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Mexico has a pretty good system...they essentially have universal healthcare. Their main problem is access, especially in the rural areas that are mired with poverty and also happen to be more indigenous.
I actually know little about the rest of Latin America in terms of healthcare, but I know Cuba has a good system as well.
I lived in Chile and have been in Argentina for 8 years. Private health care and private medical co-ops associated with private hospitals here are good and not too expensive but the gov't provided stuff? I wouldn't even take my dog to a public hospital in Argentina if I could help it, it's that bad....trust me.
My experience when I went to the emergency room in Chile was strange....it's like "assembly line" health care and actually reminds me a bit of what I've seen and heard about health care in the military. It's very cold, informal and impersonal,.....just a weird experience. Arg, public hospitals are cess pools of filth, dilapidated, dirty, body fluids and blood stains on the bed frames and floors, filth, graffiti ALL over the walls, broken windows, floor and wall tiles falling off, Doctor's and nurses that are poorly organized.....it was just a horrid experience.
My friend had a thief bust two caps in his side that almost killed him and they rushed him to the hospital and stuck him in the same room with a cop killer who had just murdered a cop and was handcuffed to the bed under guard....wonderful.
It took me forever to get through the hospital, they're were people napping on the floor in the hallways, I even saw a dog without a leash running through one hallway. My wife and I had to ask for directions 4 different times to find the right floor. The emergency room area where the hospitals pull up the ambulances to receive the most critical is nothing more than a rough paved spillway ramp with two huge wooden doors closed with an old chain and giant padlock....just awful.
As I said, the private stuff is good but the govt run hospitals here? Utterly rediculous. You need to listen to my brother in laws story about the last time he had to have surgery and went to the main public Arg hospital here called "El Interzonal" you'll be gawking with your jaws on the floor.
The Brazilian Universal Healthcare System (SUS) still needs a lot of improvement, but it has some interesting features...
The SUS is much better in non-emergency medical attention than in emergency medical attention. The emergency attention is still really bad, even with some important improvements in the past years (specially with the UPAs 24/7 for mid-complexity cases)
But the system is pretty comprehensive... Includes many kinds of treatments, for free.
I've always felt that average lifespan from birth was the best indicator of health. Canada handily wins this at 82 yoa and Costa Rica, Chile, and USA are tied for second at 79. However, the OP mentioned cost which clearly the USA is super high cost health care and Canada is also not cheap. So if you consider Canada low cost, then it's Canada...otherwise, Costa Rica and Chile are winners.
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