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The U.S.-Mexico border crossing at Tijuana (Photo: jonathan mcintosh / Flickr / creative commons)
The Other Mexican Migration
Thousands of people cross the U.S.-Mexico border for health care every day—and they’re headed south, not north.
Aug 07, 2019
You probably haven't heard about it, but there's another mass migration coming across the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, these aren't Central American families fleeing horrific conditions back home--only to be separated, incarcerated, traumatized, and demonized by Trump for seeking humanitarian asylum in our country.
Instead of building a senseless border wall to keep people out of the U.S., our leaders ought to be looking across the border for ideas on how to build a better health care system.
Rather, these migrants are going the other way--from the United States into Mexican border towns, where they're welcomed with open arms instead of armed guards.
They're mostly working-class people seeking relief from our nation's unaffordable, no-care health care system. As many as 6,000 a day travel to towns like Los Algodones, across from Yuma, Arizona, to get medical services and prescription drugs that are priced out of their reach here in the United States.
Nicknamed "Molar City," Los Algodones has more dentists per capita than anywhere else in the world. Quality dental work in Mexico averages two-thirds less than it costs here.
This is because the health system there prioritizes care over profits.
Start with professional education, which is tuition-free in Mexico, meaning dentists and other health care providers don't have to jack up prices to cover a crushing load of student debt. Also, Mexico's universal, tax-paid health care system doesn't saddle patients with exorbitantly expensive insurance bureaucracies.
It's a system that's open, affordable, and accessible to all--the opposite of ours, which is why hordes of U.S. working-class people go south to find care. As a Truthout.org article reports, "U.S. citizens seeking healthcare can park in Yuma for $5, walk across the border, get the help they need, and come back for dinner."
Instead of building a senseless border wall to keep people out of the U.S., our leaders ought to be looking across the border for ideas on how to build a better health care system.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
You probably haven't heard about it, but there's another mass migration coming across the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, these aren't Central American families fleeing horrific conditions back home--only to be separated, incarcerated, traumatized, and demonized by Trump for seeking humanitarian asylum in our country.
Instead of building a senseless border wall to keep people out of the U.S., our leaders ought to be looking across the border for ideas on how to build a better health care system.
Rather, these migrants are going the other way--from the United States into Mexican border towns, where they're welcomed with open arms instead of armed guards.
They're mostly working-class people seeking relief from our nation's unaffordable, no-care health care system. As many as 6,000 a day travel to towns like Los Algodones, across from Yuma, Arizona, to get medical services and prescription drugs that are priced out of their reach here in the United States.
Nicknamed "Molar City," Los Algodones has more dentists per capita than anywhere else in the world. Quality dental work in Mexico averages two-thirds less than it costs here.
This is because the health system there prioritizes care over profits.
Start with professional education, which is tuition-free in Mexico, meaning dentists and other health care providers don't have to jack up prices to cover a crushing load of student debt. Also, Mexico's universal, tax-paid health care system doesn't saddle patients with exorbitantly expensive insurance bureaucracies.
It's a system that's open, affordable, and accessible to all--the opposite of ours, which is why hordes of U.S. working-class people go south to find care. As a Truthout.org article reports, "U.S. citizens seeking healthcare can park in Yuma for $5, walk across the border, get the help they need, and come back for dinner."
Instead of building a senseless border wall to keep people out of the U.S., our leaders ought to be looking across the border for ideas on how to build a better health care system.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
You probably haven't heard about it, but there's another mass migration coming across the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, these aren't Central American families fleeing horrific conditions back home--only to be separated, incarcerated, traumatized, and demonized by Trump for seeking humanitarian asylum in our country.
Instead of building a senseless border wall to keep people out of the U.S., our leaders ought to be looking across the border for ideas on how to build a better health care system.
Rather, these migrants are going the other way--from the United States into Mexican border towns, where they're welcomed with open arms instead of armed guards.
They're mostly working-class people seeking relief from our nation's unaffordable, no-care health care system. As many as 6,000 a day travel to towns like Los Algodones, across from Yuma, Arizona, to get medical services and prescription drugs that are priced out of their reach here in the United States.
Nicknamed "Molar City," Los Algodones has more dentists per capita than anywhere else in the world. Quality dental work in Mexico averages two-thirds less than it costs here.
This is because the health system there prioritizes care over profits.
Start with professional education, which is tuition-free in Mexico, meaning dentists and other health care providers don't have to jack up prices to cover a crushing load of student debt. Also, Mexico's universal, tax-paid health care system doesn't saddle patients with exorbitantly expensive insurance bureaucracies.
It's a system that's open, affordable, and accessible to all--the opposite of ours, which is why hordes of U.S. working-class people go south to find care. As a Truthout.org article reports, "U.S. citizens seeking healthcare can park in Yuma for $5, walk across the border, get the help they need, and come back for dinner."
Instead of building a senseless border wall to keep people out of the U.S., our leaders ought to be looking across the border for ideas on how to build a better health care system.
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