Not wanting to hijack a thread -

Quoted from James on the ' paid off my medical bill ' thread -

In Japan, MRIs cost almost exactly ONE-TENTH as much as they do here.

I keep asking myself how that can be.

Jim

Very good point , medical care is cheaper almost anywhere else in the world. The U.S. healthcare system is by far one of the most expensive in the world.



I am very seriously considering doing some medical tourism in the near future.
Does anyone have any experience with this ?

Want to follow this, some of the stem cell treatments sound super promising and affordable out of the country.

My buddy from Canada took his wife to Mexico to get her stomach stapled it worked out fine but that would not be my first choice for medical care.

What part of Mexico might I ask ?
One place on my radar ( but far from making a decision ) is Cancun. They have medical tourism packages with pick up at the airport, take you to your resort, take you for medical visits , take you back to airport to depart- all meals-hotel-etc included. Plus an interpreter the whole time you are there.

Plus this costs less than 20%-25% of what it would cost in my northeast high cost blue state.

No clue it was several years ago they seemed satisfied with the way it went.

A good friend of ours had her stomach surgery done in Costa Rica. She said it was great.

I have a friend who just got back from getting an MRI and a bunch of other diagnostic testing in Moscow. The MRI was $125. He had tried to get it done here in the USA, but the earliest they could get him in was late February.

Curious as to what kind of insurance these people have or do they have insurance? My wife just had some hip issues and needed an MRI, the very next week she got approved and got her MRI. We’ve never had an issue with insurance and that’s raising 3 boys and now CJ. Only reason I mentioned they were boys is it seems we were at the hospital weekly with every type of injury or virus you could imagine. Broken bones, sprains, strains, you name it and they had it.

Big in mexico

^^^^^
My friend is in the electricians union. I think he has pretty good insurance, but the tests he needed would have taken months had he had them done here, and along with co-pay, lost work and the anxiety of not knowing for months whether or not he was dying. Turns out his medical issues weren't as bad as everyone had feared. He was money and time ahead by going to Moscow, not to mention the peace of mind he got.

I think the problem in this country is the way the medical industry bills. They jack the price way up and know darn well Insurance companies are going to reduce the allowed price way down. It seems like a way to penalize anyone who doesn't have insurance. If you don't have insurance they expect you to have to pay the entire bill.
Example: I spent most of a day in the emergency room when I broke my neck this fall. Total ER bill came to just over $33,000. My insurance knocked that down to just over a $1000. and my co-pay was $90. It seems like a ploy to force everyone to have insurance.

One advantage of insurance is that the insurance companies have a lower contracted fee schedule than is typically charged to uninsured patients. Medicare does also. It is not a scheme, but good business on their part to keep premiums lower.

I think you should blame medical malpractice attorneys and the lack of "loser pays" laws for frivolous lawsuits..
.

Good business, that's a joke it's all about the money. Medicare is a medical nightmare for people on it. We will never have health care for all Americans like other countries do because the insurance companies fight it with one lie after another because they make billions off the care and pills. It's a goose that keeps laying golden eggs year in and out.

I personally have not done medical tourism. I have however, had several patients that have gone that route and then later I've seen them in my office.
For diagnostics I don't see a problem. Assuming you can transfer imaging and data to other providers.
For procedures it's a bit riskier. I've seen patients who have had work done overseas in Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada - kidding and a variety of other places. Some of the work is superb. Some work does not meet the standard of care and we have to clean up the mess.
You don't really have the same protections you do here. Here if a procedure is botched or there's a missed diagnosis you can call the board and a lawyer. Overseas you are a lot more hit or miss on any legal protections or financial compensation in case of mistakes.
If you're interested in pursuing it I would pick your geographic area of interest and reach out to any expat groups you can find and ask them for referrals. Good luck.

$8 for a Tylenol and $2 for the paper catchup container adds up fast I’d bet. Price a bag of saline and see what they charge you for it

However, you have to remember that over 250,000 deaths per year in the USA are caused by doctor's medical mistakes. It is the third leading cause of death in the USA.

I had no idea that Medical Tourism was even a thing until I met one of the top reference sources for info about traveling for medical and dental procedures.

Patients Without Borders is one of the leading sources for information about shopping for health related services outside the United States. Medical Tourism is big business.

Good post sir.

I "saved money" by going to South America to have a bunch of dental work done. I saved money but the work was terrible. Crowns that I couldn't floss between which eventually caused me to lose molars, etc etc. I've regretted it many times over.

Sure. A medical board comprised of the doctor's colleagues and a lawyer who's hamstrung by tort "reform."

I've twice been the victim of medical malpractice. My damages are five days in a critical care unit in the first case, and a permanently fused ankle which leaves me unable to walk a straight line in the second case.

Twenty years ago I could have found a lawyer who might have won a modest measure of damages for my injuries. But ensuing years of tort "reform" and propaganda have left most victims of modest, non-critical medical injuries without adequate recourse.

Jim