Medical Tourism

As medical expenses continue to rise (and do not feel that"free" government healthcare is free) there'll be a growing number of people taking off for foreign lands to find great medical service at excellent savings.

Costa Rica, India, Mexico, Germany, Spain and many others have quite qualified doctors with cost savings as good as 80%.
Not only surgery, but dental work is completed at much less cost.

There are just two kinds of travelers that are partaking of overseas physicians. Those who do not have any health insurance (maybe the new heath plan might assist these folks) and the wealthy. Also think about a person with a large deductible for example $2,000 or more. The deductible might pay for their health care holiday as well as most of the treatment.

In 2007 there were about 750,000 who travelled overseas for medical help and it is estimated that about more than half and one million will do so in 2010.
In the event the suggested government healthcare is enacted current health programs by companies will likely be dropped. The workers will probably be covered by Uncle Obama. No one understands what that means.

In almost every foreign country a tourist receives free emergency care. If someone goes for a face lift or a tummy tuck the price will be much less than at the U.S.
Go Online to compare U.S. charges for various procedures with those completed in the country of your choice. You will find processes done successfully in foreign countries that aren't allowed in the U.S. for example for cancer.

There are good reasons for less prices. The doctors don't do batteries of unnecessary evaluations they do here. The reason most doctors do them is to protect from lawsuits. Don't plan on suing anyone if you are not pleased with your resulting treatment.

Many of the centers are just as nice as those in the U.S. Each person looking at any process outside the nation should get as many references as you can.

In most foreign cities there will be several doctors who can perform the process you want. Require references from every and insist on speaking to people who've been there and done that. Prices will be about the same, but their lodging may be rather different.

There are travel agents who specialize in medical tourism. This might be any simple answer, but it still falls back on the person to do his own due diligence.
The patient might favor Europe over India or South America. This is where travel costs can make a huge difference in the bottom line. The individual may even be able to earn the entire trip tax deductible, but may require a referral in the patient's regular doctor. Also consult your CPA.