Research Finds Nearly One Million Californians Cross Border for Health
At least 952,000 California adults go to Mexico for medical, dental and prescription services each year, according to a study by UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research, the Sacramento Bee reports (Calvan, Sacramento Bee, 5/27).
The study, published Tuesday in the journal Medical Care, is based on data collected in the California Health Interview Survey in 2001, the last year that the survey asked Californians if they traveled to Mexico for care (Darcé, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/27).
Findings
According to the study, 488,000 of California adults traveling to Mexico for health care described themselves as Mexican immigrants and about a quarter of adults heading to Mexico for health services said they were non-Hispanic whites.
Steven Wallace -- the study's lead author and associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research -- said that although the study did not compare the costs for care in the U.S. and Mexico, the main reason people -- particularly Mexican immigrants -- sought care in Mexico was to save money.
Wallace said people are primarily seeking care across the border for "chronic conditions and types of medical care that require more extensive testing and consultations" (Sacramento Bee, 5/27).
Researchers also found that:
- Overall, roughly 4% of adult Californians went to Mexico for some type of medical care;
- By comparison, more than 13% of Mexican immigrants in California went to Mexico for care, with the majority of them seeking dental care;
- 7% of non-Hispanic Californians who went to Mexico for health care underwent medical procedures, including surgeries and treatment of serious illnesses;
- Lower prescription drug costs were a key motivation for crossing the border; and
- Mexican immigrants who have been residents of California for fewer than 15 years were less likely to go to Mexico for care than immigrants who had been in the U.S. for a longer period of time.
The study indicates that California adults who live within 15 miles of the Mexican border are significantly more likely to cross the border for health care (San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/27).
About one-fourth of California adults who went to Mexico for care are from Central or Northern California.
Numbers Could Be Higher
Gil Ojeda, executive director of the California Program on Access to Care at UC-Berkeley's School of Public Health, said researchers believe the number of Californians seeking care in Mexico "has grown by leaps and bounds" since 2001 because of higher rates of unemployment and more Californians becoming uninsured.
Moreover, Ojeda said more people likely would cross the border for dental services when California eliminates Medi-Cal coverage for adult dental services on July 1 (Sacramento Bee, 5/27).
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