Why Our Certifications Matter

I would for like you to see this link, from the largest English-language newspaper in Costa Rica:
http://www.ticotimes.net/Current-Edition/News-Briefs/Costa-Rica-to-host-annual-medical-tourism-summit_Monday-March-11-2013

I think anyone considering medical tourism should be informed that there are companies out there that are not rooted in both the USA and abroad, unlike us. Moreover, often these disreputable companies, although have fancy window-dressing and a flashy website, are not certified through a professional organization that assures quality. For Costa Rica that quality is regulated by ProMed. I noticed a dental tourism site in Atlanta, and they have a convincing site, but they are not ProMed and do not have professional affiliations. We are ProMed certified, though. 

People expect their doctors and dentists to hold professional certifications and affiliations and to have specialized training, and it should be no less for the medical/dental tourism facilitator.  We can be trusted to have the continued training and professionalism that sets us apart from many others advertising on the web. In addition, we go above and beyond ProMed to personally verify the current reputation and credentials of all healthcare providers we recommend.  

How Exciting! A newspaper article about us

The Lexington Dispatch newspaper, a local newspaper to our business offices in Winston-Salem, NC, has published a thrilling article about us. It is, of course, from an outsider's point of view, and that is wonderful, because that's the type of information that we need to show people. I can pitch to you all day how much money a person will save, how great a vacation Costa Rica can provide, or how much it can and has improved people's lives, but coming from me, a listener or reader just ought to be a smart shopper, and I understand that.

Here you go.
http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20130325/LIVING/303259994/1074?Title=Woman-organizes-medical-trips-to-Costa-Rica

We've had some beautiful advertisements before, but a legitimate newspaper article is an enormous stepping-stone is a great direction.

Link to U.S. International ranking for healthcare

This is more than confirms what we say. Again, I encourage anyone too look into these matters themselves, but I have already done much of the leg-work for you:

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2010/Jun/Mirror-Mirror-Update.aspx

The World Health Organization has stopped (publishing?) their international rankings around 2009. From what I understand, it was a bit because superpower countries (i.e., the U.S.) protested that their pride was hurt that little countries such as Costa Rica and Chile did better at rankings than they did.

World Health Organization confirms what we say

You can certainly find all this information yourself, but I will help speed it up with a link:
http://www.who.int/leishmaniasis/resources/COSTA_RICA.pdf


A part I like (because it mirrors what we say): Access to [health] Care: The Costa Rican Social Security Fund, which is the agency responsible for the provision of health services, provides coverage for approximately 90% of the population.

Another PDF from WHO clarifies:

Ninety percent of the population belongs to this health insurance system and the remaining 10%

can use it if necessary for emergency services.

THIS is why we can do what we do. The healthcare costs in Costa Rica have been forced to be extremely low, set by the government. The above WHO reports also confirm how stable and safe it is to travel in Costa Rica.

Dental Package - a starting point

I have been realizing that our customers want a set price, before even looking at the dental prices. We listened. Once we have the starting point "on the table" we can just go from there!

Before and aside from actual dental work, our base* package includes:
6 days/ 5 nights at a quality hotel
Breakfast each day
One day tour with lunch
One dental/oral exam and cleaning and consultation
One panoramic x-ray
Shuttle from airport to hotel

One person: $720, plus guest**: $820

*Our base package is a limited time offer at our lowest group rates.
**If traveling with a guest, the guest may buy tourism and dental services for additional charges.

These prices do not include the airline ticket nor any other incidental expenses. But airline tickets can be as cheap as $300 a person.

Wow! TIME's high medical costs article covered on NPR

Not long ago, TIME magazine ran a whole issue about the high costs of healthcare. Well, a very long cover story, anyway. Today, NPR's Diane Rehm's show featured a discussion of the same topics with the journalist who wrote the article.

http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=17377
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-02-27/us-health-care-costs

Something amazing I've learned is what he has learned since writing the article.

People have been disgusted with costs of healthcare for a long time, but recently is has gotten so much worse that "disgusted" barely scratches the surface.

His argument seems to be that the high costs are mostly because we have a market where the buyer (us) has no power. He uses the term "unwilling participant" for citizens like us. "Rampant profiteering" by healthcare providers is another term of his that I thought apt.

He argues that medicare is one of the few ways healthcare costs are regulated, and he think they do "a pretty good job" setting prices at livable rates. He points out (and this was news to me) that the congressional discussions about healthcare (often called Obamacare) do not address the reasons behind the high costs, simply try to increase the payouts the government (and thus taxpayer) makes.

The journalist makes an excellent point that the healthcare lobbyists in Washington make profit capping extremely difficult. Virtually no other countries do not have our problems.

Proud to be listed by Costa Rican tourism

To continue our earlier demonstrations of our business contacts, helping solidify ourselves as a legitimate business, please consider these links to Costa Rican tourism in Costa Rica itself.

PROMED lists us officially in a category reserved for overseas companies in their network of quality providers.
http://www.promedcostarica.com/certification/certified-companies/

The Costa Rican Board of Tourism has also certified us.
http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/specialist_finder.asp
(This website requires a bit of searching, use date 10/19/2012)

We are proud to offer travel planning for simple tourism for our guests, or perhaps tourism for a non-medical companion who accompanies a traveller. With the savings to be had for medical and dental, suddenly these luxuries are a very real possibility.