293 J.L. Angel et al. (eds.), Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1867-2_21, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Introduction International migration is a long-standing phenomenon in Mexico and represents one of the demographic processes impacting all of the country’s institutions. Due to limited economic opportunities in Mexico, migration is a survival strategy for many families in the country. Nonetheless, migration has had a major impact on the trans- formation of family structure and dynamics, household composition, and patterns of support and care for family members. These familial and household changes have intensified over the last few decades as Mexico has experienced an epidemiological transition and a significant aging of its population (Ham 2003; Gomes and Montes de Oca 2004). In this setting, there has been a decrease in transmittable diseases and an increase in chronic degenera- tive diseases alongside a growth in the elderly population. These changes, coupled with poverty and migration, have transformed family support dynamics. Thus, remittances from migration to the United States represent an essential source of income that is indispensable for many families in Mexico. In the case of elderly parents, remittances are particularly important due to inadequate health care and pension systems in Mexico. While the movement of Mexicans to the United States is long-standing, the significant aging of the United States population has made Mexican workers an increasingly indispensible part of its economy. Mexican migrants are found V. Montes de Oca Zavala (*) Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyacán, DF, Mexico e-mail: monteso@unam.mx R. Sáenz University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA e-mail: Rogelio.Saenz@utsa.edu A. Molina Roldán Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico Chapter 21 Caring for the Elderly: A Binational Task Transnational Health Care Support Verónica Montes de Oca Zavala, Rogelio Sáenz, and Ahtziri Molina Roldán