Medical tourism is a 100 billion dollar a year industry, one built on the desire for more affordable healthcare and surgery options. The U.S. is the source of most medical tourists, with Thailand and Mexico the two most popular destinations. Each has plenty to recommend it, both in terms of quality and price. Medical services in Mexico are typically about 40% to 60% less than those in the U.S., and those in Thailand can be even cheaper.
These countries are also known for their picturesque vacation options. As long as you’re already traveling, after all, why not plan a vacation around your medical needs? But Mexico has something Thailand lacks. It’s a lot closer to the U.S., meaning shorter, cheaper flights to popular medical tourism and vacation destinations like Los Cabos.
What to know about medical tourism in Los Cabos
Los Cabos is an emerging medical tourism powerhouse, with several high-quality hospitals and clinics, and more on the way. Ground was just broken in April for a new Christus Muguerza hospital in the Tourist Corridor, midway between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. This state-of-the-art 450,000 square foot facility will offer services from doctors and clinicians representing about 30 different medical specialties. When open, it’ll be one of several appealing Tourist Corridor options, joining established hospitals like Blue Net, Hospiten, and H+, with even more found in the cape cities themselves.
“There’s a huge opportunity for medical tourism in Cabo,” notes Raúl Rivas, Director General of Blue Net Hospitals. However, “if you ask 10 different people about medical tourism in Los Cabos, you’ll get 10 different answers.” Which is to say, there’s no road map for patients seeking the best and most affordable treatments, and no customer service agency to help them if they’re dissatisfied.
Thus, it’s incumbent upon patients to ensure they’re doing the proper research beforehand. Rivas recommends that patients meet their doctors and visit hospital facilities to ensure they’re comfortable with the quality of service they’re going to receive, and confirm that their doctors are properly licensed.
It’s also important to consider the issue of insurance and what you need to do to get reimbursed beyond your deductible. If your domestic healthcare insurer doesn’t cover the surgery you’re seeking outside the U.S., you may want to purchase some sort of supplemental insurance. You should also think about what you’re going to do if something goes wrong. Los Cabos offers very good healthcare, but there’s always a risk when it comes to major surgeries, no matter how skilled the operating team.
Notable hospitals and facilities in Los Cabos
An annual report in 2022 by the Baja California Sur Ministry of Health listed no less than 34 healthcare facilities in Los Cabos, the most notable of which, for medical tourism purposes, include the aforementioned:
Blue Net Hospital
- Location: Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 6.3, Cabo Bello, Tourist Corridor
- Facilities include: 24/7 emergency services, intensive care units for adults and children, advanced operating rooms, a comprehensive imaging center with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, clinical laboratory services, a dialysis center, and more
- Specialties include: bariatric surgery, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, oncology and chemotherapy, orthopedics and traumatology, plastic and cosmetic surgery
- Notable for: Official healthcare provider during the G20 Summit in 2012
H+ Hospital
- Location: Koral Center, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 24.5, Tourist Corridor
- Facilities include: 16 single patient rooms, three fully-equipped operating rooms and specialized delivery rooms, intensive care unit, endoscopic procedural room with advanced equipment, comprehensive radiology and imaging department featuring the latest technology, including MRI, CT scanner, ultrasonography, digital radiology, mammography, and digital fluoroscopy, the only private blood bank in Los Cabos and Baja California Sur
- Specialties include: Over 100 affiliated specialists
- Notable for: Cutting-edge diagnostic imaging equipment
Hospiten
- Location: Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 0.5, El Tezal, Tourist Corridor; and Paseo de las Misiones 266, San José del Cabo
- Facilities include: two state-of-the-art operating rooms, emergency room, birthing room with advanced maternal-fetal monitoring, catheterization laboratory, clinical laboratory with advanced diagnostic capabilities, comprehensive imaging department with MRI, CT scanning, 3D-4D ultrasound, and X-ray capabilities
- Specialties include: cardiology and interventional cardiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery, dermatology, ENT, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and pediatric cardiology, urology, and more
- Notable for: Maintains upwards of 20 hospitals across several countries, including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and Spain.
Naturally, not all local hospitals offer the same quality of care. For instance, I have omitted St. Luke’s Hospital in Cabo San Lucas from this list due to the number of complaints lodged for a wide array of issues, which ultimately caused the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico to issue a health alert.
How much cheaper are surgeries in Mexico?
The appeal of Los Cabos isn’t just its resorts, spas, beaches, and opportunities for outdoor adventure, although of course those contribute to its popularity as a vacation destination, and provide plenty to do for those awaiting treatments or recovering from surgeries. It’s also the prices. The average cost of a heart bypass surgery in the U.S. is about US $127,000. In Mexico, the average price of the same operation is $27,000. Joint replacements are even more popular, and here, too, the savings are significant. A hip replacement in the U.S. will run you $40,000, a knee replacement $35,000. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the same operations go for $12,500 and $10,500, respectively.
Plastic surgeries, another favorite for medical tourists in Los Cabos, also offer significant savings. For example, a facelift is typically less than half the price in Mexico than it would be in the U.S. (US $4,250 here versus $11,000 there), while rhinoplasties offer even steeper discounts ($2,800 compared to $12,000). Lasik eye surgeries also provide value, as they’re about $4,000 in the U.S. and only $1,900 in Mexico.
What to know about billing
Again, these are average prices. You’ll want to get a written estimate of the cost of any proposed procedures beforehand. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico are a good resource, both for a list of preferred hospitals in Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo and as an ally if you later have any disputes with your chosen healthcare provider. Understand, though, that you will likely be expected to pay for services upfront.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
