It’s a good thing Old Santa is ageless. Otherwise, his halls might be decked with holiday fear, not cheer, as his “little helpers” left St. Nick and Holly to wander aimlessly about lonely corridors, spotted by time’s accumulation of dust, mildew, cracked paint, and squashed Periplaneta americana, commonly known as the American cockroach. Such is the state of adult daycare today, where the best of intentions often cedes the playing field to profit margins and the attempted meeting of frazzled ends. We are an aging population with diminishing buying power, and we all desire some punch for our pound of flesh. Unfortunately, years of hard work, investments, and savings accounts are no match for the soaring costs of assisted-living facilities in the U.S.
So, what is one to do? Paying the Piper guarantees neither necessities nor creature comforts, as many hapless baby boomers have learned from their rides on the U.S. health care juggernaut. As millions reach retirement age, solutions are not readily forthcoming. The cost of the average nursing home in the U.S. can reach $5,200 a month, chump change for a Trump, an impossible dream for us mere mortals. For that handsome sum, one is guaranteed only impersonal care, at best, which has prompted an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 of our finest American retirees to seek greener pastures in Pancho Villa’s stomping grounds. After all, we as a nation have not only learned to do without, but also to seek suitable substitutes elsewhere, when “Made in the U.S.A.” just doesn’t cut it anymore.
One does not have to reach for the stars, but only for $1,300 a month to guarantee a studio apartment, three square meals a day, laundry and cleaning service, 24-hour medical care, and a potpourri of extracurricular activities, sightseeing, and adventure south of the border. An aging Indiana Jones would love it! Aging baby boomers may have to tolerate it, as many can barely afford to live in the U.S. anymore. While quality of care varies greatly in Mexico, after all, assisted-living facilities are the new kids on the block down in Margaritaville, there is something to be said for a poor country that can provide a first-rate service to foreigners whose own nation bartered away their well-being in exchange for monuments constructed to the Almighty Dollar.
There is no denying it. The soul of our nation has been soiled, and we have left dry cleaning services to a country whose immigrants we badger with high walls, electronic listening posts, and pilotless drones. The U.S. can no longer minister to the health care needs of its aging population, and American academics, government officials, and developers are slowly but surely coming to this realization. Precedents are being set, and questions are being asked. Why, for example, should one pay in the area of $5,500 a month for comparable care in the U.S., when a cottage, regular meals, and 24-hour nursing care can be had for the modest price of $550 in Mexico? Add an additional $140 a year, and an American expatriate can get his or her proverbial hands on full medical coverage from the Mexican government, including surgery, all medicines, insulin, and a battery of medical supplies for chronic illnesses. The Mexican Social Security Institute, or IMSS, which directs clinics and hospitals nationwide, allows Americans living in Mexico to enroll in its program, even if they have never worked south of the Rio Grande or paid taxes there. As we search for a universal health insurance model here in the U.S., perhaps our hearts, minds, eyes, and pocketbooks should be trained on our “poor cousins” down south, who appear to have solved the problem.
Some U.S. companies have begun to invest in assisted-living facilities in such romantic areas of Mexico as San Miguel de Allende, Chapala, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. That trend is destined to continue, and even increase exponentially, as CEOs mandate bottom lines and increased corporate profits. Let the buyer beware, however! The silver cloud may hide telltale signs of an impending storm. Mexican officials inspect assisted-living facilities but once a year, in best-case scenarios. If that were not enough, Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and most U.S. insurance companies will not pay for care or medicine as long as patients live outside the U.S.
So, one might say that you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. Nonetheless, waking from a nightmare is more palatable in an idyllic cottage than in the poorhouse.
© 2007, Albert M. Balesh, M.D. All rights reserved.
