3-Oct-2007
As the presidential hopefuls reveal their intentions for the US healthcare system, Americans are turning to a market-driven approach to get their medical treatment abroad.
Last year, some 150,000 US citizens travelled to countries like India, the Philippines and to Eastern Europe to get hip transplants, elective surgery and dental work.
The reason for this sudden drive abroad is one of expense, or rather the lack of expense. There are great savings to be made from choosing to have medical treatments abroad.
A $55,000 valve replacement only costs $13,000 from Cyprus’s American Heart Institute. By travelling to Malaysia, Americans can save $80,000 on a liver transplant or $40,000 on hip-replacement surgery.
Harvard Medical International affiliated staff in Istanbul will perform oncology surgery for £14,000 – a snip of the £69,000 US equivalent price.
And it doesn’t stop at elective surgery. South American dentists can undercut U.S. dentists by as much as 20 to 50 percent. The Joint Commission International, which inspects hospitals around the world, has accredited over 125 hospitals in 23 countries, and expects that number to double soon.