Security Message
for US Citizens

Hospitals in the Los Cabos Area

In recent years, the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana has received numerous complaints from U.S. citizens regarding health-care facilities in Los Cabos.  As a result, the U.S. Consulate encourages its staff and official visitors to Los Cabos to refrain from using medical facilities that do not appear on the Consulate’s publicly-available list of hospitals

On April 19, 2016, Mexican federal authorities ordered the following hospitals to suspend operations and to cease admitting new patients, following repeated reports of predatory business practices and billing:

  1.          Cabo Medical Integral, S de RL de C. V y/o One World Hospital
  2. Hospital Amerimed San Jose del Cabo S. A de C. V (Cabo San Lucas)
  3. St. Josephs, S de R. L de C.y/o Saint Luke’s Medical Center
  4. Hospital Amerimed San Jose del Cabo S. A de C. V (San José del Cabo)

As a result of this action by Mexico’s consumer protection agency, Profeco, these hospitals have been removed from the U.S. Consulate’s list of health care providers in Los Cabos.

Please be advised that hotels and resorts in the Los Cabos area may have existing contracts with some of these hospitals and may not be aware of the Mexican federal government's recent action to close them.  In the event you require medical assistance, you may ask your hotel/resort to arrange treatment at a facility on the Consulate's publicly-available list of hospitals

U.S. citizens should be aware of their rights under Mexican law.  Most Mexican healthcare facilities require payment “up front” prior to performing a procedure.  Most hospitals in Mexico do not accept U.S. domestic health insurance or Medicare/Medicaid and will only accept payment via cash, credit, debit card, or bank transfer.  We encourage visitors to obtain as much information as possible about facilities and their medical personnel when considering surgical or other procedures.  When possible, patients should travel with a family member or another responsible party.

The U.S. Consulate has documented cases involving allegations of Los Cabos-area hospitals withholding care for payment, price gouging, failing to provide an itemized list of charges, withholding U.S. passports, obstructing needed medical evacuations, giving monetary incentives to ambulances for delivering patients to specific facilities, and holding patients at hospitals against their will pending payment. 

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Mexico enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at travel.state.gov. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Regularly monitor the State Department's website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, including the Travel Warning for Mexico, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution. Read the Country Specific Information for Mexico. For additional information, refer to the “Traveler’s Checklist” on the State Department’s website.

Contact the U.S. Embassy/Consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and download our free Smart Traveler iPhone App to have travel information at your fingertips.

The U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana is located at Paseo De Las Culturas S/N, Mesa de Otay, 22425 and is open 7:30AM to 4:15PM, switchboard phone number (dialing from the United States) is 011-52-977 2000, and website is http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/service.html. If you are a U.S. Citizen in need of urgent assistance, the emergency duty phone number for the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana is 1-619-692-2154.

The U.S. Consular Agency in Los Cabos is located at Las Palmillas in San Jose Del Cabo, switchboard phone number (dialing from the United States) is 011-624-143-3566. If you are a U.S. Citizen in need of urgent assistance, the emergency duty phone number is 1-619-692-2154.