President Obama started an intense debate in recent months about national health care. People are concerned about how to pay for the high cost of health care in America and feel it is just too expensive. There has to be a better way!
I like oranges and I grew up in Wisconsin, but in January oranges do not grow very well in Wisconsin. I don't know why -- I am not a horticulturalist -- but maybe it's the lack of sunlight, hard frozen tundra, blowing snow or temperatures of 25 below zero. We could spend a long time pointlessly debating the actual reason.
But rather than protest to the government or carry signs back and forth in the blowing snow about not having oranges, people in Wisconsin figured out it was just easier to buy oranges from Florida -- or better yet, become a "snowbird" and spend the winter in Florida. Of course spending time in Florida offered Wisconsinites the chance to pick their own oranges, play golf, and relax on beaches while missing the "heat wave" sales that happened when it warmed up to above zero.
While America's health care is the best in the world, it is expensive. Apparently, America can't grow affordable health care. Maybe it is because of the tax treatment of health care benefits, greedy insurance company executives, or too many lawsuits, but cheap health care doesn't seem to grow here. So why not take a trip to someplace where it is cheap? Googling "medical tourism" brings up a whole list of companies that will help you get care abroad at a great price. You might even get a tan!
For less than $2,000, Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) can provide a plane ticket to almost anywhere in the world, and that includes countries like India, Panama, or Thailand that have doctors up to western standards. Need a $10,000 face lift? Go to Brazil and get it for $3,500. The savings will put a smile on your face! Need a triple heart bypass? In America it would cost around $250,000; but only about 6% of this in India. As long as you are there you might as well spend some of the savings recovering on the beach, riding elephants, or seeing the sites. When you get back together with your golf buddies, you would have more than just the surgery story to share.
Certainly, every time you see the doctor it is not easy to fly overseas and some emergency medicine treatments cannot wait. But for expensive planned surgeries like knee replacement, complex dental procedures, and cosmetic surgery, you can get healthy, save money, see the world all at the same time.
It might take a little convincing, but maybe you could even get your health insurance company like Aetna (NYSE: AET) or Cigna (NYSE: CI) to foot the bill for your next medical vacation. Maybe they could even use it as a new marketing pitch! Save money and see the world!
Isn't this a great way to solve affordability of health care for America?
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
Retailers can't wait for Black Friday, open Thursday
Tiffany's serves up solid quarterly earnings
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-02-2009 @ 2:14PM
Iridium said...
Nothing we do with insurance will address the principal problem with American health care. The out of control and bogus costs of medical care.
There is no justification for half the cost of many test and procedures. it is impossible to justify over $250 for a doctors visit because of a sinus infection.
Doctors and hospitals overcharge by hundreds of percent because they have more or less been given a blank check. As long as the burden of payment is shifted from the individual health care costs will continue to rise.
If people had to actually pay for thier own health care there would be no way a hospital could charge $10,000 for an MRI. Nobody would get one and the hospital would go bankrupt.
10-03-2009 @ 4:08AM
blueflex said...
here is my economics commentary thank you...
10-03-2009 @ 2:33AM
MoeJoe said...
lol I live in Canada and I got one on my shoulder the day I needed it for free.
10-03-2009 @ 9:02AM
Daniel Shaw said...
I run a British dental clinic abroad in Piestany spa, Slovakia (http://www.dentalholiday.co.uk) and can say that it's true, thousands of brits each year go for their dental treatment abroad to save costs and time.