Medical Tourism?

The rising cost of healthcare in the US has led many an employer to pursue the option of ‘medical tourism‘.

It’s not just countries like Australia, but even developing countries like India are attracting a lot of patients to have everything from eye and dental care, to cosmetic and open-heart surgery. These patients are admitted to top hospitals in major metropolitan areas around the country that use cutting-edge technologies to provide world-class care. Not only are they cheaper by 50%-80% – including all costs: airfare, medical bills and lodging, patients are treated like royalty in luxurious accommodations.

The Internet is teeming with sites to inform you and/or have your business. Googling ‘medical tourism‘ gets about 11 million results; ‘medical tourism in India‘ over a million. To sweeten the pot, you can apply some of your savings to go sightseeing; hundreds of ‘medical-tourist agencies‘ offer thousands of packages from which to choose.

However, recent reports of a drug resistant ‘superbug’ (NDM-1) spreading in British hospitals from patients treated abroad have emerged. Three US cases of NDM-1 have been identified between January and July, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that patients received recent medical care in India.