US congressional candidate says Mexico is where he gets healthcare as high costs dominate midterm debate

Bobby Pulido, a singer and Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’s 15th District, recently said that he does not have health insurance and has had to go to Mexico to receive medical care.

Pulido, who is running against Republican Mónica De La Cruz, made the unexpected remark to Council President and CEO Javier Palomerez during a virtual discussion on Monday with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council.

“I’m going to start off by telling you that I don’t have health insurance, Javier. And I’m embarrassed to tell you that I’ve had to go to Mexico for my health care,” Pulido said, as cited by news outlet Border Report, reportedly the only journalism outlet that accessed the meeting.

Pulido, 52, whose full name is José Roberto Pulido Jr., lives in Edinburg, a border city located in southern Texas. According to Border Report, he also owns a home in Mexico. 

During the conversation, Pulido contrasted U.S. President Trump’s reported plans to boost military spending with the difficulties U.S. residents face in obtaining affordable medical care. 

“I live in the richest country in the world. Now the president wants to give a million and a half trillion dollars for our military budget when we cannot provide affordable health care to our people,” he said. 

Pulido’s statements did not describe what specific illness, procedure or medical emergency has brought him to seek care in Mexico. Nor does the information shared by Border Report specify which Mexican city he visits for treatment, how much he pays or the reasons why he lacks insurance in the United States.

The results of our inaugural MND Mexico Healthcare Experience Survey™

However, this isn’t the first time Pulido has publicly shared that he has traveled to Mexico for healthcare. On Sept. 27, he told Univisión he sought medical services in Mexico due to high costs in the U.S., while questioning the power of insurance companies in that country. 

Before turning to politics, Pulido had a renowned career as a Tejano singer, with a fan base spanning Mexico and the U.S. Over the course of a three-decade career, he won two Latin Grammy Awards for Best Tejano Music Album — one of which he won in November 2025.