{"id":39156,"date":"2012-08-12T05:51:16","date_gmt":"2012-08-12T09:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=39156"},"modified":"2020-09-14T05:26:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T10:26:17","slug":"medical-services-in-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/medical-services-in-costa-rica\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical Services in Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"

Medical Services in Costa Rica<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When you see statistics from the World Health Organization placing the life expectancy of Costa Ricans near the top of the scale year after year, one starts to ponder what the secret may be. \u00a0Could it be a particular ingredient common to the local cuisine, or an ancient coral compound found in the drinking water? \u00a0Or is it something much simpler? \u00a0The answer is lies in part in the local health care system and services. \u00a0The hospitals, doctors, and services found in Costa Rica rank the highest in Latin America. \u00a0Being a semi-socialized society with federal efforts clearly aimed at the well-being of its citizens for the long term, Costa Rica takes great pride in its two-tiered medical structure. \u00a0To examine Costa Rica\u2019s foray into an increasingly competitive global market for medical dollars, one must break the patient\u2019s options into two categories: socialized health care and private health care.<\/p>\n

The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), commonly referred to as simply \u201cthe CAJA\u201d is a universal health care system available for any citizen or legal resident of Costa Rica. \u00a0Though it is not without its financial burdens and struggles, the purpose of this sixty-plus year old system is to provide low-cost health care for anyone within the borders of this peaceful nation. \u00a0A common misconception is that the CAJA is exclusively the domain of Costa Ricans. \u00a0Not so. \u00a0The CAJA provides health services to foreigners and visitors as well. \u00a0Foreigners can make contributions to the CCSS and purchase government run insurance from Instituto de Seguro Nacional (INS) that is recognized in hundreds of private clinics, pharmacies, and labs throughout the private \u00a0and public sector. \u00a0In fact, it is now a requirement of residents to do so. \u00a0It is a well-known fact in Costa Rica that CAJA-run hospitals such as Hospital Mexico in the capital city of San Jose provides some of the best emergency services available in the country. \u00a0In addition, doctors are extremely well trained and the facilities are equipped to handle any emergency or surgery. \u00a0As with any state-run bureaucracy, the CAJA is prone to slow service, and it can take some time to get a simple appointment with a family physician. \u00a0Though perhaps due for an overhaul, the CAJA does serve the public well and if you have and accident or medical emergency in Costa Rica, the best choice is a CCSS hospital. \u00a0Many emergency patients at private hospitals are rushed to the state-run facility as a doctor is always present rather than on call and the facility is often better-equipped to handle such cases.<\/p>\n

That said, what makes Costa Rica a powerful player in this market is having a private health care sector to compliment public options. \u00a0This not only eases the load placed on a much-strained CCSS by an increasing population, mismanagement typical of any government, and general underfunding, but creates options for locals and foreigners to receive top-notch medical services at incredibly reasonable rates. \u00a0Though many wouldn\u2019t like to associate low prices with medical care, you needn\u2019t worry yourself about the quality and experience held by the medical experts in this field, nor their facilities. \u00a0They are some of the best doctors in Latin America, often receiving their degree in part in the United States and usually have interned at American hospitals. \u00a0Hospitals such as Clinica Biblica, Clinica Catolica, and CIMA are where many CCSS doctors actually moonlight or spend their afternoons picking up some extra cash and gaining a bit more international expertise. \u00a0These U.S. affiliated hospitals do bring higher costs relative to the socialized options, but are top-notch facilities with the latest in modern equipment, highly trained bilingual staff, and next to zero wait time. \u00a0One can see a doctor the same day, or a specialist usually within 24hrs for visits costing less than $75. \u00a0These hospitals and modern clinics are capitalizing on their strengths by beginning to offer services such as optical, dental, and cosmetic surgery. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This has been a catalyst in the fast-growing market in Costa Rica of \u201cmedical tourism\u201d where foreigners combine their medical needs and vacation time into a one-stop, low-cost shop where you can enjoy your recovery time in style on a tranquil beach at a five-star resort.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re thinking of moving to Costa Rica, coming for extended vacation, or simply don\u2019t want to pay the exorbitant U.S. prices not covered by your current medical plan, Costa Rica is a great choice for your medical needs. \u00a0Yes, there may be something in the water here that makes Costa Ricans live so long, but it likely has more to do with regular check-ups from qualified, experienced doctors with the latest in information and technology as well.<\/p>\n

I hope you got value from reading: Medical Services in Costa Rica.\u00a0 If you would like additional information about migrating to Costa Rica,<\/b> ple<\/b>ase contact<\/b> our office HERE.<\/b><\/a> Here are a few really interesting articles about Costa Rica, and all the fun you can have whether you are contemplating a vacation or as an investment vehicle.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Medical Services in Costa Rica When you see statistics from the World Health Organization placing the life expectancy of Costa Ricans near the top of the scale year after year, one starts to ponder what the secret may be. \u00a0Could it be a particular ingredient common to the local cuisine, or an ancient coral compound […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":39081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[7289,28238,2346,2340,3876,33097,1859,1911,7769,1895,1979,33095,33093,33092,14639,20879,2350,4626,33096,33094],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Costa-Rica\u2019s-Medical-Tourism.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39156"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41522,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39156\/revisions\/41522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39156"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=39156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}