Is Costa Rica Right?
March 25th, 2010 | by admin |With the health care industry on its toes, many are looking at Costa Rica as a model of perfection. Sure people in the country have to pay for their own health care, but the system may be working much simpler than the US is. After all, Costa Rica may have something to do with the fact that Costa Rica is an excellent place for medical tourism. They offer low-cost medical procedures to foreigners where it costs much less for the foreigner to seek medical treatment there, than pay the hefty fees in their own country. “People travel to Costa Rica (and) receive the same quality of medical services for a fraction of the cost,” said Jorge Cortés, president of the Council for International Promotion of Costa Rica Medicine and medical director of Hospital. Cortés has a point. With a system that works, it’s hard to debate any other problems.
Costa Rica is the country that was brought up by Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh recently. He is decrying the current US health care initiative saying that if it is passed he will ‘move to Costa Rica’. Interestingly enough the conservative would them be surrounded by many other issues to deal with. Not only is health care vastly different, but so is the casino industry. In fact, in Coast Rica it is a major hot spot for online gambling, and some even consider it to be the online gambling capital of the world. Costa Rica seems like a strange choice for a country that Rush Limbaugh would like to live in. The main reason is that Costa Rica has a government-run health-care system where all residents pay the government for their health-care needs. Costa Rica offers low cost medical procedures and legal online gambling, while the US continues to struggle with health-care and online gambling. Many would argue that the US is still in the middle of its growing pains and that makes it a time for learning and growth but a lot of Americans, Limbaugh included apparently, are growing impatient with progress. They want change sooner than later and are looking at countries like Costa Rica where things seem to be sorted out much better.
By Dooooooglas on Mar 26, 2010
Let me correct something here.
I don’t know who runs this online rag but as a hotel owner let me explain to the readers how Costa Ricans ” pay” for their health care. Does Fox own this site ?
The employer draws 9% off the Ticos salary for the CAJA, Social Security. The employer pays about 23% of the employees salary to the Caja.Heavy hit.
That gives the Tico his 100% health care. PLUS. YES PLUS.
More than 3 days off work due to illness, I pay the first 3 at 50% and the Caja pays him 50% of his salary for any time off after 3 days.Even if it’s a year.There is a disability included if it’s permanent…..cancer, stroke etc.
PLUS. The employer is required to have a separate policy with INS, the governments insurance company, so if the employee gets hurt on the job, it pays 75% of his salary for time off. Even if it’s a year.
This is what they get for the 9% withdrawn. And you, dear reader?
PLUS. The employer is required to pay aguinaldo, a one month salaries bonus at the beginning of Dec every year so the Tico has some extra cashola for the holidays.Every employed tico is entitled, by law.
12 vacation days are paid and the worker is off. Non negotiable. They take the days off.
The Ticos that earn over 15K, I think, must pay 10% of their salary to the govt as an income tax. earners, or companies, making more than 25K pay 15% flat.
There’s your retirement program.
Yep. Costa Rica, unlike the fallen empire, has things figured out.Of course when you’re not busy spreading DemoNcracy and FreeDumb…..bombing “evil” into the stone age to steal natural resources……..many, many, things are possible.
When the great Don Pepe # http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Figueres_Ferrer # re wrote the constitution in 1949, he had decided that Costa Rica was big enough and didn’t need to overtake the world and therefore abolished the military.
Imagine. No Ticos, nor their family members, under about 75 or 80 years, old have ever experienced, or financed war or aggression in any form.
You, dear reader ?
They don’t call it Pura Vida ! for nothin’ !