Health Care
Excerpted from Living Abroad in Costa Rica, by Erin Van Rheenen.
Low Prices
In 2004 more than 42 million U.S. citizens were without health insurance, and the number seems to be increasing every year. Costa Rica has made a commitment to provide health care to all of its residents, and even visitors can take advantage of the high-quality, low-cost care. For a small monthly fee (about US$60), residents can be a part of the public system that includes everything from drugs to dentistry, as well as care at public clinics and hospitals. For a little more each month, anyone (not just residents) can sign on with the INS, the state insurance provider—this route lets you choose your own doctor. International policies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield www.blueshield.com are accepted at the excellent private hospitals and clinics. If you have no insurance and don’t want to join up with the public system, you can pay out-of-pocket and still spend a third less that you would in the United States.
High Quality
If you think this is too good to be true, thinking of third-world hospitals with poor hygiene and badly trained staff, think again! The University of Costa Rica has one of the most respected medical schools in all of Central America and the Caribbean, and many doctors do further study in Europe, Canada, or the United States. The private hospitals in particular have up-to-date equipment, like Hospital CIMA’s open MRI, the only one in Central America. Confidence in the system is expressed by the number of people who come to Costa Rica just to have surgery, whether a facelift or triple bypass.