The Institute Of Medicine’s “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial And Ethnic Disparities And Healthcare” study determined that racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. don’t have the same access to healthcare and often receive for quality healthcare and experienced higher ratios of premature death, injury and illness than others. According to the Institute of Medicine study, nearly 6 in 10 Latinos in the United States are uninsured.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services and Congress has introduced legislation to help reduce those numbers, but such health disparities are not only a problem the United States, but around the world.

Western European minorities and expats often find that long wait times, expensive treatments and limited options await them in Britain’s medical health care system, as well as in Germany and France. Many indigenous natives of poorer, third world countries fare even worse.

Nigerians and other south African countries citizens increasingly venture to international destinations such as the United States, India, and Singapore to meet their healthcare needs. Latin Americans continually venture south into Mexico and Central American countries such as Costa Rica and Panama, as well as further south into South America to receive affordable yet quality surgical care and treatment in fields such as obesity and bariatric surgical procedures, cosmetic and plastic surgical procedures, dental and vision care, as well as affordable fertility treatments and stem cell therapies.

Physicians and surgeons providing services in excellent health care facilities, spas, and medical retreats now offer a wealth of options for individuals found in hundreds of regions across the world, attracting not only locals, but international travelers from the western hemisphere to quality and compassionate health care.

Cost perspectives in this new era of medical tourism offer affordable yet world-class treatments and procedures to individuals in a variety of medical fields, including orthopedics, obesity and weight loss, cosmetic dentistry, cosmetic and plastic surgical procedures, cardiac care, and stem cell research.