These “medical tourists” seek procedures ranging from root canals to knee surgeries and hip replacements — at a fraction of what they would cost at home.
The Bumrungrad hospital in Thailand treats about 400,000 foreign patients each year, and Malaysia had nearly 600,000 medical tourists last year. South Korea had more than 100,000, nearly one-third of them American, and Costa Rica and Mexico also have become popular destinations for American patients, according to the New Yorker magazine.
The reason, of course, is cost. Hip-replacement surgery in Costa Rica costs around $15,000, compared to $90,000 at a U.S. hospital, and cash-paying surgery patients are taking advantage of packages that are one-fifth to one-third of the U.S. cost.
Health insurance companies have been leery about reimbursing patients for medical care overseas — they already receive large discounts with American hospitals and they risk a public-relations disaster if something goes wrong with a medical procedure in another country.
Patients have been wary as well, concerned about the lack of legal recourse for malpractice and the quality of care.
More: http://www.newsmax.com/InsiderReport/Soaring-Disab…
source: http://www.sodahead.com / News> by The Rebel / posted June 25th, 2012
