On Friday 27th, March CNNhealth.com posted an article entitled Lower Costs Lure US patients abroad for treatment. US and Canadian patients are opting to go abroad for medical treatment (the exorbitantly expensive ones like heart surgery or even plastic surgery) simply because it is cheaper. In fact, such procedures can be up to 10% of the cost that one would pay in the US.
Another reason that some go abroad for procedures is the lengthy wait before they can get a date for surgery.
Dispelling the fear of shoddy procedures or lax sanitation, some private hospitals in India market themselves as having upscale accommodations, Western-trained surgeons and state-of-the-art medical equipment.
The article goes on the report that next year alone, an estimated 6 million Americans will travel abroad for surgery, according to a 2008 Deloitte study. "Medical care in countries such as India, Thailand and Singapore can cost as little as 10 percent of the cost of comparable care in the United States," the report found.
Some of the hottest destination for medial tourism include:
- Brazil
- Singapore
- Central America
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Malaysia
- Hungary
- India
