Health Care

With one of the longest life-expectancies in the region Costa Rica has been known for its quality of health care. What has put them on the map before the quality has been that every Tico in the country receives free health care and anyone under the age of 18, Costa Rican or not, gets free care also. After this you start asking yourself about the quality? Yes, it is true many Costa Rican's might wait a few months to get operated on with a soar in the back or leg while the person with the needed kidney attention gets treated first. This is all part of having a socialized medical system and you often hear Costa Rican's complain about how long they have to wait but you have to put it in perspective of waiting a few months or living with the pain for the rest of your life.

The good news is, once attention is given to you, the overall care is excellent. The doctors are well educated and many of them have done their schooling in the USA. The private hospitals of Costa Rica, many of which are on par with hospitals in the USA, are now becoming a place to visit for many on their Costa Rica vacation doing something we call medical-tourism. Medical Tourism might involve getting the dental work you need or some plastic surgey for half the price that you pay in the states and recovering from it on a beautiful beach in Costa Rica.