Puerto Rico is often overlooked as a Commonwealth of the United States.  You do not need a passport to travel to the island. According to Alberto Baco’ Bague’, Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce, “Diversification, integration and globalization, it’s interesting how the initials of these three words spell DIG.  It makes me think of the process used to find oil, which basically comes down to gathering a group of the best specialists, search for a strategic spot, combine it with top notch technology and machinery and dig down hard and steady until you find it”.

According to Missy, and in regards to medical tourism, Puerto Rico is in the digging part of this process.  They have a solid marketing strategy with a strong alliance between the public and private sector which includes top notch technology.  Puerto Rico has established a business opportunity with the work of the Medical Tourism Corporation, Department of Economic Development and Commerce and health specialists.  Currently under construction is the 200 bed M. D. Anderson Cancer Clinic which is in addition to their 60 hospitals on the island.  State-of-the-art equipment includes the Da Vinci System (cyber knife).  Amazingly, healthcare costs are 40-70% lower in Puerto Rico than in the U.S.  

With higher deductibles and increased premiums on the rise, Puerto Rico is an option for health care.  More and more employers are continually searching for resources to save their organizations money.  They are offering attractive incentives through their medical tourism plan designs to encourage their employees and their dependents to travel to places like Puerto Rico for specific treatments and surgeries.  Combine treatment with tourism, year-long warm weather, its ease of travel and its bicultural society, you may fall in love with America’s Healthcare Island.