US Consulate warns Los Cabos hospital preys on Americans
ABC News
The U.S. government is warning U.S. citizens to avoid a hospital at a Mexican resort, following years of complaints that the facility preyed on Americans by overcharging, bullying them and refusing to release medical records
MEXICO CITY -- The U.S. government is warning Americans to avoid a hospital at a Mexican beach destination, following years of complaints that the facility preyed on Americans by overcharging, bullying them and refusing to release medical records.
More than 100,000 U.S. tourists arrive to Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula each month, drawn my its beaches and dramatic desert landscape. It appears they are not only a boon to the hotels and restaurants of twin towns Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, but also St. Luke's Hospital in Cabo San Lucas.
Multiple complaints have been filed by U.S. citizens saying the hospital demanded tens of thousands of dollars in advance payments, threatened patients’ relatives and refused to release clinical reports on what care they had actually provided. That led the U.S. consulate in Tijuana to issue the unusual “health alert” Wednesday about St. Luke's business practices.
“U.S. citizens have reported instances of withholding care for payment, failing to provide itemized lists of charges, ordering unnecessary procedures, withholding U.S. passports, obstructing medical evacuations, and refusing to discharge patients without payment,” the consulate said in the alert.
