Costa Rica - Health Is Number One
Living in Costa Rica can be a healthy experience according to the United Nations. Costa Rica is in first place in Latin America for the development of curative and preventitive diseases, a ranking that places it in the top 20 in the world. In fact, this small tropical paradise surpasses the United States in both lower infant mortality and life expectancy.
So what sets Costa Rica apart from Mexico and other Central American countries? There are many factors, but probably the most fundamental is Costa Rica's strong and undying commitment to maintaining a high level of water quality. Unlike most of Latin America, you can drink the water right out of the tap! This applies to San Jose and the larger cities as well as small rural villages. All over the country, water quality and sewage treatment facilities are stringently monitored, and those few sources that are deemed unsafe to visitors are exposed. As a result, water quality standards have greatly benefited the restaurant industry. This coupled with their natural tendency for cleanliness and sanitation, Costa Ricans maintain extraordinarily high standards for their restaurants.
Foreign residents have lots of choices when it comes to how they want to handle their health care needs. Choosing clinics, doctors, and the mode of payment all take careful consideration. As a foreign resident, one must ask the question, "What kind of health care experience do I want?" As a general rule, the more one pays for their medical treatment, the more choice that person will have in which doctor they will go to, how quickly they will be seen by a physician, and how comfortable their accommodations will be. To answer this question, 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. Here's how it works: Many doctors in Costa Rica that work in the public CCSSS hospitals also conduct their own private office hours during the afternoons. Foreign residents can pay the CCSSS membership Costa Rica Residents Association fee (US$40-50) and visit the free clinics and hospitals in search of a doctor that they like. If this doctor provides a private service in addition to his public practice, the resident can take advantage of both worlds. They can make routine appointments with ease and little delay; however, should they need a complicated and expensive procedure, the CCSSS will cover the expenses.
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