Medical Vacation Could Mean Money in Your Pocket

Save Time and Money with a Medical Vacation

The number of tourists, including Americans and Canadians, visiting India for a medical vacation is rising at a rate of 15% annually.  In 2004, an estimated 150,000 tourists came to India to receive affordable medical and dental care. The availability of highly qualified Indian doctors and dentists allows foreigners to take advantage of the low cost of dental implants and other procedures without the long wait times normally associated with medical specialists.  For over one million Canadians who experience a very long wait for certain procedures, a medical vacation to India saves both time and money.

Rising Costs Make a Medical Vacation Practical

While Canadians endure long waiting periods for some procedures, Americans are paying such high healthcare prices that they find a medical vacation can save as much as 90% on the cost of some healthcare procedures.  Interestingly, affordable dental care and the low cost of dental implants among other procedures in India do not greatly affect domestic North American healthcare rates. But although some express concern about language barriers, clinic cleanliness, follow up care, and legal protection regarding medical care in a foreign land, most tourists who take advantage of affordable dental care and other procedures in India experience superb care from highly trained physicians.

Employers Support Medical Vacation Packages Overseas

Driven by the high cost of dental implants, hip replacements, and heart surgery, American employers are taking a serious look at funding medical vacation packages to save money.  Companies that pay directly for employee medical expenses are beginning to encourage workers to try foreign care if there is a substantial savings involved.  Medical insurance companies are responding to the medical tourism trend much more slowly. One reason may be that the median American cost for a medical procedure is under $1,000 dollars.  Patients paying the median amount are not a large portion of medical tourism travelers. Medical insurance also does not normally cover expensive, elective surgeries that are popular with medical vacations.

Source: “'Medical Tourism Industry Grows Rapidly,” Dominican Today, October 26, 2006