How can a person go to Cuba from U.S. for medical purposes (is it illegal?)?

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<<.LuLu.>>

anyone can go to cuba no matter what the purpose, they just dont stamp your passport, points in are thru mexico, canada and the cayman islands

what alot of people dont realize is that some of the best doctors actually come from cuba and they have some of the best medical universities around, and in expensive too

i know of a elderly gentleman with an enlarged heart, attended docs in the US and other places, both advised him that due to his age there was no hope plus it would cost thousands of $$$
after entering cuba, the operation was completed, under 10,000$ with much success and that 80 yr old is now (5yrs ago) back to work, healthy as a horse and living life to the fulliest.

Beardo

In Havana, there is a clinic called Cira Garcia that caters to foreign visitors. http://www.cirag.cu/ingles/clinica.htm

Alternatively, you could try to get a documentary film-maker to make a film about your trip.

PS "If you go unlawfully ... you movement around Cuba while your are there will be restricted to tourist zones. Cuban citizens are prohibited from mingling with the tourist, so getting info once you are there will be tough." - that is utter rubbish. Visitors are not "restricted to tourist zones" and Cuban citizens are not "prohibited from mingling with the tourist".

I have a hired car, and can drive where-ever I like, except for military zones. I can visit Cubans' homes, I can eat with them, drink with them, party with them.

brain_hanger

Getting to Cuba is simple. You can go legally if you are a Cuban expatriot. You can go unlawfully through Mexico or Canada. Your passport will not be stamped so the US govt will not know that you were there. It has been that way for years.

The real question is why on God's green earth would you want to go to Cuba for medical treatment. There medical system is bankrupt. They have very limited resources and huge waits for service. Even the people that live there wait for long periods of time to get treatment.

My wife lived in Cuba and a family friend just went there about two months ago to study Cuban life. We discussed this very topic over dinner and he told me what I have just told you. Service is free, slow, and unpredictable.

Don't do it!!

BEARDO:

I have ammended my answer so this person's medical question does not turn into a political discussion. However, many of my family have lived in Cuba for several years. Several of those have returned to visit using a special Cuban visa. Every last one of them comes back telling the same story. You have to stay with an approved family member and you are encouraged not to mingle about with the neighbors. Perhaps the rules are different for tourists from Canada or Europe. That I do not know. I do know that going to Cuba for medical services is a bad idea in any event.

Richard:

Just to get the facts straight. I am not Cuban. I am from Texas. I am not tryng to dissuade anyone from going to Cuba. In fact, I would like to go there myself (and just might) because I hear it is a beautiful and interesting place. I am trying to dissuade a person from going there for medical treatment because it is a bad idea.

My family is not filled with radicals. They are simply people traveling to Cuba to help family members who were left behind. When my family members go, we all pitch in medical supplies because they are in short supply. If the average Cuban is having to depend on relatives from the US to bring them asprin and bras, somehow I don't think it is a medical system an American needs to be looking to for help.

Although this is not a political question, I have to respond to your idiotic notion that Cubans want to go back to the days of Batista. That remark illustrates a breathtaking sea of ignorance. Cubans hate Batista. Some Cubans thought Castro was the answer. Those who did learned the hard way that they were wrong.

And you may also be interested to know that there are no "big shots" in Cuba anymore outside of the government. Everyone is equally broke.

Richard K

certainly agree with Beardo, you are as free as you are in the U.S. to go most everywhere. The same as other places in the world military areas are of course no goes. There are certainly n o restrictions on talking to the average Cuban. I too have been in their homes and enjoyed their hospitality and friendship. Cuban doctors are well thought of throughout the world. Many students from other countries take their medical training in Cuba Brain _hanger is like many of the exile Cuban population in south Florida who do everything they can to bad mouth the Castro regime and disuade people from going to Cuba. Many of those people have never even been to Cuba and would prefer going back to the days of Batista when Cuba was nothing more than a banana republic and the poor Cubans virtual slaves to the wealthy.. There is no denying Cubans have a difficult time but if pressure was put on George Bush to remove the embargo which hurts the poor people not the big shots, improvement in living conditions will most certainly follow. In the meantime, I'll join the rest of the world, Brits, Germans, Swiss, Dutch etc. etc. in helping the Cuban people and their economy by visiting Cuba.

fionabtoo

I think through Canada. But be careful. if the US finds out you could be in big trouble.It is illegal.

jamdowngal

Connect thru Jamaica.

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