Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive
"One of the great perks for foreign residents living in Ecuador is high-quality, low-cost healthcare. Bloomberg recently rated Ecuador as having the 20th most efficient healthcare system among advanced economies, while the U.S. ranked near the bottom in 46th place.
An internet comparison of healthcare costs from around the world found that Ecuador’s costs are the lowest—lower than those in China, Malaysia, India, Mexico, and Panama. In general, you can expect to pay 10% to 25% of what you would in the U.S. For major surgery, we’ve seen a number of cases in which costs were even less than 10% of comparable procedures in the U.S. You will find similar savings for dental care." (International Living dot com)
From what I was able to ascertain by clicking around, Ecuadorian health care is best in the larger cities, spottier in more distant rural areas. also it is two-tier: best in private hospitals and clinics, acceptable (not great) in public facilities. In this respect Ecuador is not unlike Thailand, which also has a two-tier system but which works a bit differently. The Thai government will pay to send promising students to Med school with the understanding that upon graduation they will work for the government in assigned areas providing health care for "x" number of years. They're free to establish business on the side and many do. It is a system that brings extremely affordable and competent health care to more isolated areas. I don't know if Ecuador does this or not but it certainly is possible.
All in all I'd have no qualms living in Ecuador considering what I was able to read about the quality of their health care. There are other considerations of course as well: corrupt judiciary, human-rights issues, and South America is not exactly known for political stability, but their health care is definitely a positive.
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Well, that is an Internet comparison, my wife and I lived there for 6 months over 2 years and first hand experience was that healthcare was excellent, available, and virtually free. We didn't just google or read some post, we went there while we were looking where to retire. The Villages won on several items, for one we both have VA healthcare with is also free, and local. Another is this is closer to my wives family, which is important.
Yes, America does have SOME of the best healthcare that money can buy, so some come here (not all, the best healthcare in the world is in Spain) but that best that money can buy, doesn't help the 40 million Americans that are citizens of the richest country in the world and can't afford and so don't have healthcare at all. I am glad you got yours, sucks to be them doesn't it. I know, I know, they ALL are lazy and made bad life choices. Such a Christian country we live in, where 6 million children go to bed hungry every night.
And by spiraling down, I meant if politics continue to spiral down, we will leave. This is no longer the welcoming friendly country I grew up in and at my age, I prefer to like my neighbors, which in Ecuador was easier to do.