Costa Rica Medical Tourism – Many people come to Costa Rica to get their medical procedures taken care of due to lower prices and high quality healthcare.
Doctors have set minimum medical prices for a range of treatment in Costa Rica, to avoid unfair competition particularly for healthcare facilities and
doctors targeting American medical tourists.
After five years of negotiation, The College of Physicians has approved a list of minimum costs for medical and surgical procedures in Costa Rica. Hospitals and doctors can charge more but will be in trouble with their professional body if they try to undercut these prices. The minimums have been set to avoid unfair competition, particularly for hospitals and clinics targeting American medical tourists.
A 218 page document on the College of Physicians website has the full list of medical fees. On top of these fees are costs for hospital stays, travel, supplies, materials, medicines, and related examinations.
The complete list can be found on the College of Physicians website, portal.médicos.cr,
Although not exact, translating the amounts for some procedures into US dollars shows:
- $30 ultrasound and mammography
- $165 skin biopsy
- $3000 bone marrow transplant
- $1000 colonoscopy with the removal of tumours or polyps
- $4000 masectomy
- $1,250 pancreas biopsy
- $5000 open ablation of liver tumours by radiofrequency
- $8,800 surgical laparoscopy, gastric restrictive procedure with bypass
From the International Medical Travel Journal
