ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

In the March 11, 2010 Christian Science Monitor article " Why Rush Limbaugh would go to Costa Rica if Obama's healthcare plan passes ," Chrissie Long reports: San José, Costa Rica – Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh said this week he’d go to Costa Rica for medical treatment if Congress passes proposed reforms to the US healthcare system. That might sound like an unusual choice, since this is a country with one of the longest standing socialized healthcare systems on the planet. Everyone here (including resident foreigners), are required to pay into the government-run health system, whether they use it or not. But Limbaugh’s choice may also serve to advertise what many Americans traveling here for medical treatment already know: Costa Rica is a fabulous place for medical tourism. Life expectancy in this little Central American country surpasses that of the United States and at one point, back in the early 2000s when the World Health Organization rated countries’ g...

In the January 2, 2010 article " Lessons of a weekend of free health care ," Associated Press national writer Adam Geller reports on a Remote Area Medical (RAM) expedition to provide medical services to those in need. MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. – The two-hour drive is done, but Hannah and Jack Hurst leave the Honda's engine running. Hannah's prayers have brought them here. Now there's little to do but turn up the car's heat, try to get some sleep and wait for morning — and a set of glass and metal doors to open. Still, Hannah doesn't complain. The 26-year-old mother of three has waited "pretty much as long as I can remember" to escape the pain throbbing through her jaws. Jack lost his road construction job a year ago and health insurance is out of the question. If the answer to Hannah's misery can be found behind those doors, then what's 10 hours more? Out in the dark, the Hursts have plenty of company. Even before 10 p.m. on Friday in late fall...