Wonder of wonders: Mexico has relatively few of these types of facilities. The market is wide open and initial investment is within reach of almost everyone.

Major Issues

The cost of assisted living and nursing home care, in Mexico, can be as little as 20% of the cost of the same care in the U.S. As of now, even this modest cost must be paid out of pocket, since Medicare / Medicaid cannot (yet) be used in Mexico. This should soon change, first because fifteen million organized absentee ballots is a strong inducement to lawmakers back home and, second, the Medicare / Medicaid savings to the American taxpayers will be enormous.

If Medicare / Medicaid remains as is, what is likely to happen, in the short term, is that potential assisted living and nursing home patients will move to Mexico during their “pay down” phase. This is the time they would be required to be “private pay” patients in the U.S. Then, when they go into the 100% funded by Medicare / Medicaid stage of their care, they will come back to the U.S. and tap the national budget on the wallet. The American taxpayer will not be amused and the politicians who refused to vote to allow Medicare / Medicaid to be used outside the country will be in deep trouble. To avoid that situation, it is expected that it will not be long before politicians see the logic of voting to allow Medicare / Medicaid to be used wherever qualified individuals choose to live.

Business Opportunities for Whom?

What does this mean to Active Adults who plan on starting their own business in Mexico? The concept of “Find a Need and Fill It” is alive and well on this issue. Shared living homes can be started by anyone. Assisted living facilities can be started by almost anyone and require a minimum of expertise. The homes must be safe, staff members must be good to residents and the food must be nutritious. Planned activities and competent health monitoring are absolute necessities. The home-sharing concept, as well as the assisted living concpt are both relatively easy to start and to maintain. Opening a nursing home in the States is a big-bucks operation, usually carried out by heavy-hitting investors. Opening a nursing home in Mexico is something that is within the financial reach of U.S. nurses and allied health professionals. This is an opportunity to start and grow a business in an arena that never would have been open to this level of health care provider in the States. Who knows? The quality of care might just be many times better if the nursing homes are owned and operated by health care professionals who have actually worked at every level of this kind of provision of care.

Choosing a Location

The one thing that American assisted living residents and nursing home patients, living in Mexico, complain about is a feeling of loneliness when surrounded by Spanish-speakers. They feel cut-off from the rest of the world, which is not surprising. The wise investor will look for a location that is near excellent health care, and in an area, such as the State of Yucatan, where the atmosphere is more European, has a less transient touristy feel, a bilingual staff is readily available, and expats are integrated into the local community, rather than living in “Little USA” enclaves. On the other hand, if the potential investor intends to cater to those who have excellent health care coverage in the States, such as veterans, they might want to open their facility near the Texas border, which has easy access to many V.A. outpatient clinics and full service hospitals.

Related Links

A Must Read article: Moving Mom to Mexico

For more information on Assisted Living and Nursing Home Facilities in Mexico: Long-term care south of the border (read the comments too)