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Medical tourism
Americans traveling for medical care a sign that health care costs are out of control
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Elizabeth Kunz of South Carolina learned from her dentist this year that she needed eight crowns, a filling and a root canal. She shopped around and found that it would cost $10,000 — and she has medical insurance.
Her insurance company offered another option: a dentist in Costa Rica. She booked a trip. The work cost her $2,800.
She is not alone.
The Associated Press recently reported that 1.6 million Americans are expected to travel abroad next year for medical procedures. Several countries, including Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica, have clinics that cater to so-called medical tourists, and they are doing a booming business.
Patients aren’t just going for dental work or cosmetic procedures. The clinics also offer surgeries, including heart bypass and hip and knee replacements.
The thought of people traveling abroad for medical care conjures up horrific images of poorly trained “doctors” and subpar facilities. However, advocates of medical tourism programs say many of the doctors and hospitals are just as good as you would find in the United States.
U.S. insurance companies have started working with the foreign clinics, helping patients find good doctors and agreeing to pay for care.
With the cost of medical care in this country what it is, we understand why people are willing to travel. Taking advantage of lower costs of living, drugs and medical supplies, the clinics can offer as much as an 80 percent discount.
This trend of people leaving the country to seek medical care is troubling and a sign of a bigger problem — skyrocketing health care costs. A recent study in the American Journal of Medicine suggests that six in 10 bankruptcies were due to medical bills.
Containing costs should be a focus of the debate in Congress about health care. After all, what good is having what is supposed to be the best medical system in the world if people can’t afford to use it?
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Americans travel to other countries where liability claims are not heard and the cost of living is next to nothing for simple procedures that can be counted on "most of the time" to be the same as at home.
Foreigners travel to the United States for medical care when they need the very best no matter the cost as our care is second to none.
Which system do we really want here at home?
6 in 10 bankruptcies due to medical bills...
who needs health care reform...
the insurance companies are your friends people...
doctors are your friends...
hee hee hee...
i just hope some of the retarded republican blowhards on these boards wind up as one of those folks...
the irony...
the saddest part of all...
retarded republicand are macho clowns now...
until something goes wrong...
then they cry like little little girls...
boo hoo hoo...
Of course none of the high costs in the U.S. have anything to do with regulations, licensing restrictions, a government managed market, and a third party payer system....
neiman said: "Foreigners travel to the United States for medical care when they need the very best no matter the cost as our care is second to none. Which system do we really want here at home?"
Fact is this, Neiman: I lived in Thailand, most of last year. My wife had cause for medical care while there. We visited 5 government run hospitals and 4 private hospitals. These hospitals in Thailand are more advanced that our hospitals in the USA.
It doesn't matter 'why' their costs are lower and their care is superior, the fact is this: "Thailand has better care, superior technology, and better results than in the USA. All of this while providing it for 20% of the cost for this service in the USA.
I'm voting with my money, I don't have health insurance and refuse to buy it because I don't want to support big corporations who discriminate against their sick customers and cancel coverage on their patients when they get sick. This is an im-moral system, I vote not to support it.
Therefore if I need medical care, I will buy a plane ticket to Thailand and go get medical care there. Strange that a little tiny country like Thailand can have a government medical system and private system working wonderfully side-by-side without any problems.
In the USA, the Christian conservatives yell & scream 'we hate socialism'. Seems to me that Jesus was a 'socialist'.
Hmmmmmm....I see Patrick "Smith" has come up with the answer to our many health care problems......."free market"......."free market"......."free market."
Wow! Makes one wonder why our elected officials, from both sides of the aisle, haven't already discovered that bit of insightful information...
Of course in Mr. "Smith's" mind all the problems in the world (global warming, war, poverty, racism, food shortages, unemployment, swine flu, broken government,and etc....) can all be solved by the use of a "free market."
Today is August 25th, 1776......I just purchased a copy of Mr. Smith's wonderful book, "The Wealth of Nations." This book will change the world forever.....
shrek......
Shame on you.....telling the truth won't cut it on this board. Don't you know that we have the best medical care found any place on the planet. It's also the cheapest and it's available to each and every American.....
We not only have the best health care on the planet, we lead the world in stem cell research. We have the best educational system known to man; we manufacture over 90% of everything that the rest of the world wants and needs; and we have the fewest people in prison among all the industralized countries.
Unemployment is unknown among our workers and jobs are so plentiful that many jobs can't be filled....
You should also know that Jesus was a capitalist. He taught that "greed is good."
Why do people think we have the best medical care system in the world? Has anyone heard of Appalachia? What about that clinic they just held in LA for three days and could not begin to treat the thousands lined up? I need a break from all this ignorance.