I am a product of two worlds, 100% Mexican and 100% American. My parents were migrant field workers, moving between the U.S. and Mexico for the first seven years of my life. They eventually settled in Southern California, instilling in me a relentless focus on education, and for the last 25 years, I've been living the NAFTA dream, building companies like Ooyala, Wizeline, Cerby, and MiSalud – all with large engineering teams in Mexico.
Our most recent company, Wizeline, tapped into the incredible talent in Mexico to build software for the world’s biggest companies, now employing over 1,000 engineers and AI experts across Mexico. The free trade agreement has worked wonders for industries like tech, with over $900 billion in trade between our countries.
But the healthcare industry is still lagging.
We all know the staggering numbers. The U.S. spends over $5 trillion on healthcare, more than $15,000 per person annually. This should mean everyone has amazing care, right? No.
It’s time to stop accepting this broken system. It’s time for a bold idea: moving toward a truly integrated North American healthcare system.
I believe the answer lies in leveraging Mexico's competitive advantages across three areas: Nearshore Care, Telemedicine, and Technology.
Medical tourism is already a trend—over 1 million people cross into Mexico every year for care. But the opportunity is so much bigger than that. We should view cross-border facilities as Centers of Excellence, not just a last resort.
The cost disparity is staggering, especially for procedures often not covered by insurance:
This is why companies like SIMNSA sell HMO plans in the U.S. that cover routine care in Mexico. The path to integration is already visible: Texas and California are already streamlining the vetting process for Mexican doctors to practice in their states. Even Medicare Advantage will cover 80% of costs for certain procedures in Mexico. We need to make this the norm, not the exception.
Telemedicine offers an immediate solution to the scarcity of care, especially for the 80% of U.S. Hispanics living in healthcare deserts. Studies have shown that 86% of teleconsults achieve the same diagnosis as in-person visits.
At MiSalud Health, we leverage experienced Mexican doctors as health coaches for initial consults. If a prescription or in-person visit is needed, the patient is seamlessly handed off to a U.S. physician during the same session. This is how we begin to close the gap.
The future of healthcare rests on AI. The administrative overhead alone in U.S. hospitals is ripe for automation. More importantly, AI is becoming a powerful diagnostic tool.
Nearshore care solves immediate problems. Telemedicine addresses the access crisis. And AI will eventually solve the doctor scarcity issue. This all points to one undeniable truth: an integrated North American healthcare system is not just a dream, it is the future of world-class, affordable care. Let’s build it together.
Watch the full Csoftmty launch presentation in Spanish here.
