Living in Peru : your everyday companion

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By Charles Sizemore

Mark Twain is credited with saying “Everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” This is an apt metaphor for the health care system in the United States. Everyone complains about its cost and bureaucracy, but no one does anything about it.

The fact is, there is very little US citizens can do as individual consumers of health care. Costs are kept elevated by forces beyond our control. We can "self ration" (i.e. forgo some non-critical medical procedures), but at the end of the day we have very little bargaining power, either with the insurance companies or with the doctors and hospitals, for the services we need.

So what is a cash-strapped patient to do? In a word, leave.

I've used medical tourism in the past for various minor procedures when it was convenient. But I recently had a much larger use for medical tourism. Around eight pounds, in fact.

Last March, we discovered that my wife was pregnant. We also discovered — to our horror — that our health insurance policy did not cover maternity. (As it turned out, that is a separate policy. Who knew.)

Readers with young children are probably aware that uncomplicated childbirths cost an average of $8,000 in the US. That can easily exceed $20,000, and premature births are average $47,000, according to 2007 study by Thomson Healthcare.

I find it amazing that a basic human function (I don't consider it a medical procedure — it is a basic, natural function that homo sapiens have been doing for millennia) costs more and more every year to perform. This isn't cutting-edge, experimental surgery; it's childbirth. It should get cheaper every year, not more expensive. But, alas, we do not get to choose the prices that we pay. Or do we?

We decided that losing the cost of a new car to hospital bureaucracy was a nonstarter. So, we took the unconventional route.

My wife is originally from Peru, and her family still lives there. She also has several friends in Peru who have recently had babies. So, the decision was a no-brainer. My wife spent the last trimester in Trujillo, Peru, from where I wrote this blog post (the benefit of the information age: I can effectively work from anywhere in the world, at least for short stretches of time).

We hired the best doctor in the city, and reserved a suite for my wife in the best maternity hospital. The total cost? Less than $1,000. Cash.

No cumbersome insurance forms or bills in the mail six months later. And that included the additional costs of a cesarean section.

For Americans wondering about citizenship and residency issues, this too is relatively easy if at least one parent is a US citizen. We made a trip to the US embassy in Lima to obtain the baby's citizenship documents and passport. The little guy is not even a month old, and he's already a dual citizen.

Obviously, the medical tourism route is not appropriate for all Americans expecting children. Most Americans do not happen to have Peruvian in-laws like I do. However, with medical costs continuing to spiral out of control, I'd expect an increasing number of Americans to opt for the medical tourism route for just about every other procedure under the sun.

Charles Sizemore, CFA, is a financial writer and portfolio manager. He previously wrote about the Peruvian Paso Horse for LivinginPeru.com. To see what else Charles has to say, visit his blog.

tags : Trujillo Peru Americans Mark Twain

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5 Comments

# steve says :
26 February, 2010 [ 03:38 ]

so what happens if something goes wrong and God forbid...you did not have proper medical equipment to save the baby. Well...at least you saved a couple bucks.

# Martin says :
27 February, 2010 [ 08:58 ]

The only "negative", under present law, is that your Peruvian born child can not become President of the USA - if such is important to you.

I agree 100% with your statments regarding medical costs and medical attention in the US verses Peru. However, please take note that $1000.00 is a lot of money to a "typical" Peruvian - far beyond their capability for a simply delivery.

I live in Peru and have Medicare in the US which I do not use . My medical attention is at an excellent [or so I believe] Clinica in San Isidro. I also pay cash. For a complete annual checkup, tests, and 'simple' procedures, the cost is less than the 20% I would have to pay using Medicare in the US.
But I can afford it - most Peruvians cannot. I have looked at what a
typical Peruvian receives at "Es Salud", etc. - you probably would not consider it adequate for your family. So like most thing, it all depends on where you are coming from.
Too many visitors from the "1st. world" do not stop to consider the so-called low costs in Peru relative to an 'average' Peruvian's income. 

# Andrea says :
28 February, 2010 [ 10:21 ]

I agree, medical procedures (and dental procedures as well) are many times cheaper here in Peru and of very good quality if you go to a good clinic. I guess insurance costs aren't as high and in general we have a lower cost of life.

# Marie Alvarez-Calderon says :
1 March, 2010 [ 11:25 ]

  We use Peruvian doctors as well as a Peruvian dentist, and chiropractor/acupuncturist, all of whom we have found to be friendly, efficient, well-trained… and AVAILABLE. Some of them have either been to medical schools in the U.S. or have spent their internships / residencies abroad.
  We have a dear friend in Lima who had stage four cancer a couple of years ago and is doing fine now. In the U.S. he would have been overlooked because he had no insurance and little money. Not so in Peru, where he has received the best treatment and tests for a tiny fraction of what it would cost in the U.S. -- and from a doctor who trained at M.D. Anderson Cancer center in Houston, no less!
People who malign medical care outside of the U.S. may have never experienced it. This is about a lot more than saving money.

# Juan says :
17 March, 2010 [ 08:43 ]

I just got back from 43 days vacation. Not only the medical bills are inexpensive, living in Peru is really amazing, food, meals, clothes, shoes and others too. A friend of mine from Poland was so impressed with all the things she was able to get at shopping stores from her Dollars. We travel to other cities by plane and bus, like Trujillo, Cajamarca, Chiclayo and visited the old cities and museums for really sheap prices. To see and walk on a great city of Chan-Chan I paid only $3.50 but in the states I would probable end up paying $20.00 to $30.00. Also, took a 4 hours bus ride from Lima to oldest American civilization known as CARAL and paid only $8.00 (Dollars). I still have some relatives from other states that have visited Peru for Medical reasons. So, Dental check ups are in their schedules too. If services are good and sheap, as they say, then go with the flow. The reality, most Americans are so narrow minded that they only thing that America/USA still the great. Just go out and have the experience. Knock yourself out.

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