Posted on 03/24/2010 6:30:37 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
So you're not thrilled with the new healthcare reform package signed into law today by President Barack Obama. What can you do?
Well, you can be like talk radio host Rush Limbaugh and move to Costa Rica as a way of protesting the new law. Better yet, you can combine your love of travel with your need for medical care by experiencing medical tourism.
Essentially, medical tourism is the practice of traveling beyond your home country's borders to seek medical care in another nation -- usually at a much lower cost. This is especially true for surgeries not typically covered by health insurance, such as cosmetic procedures like facelifts and breast augmentation.
Dozens of countries officially recognize medical tourism as a national industry, and many overseas hospitals offer five-star care, such as Bumrungrad in Bangkok, Thailand.
How much can you save? Here are some eye-popping numbers, courtesy of the University of Delaware:
"The cost of surgery in India, Thailand or South Africa can be one-tenth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe, and sometimes even less. A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the U.S., for example, goes for $10,000 in India -- and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth $5,500 in the U.S. costs $500 in India, a knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the States, and Lasik eye surgery worth $3,700 in the U.S. is available in many other countries for only $730. Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa."
Medical tourists from Dallas/Fort Worth and all across America are headed to such countries as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Brunei, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Korea, Tunisia and New Zealand.
That's just a partial list. But medical tourism is so popular now that even tiny Latvia is getting in on the act. The former Soviet bloc country wants to be the go-to destination for Lasik eye surgery and other fountain-of-youth procedures.
(VIDEO AT LINK)
B. There is some merit to the idea, especially if you would like the satisfaction of starving the beast here while enjoying English speaking doctors and a leisurely vacation abroad. But the spread of negotiated costs in the US, often a factor of ten, overlap the advertised savings abroad.
“Dental tourism to Mexico use to be the in thing.”
Very true - been there many times (border area). All you see on the side streets is “Dentista”. These days, nothing will come of it, until they get the drug animals at bay.
...which they will do, if they are smart. There are MANY TENS OF MILLIONS of Americans that have money, but need medical care at reasonable prices. The country can make a HUGE amount of money in medical tourism, just due to their location...if they choose to pursue it.
The idea is, if Indian tribes can open casinoes and cash in on their exemption of federal laws, why not open health/medical clinics on reservations and cash in on immunity from Obamacare.
I don't know, but I'll bet there are a bunch of sharp-eyed shysters at work on this as we speak.
I have been more impressed with the tribal elders lately than the US Congress. LOL
I’m sure it’s part of a federal scheme. The Indians need to set up their own 100% private healthcare system, primarily with non-Indians’ dollars. Just like they did with tobacco and casinos.
My wife uses that straight talk package that Wal-Mart carries: $45/month gives her unlimited talk, text, Internet, and more. The phone she purchased has an MP3, camera, Internet, etc.
“My wife uses that straight talk package that Wal-Mart carries: $45/month gives her unlimited talk, text, Internet, and more. The phone she purchased has an MP3, camera, Internet, etc.”
EXACTLY - and those savings, month after month, year after year, add up to a LOT of money.
I’ll be getting the simpler, economy model in a month or two. Cheaper than ANY contract phone that I’ve found.
I had to call and order a prescription pain pill for my dog today [yeah, I know this is not really on topic, but bear with me.....]. I just about fell over when they told me the price! I told the lady, I knew our health care costs were going up due to the passage of this new health bill, but I didnt realize it would affect my dogs meds too?!?! I used to pay $145 for 90 tablets....today the new price is $195! Went up $50.
Anyway it got me thinking.....a lot of the same drugs animals [dogs & cats] take are basically the same as what people take. I believe they are also made by the same drug companies that make human drugs?
If today’s new price didnt make me stand up and think about what WE have coming, nothing will. And for all those out there who think they are getting a deal [sarc] with this new health care bill, I would love to see the looks on their faces when reality sets in! lol
I wonder if I could try to order my dogs meds from another country to save some $$$$...the dog takes about as many pills as my husband does.....between the two of them I will be in the poorhouse for sure! lol Thanks BHO [sarc]
BUMP! I heard it. Rush NEVER said he was gonna move to CA. Go there for medical care, maybe, but not move.
Obviously Congressperson Jared Polis of Boulder, CO thinks this idea is fine and dandy, since he has invested heavily in the medical tourism industry while voting for Obamacare. Now, that’s what I call insider trading!
I was listening to Rush that day and I didn’t hear him say he was leaving the USA....just maybe, going elsewhere for healthcare.
Yes you can order pet medicine from overseas and yes it is much cheaper.
Shop around to find big price differences.
Cuban Doctors Manage to Defect (to USA) Via Venezuela
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=350054&CategoryId=10717
MIAMI – Around 500 Cuban doctors have defected to the United States while serving on aid missions in Venezuela, according to members of Cuban exile groups in Miami.
The latest case occurred on Wednesday when seven Cuban physicians managed to leave Caracas’ Maiquetia International Airport, after being held there for several hours and after paying hundreds of dollars each to officials.
“The Venezuelan and Cuban officials at Maiquetia systematically subject the doctors who want to leave to psychological pressure until finally they pay bribes,” Cuban doctor Keiler Moreno, who left Caracas five months ago, told Efe.
The bribes can range from $300 to as much as $2,000.
Moreno helped several of his colleagues who left Caracas on Wednesday and he waited for them at the Miami airport while they went through legal procedures with U.S. immigration authorities.
“We’re from the same class that graduated in medicine in 2007 and we help each other out,” he added.
Several Catholic associations and the Miami-based organization Solidaridad Sin Fronteras (Solidarity Without Borders) will also provide assistance to the four Cuban men and three women who arrived on Wednesday.
Sources with Miami’s massive Cuban exile community say that around 2,000 physicians and other health care personnel have defected since 2006 and requested visas to come to the United States.
more at laht.com ...
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