Welcome to Your Health Vacation

A Health Vacation: an Idea Too Good to Resist

It started out with immigrant Americans returning to their lands of origin for surgical procedures that were cheaper there.  They were followed by other Americans interested in having certain procedures such as plastic surgery that were not included in their insurance plans. Now it is almost a movement, and with rising costs becoming such a major problem in health care, it looks as if the trend will gather momentum.  Very soon, perhaps, an American going on a health vacation and checking in at one of the best hospitals in India for hip replacement surgery will no longer be news. For, whether a person has excellent insurance or none at all, the idea of receiving world class medical care at almost ridiculously low rates is too hard to pass up.

Finding the Best Hospitals in India for Hip Replacement Surgery

Health vacation packages have become so popular and seem to make so much sense that companies such as MedRetreat now focus on sending American patients to these foreign hospitals. In the last three years MedRetreat has sent about 320 American patients abroad for their procedures. Because rising costs are such a major problem in health care, Mercer Health and Benefits and other consulting firms are climbing aboard too.  Mercer is in the process of affiliating with certain Fortune 500 companies to help promote health vacation packages so that employees can visit top surgery clinics in Costa Rica, superior heart surgery facilities in Thailand, and the best hospitals in India for hip replacement surgery.

Health Vacation Packages Have Some Opponents

Some labor unions in America are concerned about their members being sent abroad for health care. They worry too that this practice may have an adverse effect on American jobs. But, while their concerns may seem genuine, so, too, do the concerns of other average Americans who find rising costs a major problem in health care. Of course, very few Americans would pass up the opportunity to pay about $15,000 for flights, stays, and treatments at the best hospitals in India for hip replacement surgery when costs for the procedure in the States, alone, hover around $35K.

Getting the Best out of That Medical Vacation

Of course, it makes sense for a person considering a health vacation to first be very sure of what he or she is letting himself in for. It is essential to find out as much as possible about the hospital and the staff. In this electronic age, that is easily done through telephone calls, emails and research on the Internet. The international branch of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has a web site that can be searched for relevant information.

Source: Judy Foreman, “Bon voyage, and get well!” The Boston Globe, October 2, 2006.