The United Nations catalogues Costa Rica in the first place in Latin America for the development of curative and preventative diseases, a ranking that places it with Canada and the United States in the top 20 in the world. Actually, this topical paradise surpasses the United States in both infant mortality and life expectancy.
Costa Rica was third in the world in life expectancy according to statistics World Health Organization's "The World Health Report 1995"
Costa Rica's health care system is one of the best in the world. Subsidized by the social security system (CCSSS), low-cost and high-quality medical care is widely available to anyone who needs it. CCSSS hospitals treat all Costa Ricans for free. In addition, foreign residents who pay a minimal monthly income-based fee (around US$60) will be covered under the government plan. While the medical care is of high quality, patients can expect to encounter long lines and shorter appointments. Generally, the CCSSS hospitals can be crowded and well-used.
Patients who desire a higher level of care and more attention can opt to see a private doctor. Prices can vary considerably, but generally they are remarkably lower than in the United States. On average, a routine visit to a private doctor can cost between US$20 and US$40 in San Jose. A night in a first rate private hospital might cost US$95.
The CCSS has a government sponsored network of 29 hospitals and more than 250 clinics throughout Costa Rica and there are two very well known private hospitals, Clinica Biblica and Clinica Catolica, where many CCSS doctors practice in the afternoons and evenings.
Certainly, foreigners who want to take advantage of health care in Costa Rica have many choices to consider, but the general rule for every service also applies here, the more you pay the most luxurious service you get, so people have to consider their possibilities and make a decision. Many residents have combined the best of both the public and private medical systems to create a hybrid health care plan for them and their families.
There is no one better to explain what the health care system in Costa Rica is all about than the man who assembled the Costa Rican surgical team which performed the first successful heart transplant in Latin America, Dr. Longino Soto Pacheco: "I have studied every health care system in the Americas, and I can assure you that nowhere else can compare to what Costa Rica offers its citizens".
