Why Go Abroad for Medical Care Reason #1: Cost Savings

Here are some thoughts from the GREAT book Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Tourism on the #1 reason people should go abroad for medical care -- cost savings. The details:

The single biggest reason Americans travel to other countries for medical treatment is the opportunity to save money. Depending upon the country and type of treatment, uninsured and underinsured patients, as well as those seeking elective care, can realize 15 to 85 percent savings over the cost of treatment in the US.

The book also includes the following quote from a health care traveler commenting on the cost difference of going abroad:

"I took out my credit card instead of a second mortgage on my home."

Cute. ;-)

The book then lists both testimonials from people who have actually traveled and saved money as well as charts comparing surgery and dentistry costs in the US versus that of other countries. I'll pick a few out randomly to highlight the situations. We'll start with the testimonials:

• Margaret S. was quoted $6,600 for a tooth extraction, two implants, and two crowns here in the US. She paid $2,600 for it in Cost Rica (from a US-trained oral surgeon.)

• Doug S. had a double hip resurfacing procedure in India for $14,000 (including travel.) The US costs would have been $55,000.

Now for the charts. I'll stick with the surgeries chart -- the dentistry one is similar (though the dollars aren't nearly as high.) Some highlights comparing the costs of various medical procedures in the US to costs for the same procedures in India (he also lists costs for Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia):

• Heart Bypass: $130,000 versus $10,000 (heart valve replacement costs were similar spreads
• Angioplasty: $57,000 versus $9,000
• Hip Replacement: $43,000 versus $9,000
• Hysterectomy: $43,000 versus $9,000
• Knee Replacement: $40,000 versus $8,500
• Spinal Fusion: $62,000 versus $5,500

Wow! For the cost of a heart bypass in the US, you could become the $6 million dollar man (or woman) in India. I know -- I'm dating myself with that comment. You younger folks can Google "$6 million dollar man" to see what I'm talking about. ;-)

Now you have to add travel costs to the India numbers, and he suggests $5,000 for the patient and a companion. Still, it's a great deal by far with these costs tacked on.

Now some of you are thinking, "yeah, but the quality of care isn't nearly as good as that in the US." All I can say to that is to stay tuned for reason #2 you should go abroad for medical care.

Comments

[Sestos]

I was waiting for a plane refuel in Budapest, and ran into an old British gentlemen. I was enroute to Iraq and he was waiting for his plane back to the UK that had been delayed. He was there for dental work, compared to the UK he stated he had saved a few thousand pounds off what it would have cost him back home.

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