The Globalization of Healthcare

As we continue to debate (and debate and debate) health-care reform in this country, many Americans who are either uninsured or under-insured are traveling abroad for health care. And not just for plastic surgery or dental work, as I found out while writing this article for Endless Vacation (RCI's travel magazine).

The savings are enormous, even, unbelievably, when you factor in international airfare and luxury hotels. In India, which has an array of top-end facilities including Wockhard and Apollo Hospitals, the average price for medical care is 80% less than it is here in the U.S., according to Devon Herrick, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis in Washington D.C.

Adventurous travelers are heading to Costa Rica for dental work, India for high-tech heart and orthopedic surgeries (including hip resurfacing, which is not widely practiced in the U.S.), and Turkey for oncology care. And the total number of "health tourists" is only expected to rise in coming years, according to health economists. 

If you're intrigued, check out these 7 tips which I gleaned from Josef Woodman, author of Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Travel

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