A thread on Great Debates got me thinking about the subject of traveling internationally for expensive medical procedures. I live in the US and i’m wondering that if i were to live here but get major surgery somewhere else what all countries should i look at that offer quality healthcare for relatively lower prices?
I heard someone on the thread say Thailand, so i did a little research on it. Apparently they have a socialized system and many medical personnel speak english. I can’t find any details on pricing though other than one site that says a half day full of inspections costs about $110 (which is probably about 1/10 what it costs in the US).
Are there international insurance policies designed for situations like this?
In articles about retirement it is claimed that Mexico has good medical care at very low prices. Most of their doctors are trained here and as is commonly known the price of drugs is low.
For the purpose of your question the national health care insurance system (if any) can be disregarded because these insurance schemes as a rule only pay for those who have previously become a member of it (i.e. those who as taxpayers/mandatory insurance premium payers support the system). You cannot just arrive and expect the local system to pay for you (except where there is a reciprocity agreement, as IIRRC is in place e.g. between most EU members).
Poor(ish) countries with a good level of education ought to be the best place for getting the best medical services per dollar.
Yeah i know that i won’t get universal healthcare but with the cost of living and salaries being lower in those countries medical procedures will cost less. I’ve been researching ‘medical tourism’ and India appears to be a good country for this. $40k heart surgeries for $8k (including travel and lodging in that 8k) is not undoable. Plus India knows that it is becoming a medical tourism hotspot so they are building quality, advanced medical facilities for this expressed purpose.