Healthcare in Tepoztlán

Health clinic in Centro of Tepoztlan, Mexico. This is a mainstream medical facility. A large hospital and many specialists are a half hour drive away in Cuernavaca. Mexico City is an hour and a half drive. Photo by Don Karp.

Healers and Healing

From the regular mainstream practitioners to far out forms of alternative healing and traditional indigenous medicine — you'll find it all, side by side, in Mexico. Mexico is far less regulated than the US, and much less expensive for treatment. For these reasons, many folks from the US come to Mexico for a "medical vacation."

If you are planning on taking a medical or dental vacation to take advantage of lower costs for care, I'd highly advise checking credentials and references first. A handy tool many expats now use, even before ariving, is doctoralia.com.mx, where you can search by specialty, location, languages spoken, telemedicine availability, and patient reviews .

There are a plethora of body work centers along the main streets in Tepoztlán as seen in the video slide show below. You'll see the contrasts of the different types of clinics. And in video interviews, you'll meet some local healers. We'll cover costs of insurance and of different main stream practitioners as well as take a look at different hospital options and how the Mexican health delivery system differs from the US.

This slideshow was made walking down two of the main streets in Tepoztlán. There are many massage and other healing centers. The sound track is a frequencies meditation for opening of the crown chakra. For more information about it, contact Jim Doney, facebook.com/jimdoney.mandalatrece.

Pharmaceuticals or herbs?

Mexico offers more choices than the US. Here is a photo of different pharmacies in Centro. There are also stores and in stalls in the market specializing in herbs. And speaking of medications — they are remarkably affordable here. Even when paying out of pocket, prescriptions rarely break the bank, which is one of the quiet pleasures of healthcare south of the border.

Twenty minutes from Tepoztlán is a small village, Amatlán. Amatlán has an herbal clinic.

See the photos and link below.

The upper image is a generic pharmacy. The lower image is a regular pharmacy, not specializing in generics. Photo by Don Karp.

Herbal clinic in Amatlán. Left is an image of the plumed serpent, Quetzalcoatl, the deity born here. The bottom image shows a waiting room, above it, reception desk. Photo by Don Karp.

This is the mainstream health clinic in Amatlán where pharmaceuticals are prescribed following clinical tests and diagnoses. Photo by Don Karp.

IMSS or private? A quick word on the system

When friends ask me how healthcare actually works down here, I tell them there isn't just one system — there are essentially two, plus the option to simply pay out of pocket.

Public healthcare (IMSS) is genuinely affordable. Yearly premiums in 2026 range from roughly $531 USD for a young person to about $1,266 USD if you're 80 or older. The doctors are excellent — in fact, many of them also work at private hospitals. The trade-off is saturation: long waits, no choice of doctor, occasional medication shortages, and if you're hospitalized, a family member is usually expected to stay with you and bring basics like soap, a towel, and a water jug. It works, and many Mexicans rely on it, but it's not the experience most norteamericanos are picturing.

Private healthcare is what most expats here in Tepoztlán end up using. Same-day appointments are normal. You choose your doctor and your hospital. A general consult runs about $25–60 USD; a specialist, $60–100 USD. An overnight in a mid-range private hospital is $150–300 USD a night, and the bigger names in Mexico City (Hospital Angeles, ABC) can top $400. Note that private hospitals typically require a deposit of 20,000 pesos or more (around $1,000 USD) to admit you. A private health insurance plan for a 62-year-old can run anywhere from $200 to $700+ USD per month, depending on deductible, pre-existing conditions, and the network you want.

Dental, by the way, is its own small miracle: a cleaning is about $43 USD, a porcelain crown around $300, a root canal $330. I've had friends fly in from California just for the dental work and still come out ahead.

A heads-up for anyone moving down on Medicare: Medicare does not cover you in Mexico. Some Medicare Advantage plans reimburse for life-threatening emergencies abroad, but you'll pay upfront and chase the reimbursement afterward. And while you may have heard about Mexico's plan to roll out free universal healthcare by 2027 — yes, President Sheinbaum has spoken about it — that program is currently aimed at Mexican citizens and does not include foreign residents.

If you take medication regularly or have a chronic condition, talk to a Mexican specialist before you move. Not every town has every specialist on staff full-time — some only travel in on certain days — and you'll want the local equivalent of your prescriptions sorted out ahead of arrival.

Healers

In the video below, I interview four healers from this area who differ widely in what they offer. From Dra. Lourdes, a general practitioner, and a Mexican, to Laura, a "path finder," from Seattle, you'll learn how and why these healers came to Tepoztlán, what types of healing they provide, and how they came to their fields.

Watch the healer interviews on YouTube:

Variety and abundance of healers and healing in Mexico is only one advantage of being here. Read back on my past blogs and you'll find many other reasons. Most expats I know are pleasantly surprised by healthcare in Mexico — but only if they come in with the right expectations. If you expect it to work exactly like the U.S. or Canada, you'll get frustrated. If you take it on its own terms, you'll likely come to see it, as I have, as one of the quiet pleasures of life here. The bedside manner alone is worth the move.

What do you think? Would you consult with one of these healers? Why or why not? Please let us know in the comments below.

A note on sources: the practical healthcare details (IMSS premiums, private hospital costs, Medicare guidance, and the doctoralia.com.mx tip) draw on a recent post by Mariana Lange of Mexico Relocation Guide. All personal observations, photos, and video footage remain my own. The section on alternative healers was first published here.