Apparently, Rush Limbaugh has vowed to move to Costa Rica if the US healthcare reform gets passed by Congress. Obviously, Rush has not pulled this name out of thin air. The fact is Costa Rica has excellent health care mostly related to preventive care but that is mostly what you need for 90% of your life if you take care of yourself. With the debate raging in the US media and Washington think tanks about health care reform, Costa Rica came very close to following these footsteps as well.
During the Costa Rica presidential race, the rivals of Laura Chinchilla said they would dismantle the health care system here and privatize it. Luckily for Costa Rica and it poor population Laura Chinchilla won the elections and called the idea of privatization of a functional health care system ludicrous.
US citizens who own property here in Costa Rica know you can get your health care at many private hospitals and clinics that provide good services without all of the built in costs of paying for uninsured patients. One report said that 75% of the inflated price of healthcare services in the US is used to offset the losses from uninsured patients and from insurances companies limits on coverage. It really is a Catch-22 now in the US but not here in Costa Rica. With the general population taken care from infancy to adulthood by the government, Costa Ricans do not need to worry about pre-existing condition coverage and hospital administrators do not need to inflate costs to offset anything.
As a result, Costa Rica health care system in the private sector offers services for those who want it at prices that would seem like a steal to people in the US. The services are also offered in conditions that are much better than in the US. Hospital infections such as MERS do not exist in Costa Rica and the private sector really does meet a burden of quality care. If you do not like the service you were given at ZBC clinic, you can go to XYZ clinic the next time.
If you spend a little time in Costa Rica such as Rush you will begin to see the advantages that living in this beautiful country has its advantages where it really counts. If you are a follower of Rush, you might want to tell him that the new president has vowed to make Costa Rica the first carbon-neutral nation in the world. That would not fly well with Rush but it does with Costa Rican and those of us who live here.
ESCAZU