Health Care: It’s Cheaper and Better Overseas

As I mentioned previously, Tracie and I were amazed by both the quality and the low cost of the health care that she received while we were traveling in Japan. There’s an article here at the New York Times website about a growing phenomenon: Americans traveling abroad specifically for medical treatment. Here’s a brief excerpt:

Already, more than 150,000 people travel abroad each year for health care.

According to “Patients Without Borders: Everybody’s Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Tourism,” a new book by Josef Woodman, overseas care can trim 60 to 80 percent, or more, off the price of major surgeries. Its comparison, for example, shows that a heart bypass in India costs one-thirteenth the price in America, and many foreign hospitals also offer postoperative care that includes a high degree of attention from hospital staff members.

As a footnote, in case I haven’t mentioned it previously: when we returned to the US, Tracie was erroneously issued a prescription for a medication to which she is allergic. The pharmacist caught the error but the irony did not escape our notice.

By adam

Go ahead, try to summarize yourself in a sentence or two.

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