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What was but a footnote in the travel business, medical tourism, has grown into a full-blown industry. India is taking the lead in attracting a huge number of patients from around the world to its first-class medical-tourism facilities, offering services at third-world prices. Travel Daily News, a travel and tourism trade news portal, headlining the trend with Indian Medical Tourism Market Poised for Stupendous Growth, reported that the rush to India is not only being driven by the low prices, but the short waits, skilled care and the chance to recuperate in luxury, all while seeing the sights of India as part of the price.
The All Medical Tourism site reports that the cost of surgery in India, Thailand and South Africa can be one-tenth, or less, of what it is in the United States and Western Europe.
A $30,000 heart surgery procedure in the US goes for $8,000 in India…and that often includes round-trip airfare.
A $300,000 liver transplant in the United States costs about $69,000 in India.
A $13,000 hip replacement in a UK hospital costs about $4,300 in India.
But what really sells the patients are the short waits. One UK patient, a violin repair craftsman in Bradford, England, was told by his doctor that under the country’s National Health Service (NHS) plan, he’d have to wait 6 months for a heart bypass operation, or pay 19,000 pounds ($30,000 + USD) to have the procedure more quickly. He flew to India, was seen at once, paid $7,000 for the procedure, including the flight, and had a great time.
The Medical Tourism India site outlines procedures and costs on everything from eye care treatment to In Vitro Fertilization, as well as offering travel suggestions. In addition, it offers the opportunity to connect with other patients via their blog, Twitter or Facebook.
Indian medical teams are typically trained in the United States or Europe, and while Travel Daily News says lifestyle and demographic issues account for India’s growth as a Global Health Care Center, there is another discussion under the radar, and that is the insurance issue.
Will insurance companies, sensing the huge savings when patients seek treatment abroad, encourage, perhaps insist, that expensive medical procedures be done overseas? And if they’re saving huge amounts of money on medical procedures in India as opposed to New York, they might just make medical tourism abroad mandatory.
The All Medical Tourism site reports that the cost of surgery in India, Thailand and South Africa can be one-tenth, or less, of what it is in the United States and Western Europe.
A $30,000 heart surgery procedure in the US goes for $8,000 in India…and that often includes round-trip airfare.
A $300,000 liver transplant in the United States costs about $69,000 in India.
A $13,000 hip replacement in a UK hospital costs about $4,300 in India.
But what really sells the patients are the short waits. One UK patient, a violin repair craftsman in Bradford, England, was told by his doctor that under the country’s National Health Service (NHS) plan, he’d have to wait 6 months for a heart bypass operation, or pay 19,000 pounds ($30,000 + USD) to have the procedure more quickly. He flew to India, was seen at once, paid $7,000 for the procedure, including the flight, and had a great time.
The Medical Tourism India site outlines procedures and costs on everything from eye care treatment to In Vitro Fertilization, as well as offering travel suggestions. In addition, it offers the opportunity to connect with other patients via their blog, Twitter or Facebook.
Indian medical teams are typically trained in the United States or Europe, and while Travel Daily News says lifestyle and demographic issues account for India’s growth as a Global Health Care Center, there is another discussion under the radar, and that is the insurance issue.
Will insurance companies, sensing the huge savings when patients seek treatment abroad, encourage, perhaps insist, that expensive medical procedures be done overseas? And if they’re saving huge amounts of money on medical procedures in India as opposed to New York, they might just make medical tourism abroad mandatory.