Going global for medical care may be cheaper, but may not be worth the risks
10:05 a.m. Thursday, May 31, 2007
Ward Styner sells used cars in Yakima, Washington. His employer doesn't offer health insurance. So, when he needed surgery to replace a worn-out hip, he knew he would have to pay for it himself.
"The alternatives in my life were either I replace my hip or I live in a pain that I can't bear, and I'm done working and my family falls apart and, you know, I didn't have very many alternatives," Ward said.
Ward says the price tag for hip surgery at home was $65,000, a price he couldn't afford. In desperation, he turned to the internet.
"And up comes several hundred Web sites talking about medical tourism, which I'd never heard of," Styner said.
"There's more and more people are going across international boundaries for medical care, which is, of course, what medical tourism is and so definitely, the trend is increasing," said Dr. Ann Marie Kimballl.
Kimball is a global health expert and the author of "risky trade." She says there are few studies to review on medical tourism.
"We have one group of people, which is your doctor and medical association, which is definitely going to say, 'oh, no don't do that' because of self-interest as well as concerns about your welfare," she said. "And another group of people who are going to say, 'oh please come to Thailand to get your surgery' because they want your business. So the consumer is really caught without an independent look at what the outcomes actually are from this."
Ward has no regrets. He used Medretreat and traveled to Malaysia three months ago. His total bill for his new hip was $15,500, including hotel, airfare, hospital, surgery, doctor, fees and physical therapy for three weeks.
"I was treated like gold," he said. "I'm a special patient.
"The hospital was very modern, very clean, and very friendly."
When traveling overseas for medical care, keep in mind the risks: for infection, from others on the airplane, hospital and surgery suites, even food and water in your destination country. For complications, if there's a problem, you have few options for a second opinion. And legal considerations, medical malpractice laws are different in every country.
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Jun. 7, 2007 at 12:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)tourist (anonymous)
I got my plastic surgery in Thailand and saved almost 80% compared to the US. My sister got her hip resurfacing in India and saved about 75% including round trip air ticket, hospital stay, hotel stay, etc. It's the best healthcare deal you can get on this planet. Thanks to Healthbase.com, they arranged our surgeries abroad and saved us big bucks.
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