As the years have past, few of us have escaped the effects of the Medical Insurance Crisis. Fewer employers offer health insurance, those that do have scaled back coverage and increased fees/co-pays. With each passing year, the situation has grown progressively worse. Rising medical costs have turned adequate health care into a rich mans game. There seems to be little evidence to suggest the situation will be getting any better.
Many have staked high hopes on an evolution to Socialized medicine in the current political climate. But when we consider how Government runs things; and look at how existing socialized medicine functions in other countries, we realize a DMV of medical services may actually be even worse than the mess we have now. Many, perhaps most, of the people who avail themselves of off shore medical treatment come from countries with Socialized medicine like the U.K. and Australia.
In this increasingly difficult Health Care environment, we find the option of Medical Tourism more and more appealing. Costs for significant medical procedures can be reduced radically while sacrificing little or nothing in the quality of care.
We (the wife and I) now have garnered first hand experience with Medical Tourism to India. I believe any number of people here could benefit from our experience. So with this in mind, I submit some of the highlights of our trip.
If, like us, you have no experience with getting medical work done overseas, I strongly suggest you get in touch with a go-between organization. After researching what would be our best country for our medical needs, we contacted the Taj Medical Group. All correspondence we did was thru email, and was invaluable. They were already in contact with the best hospitals off shore and could provide assistance obtaining Visas. Sometimes they can get good airfare rates locked in as well (though this was not to be for us) The help we got was always prompt and well informed. To locate a reputable outfit, I suggest a book called PATIENTS WITHOUT BORDERS by Josef Woodman. It lists a number of Health Travel Agents, so choosing from these should assure that you are contacting a real outfit - not an Internet false front.
Our flight left Portland, Oregon on 27 August. There was a layover at Newark for 4 hours, then we were in the air for 14 hours, before touching down at the Indera Gandhi Airport. With insurance, flying couch there and back, for the 2 of us, the cost was just under $3,000.
As we disembarked the plane, we were met by 2 guys holding up signs with our names. They got us to our hotel room (which they had arranged for us), thru the absolutely insane traffic that India is renown for, in the dead of night. (At this point, let me suggest you explore getting a Bed & Breakfast in India, if possible. Prices for most things in India are fabulous but not for lodging. By American standards, hotels are overpriced and shabby. A B&B is probably a much better choice if you can arrange it.)
The next day we called the hospital with the cell phone we were provided, by our Airport contacts. A ride was arranged and we had preoperation testing done those first 2 days. When it was time for the actual operation, we moved from the hotel to the hospital where we would stay for the next 5 days. (The halls were not air conditioned but thankfully our room was. We had arrived just prior to "The High Season" for tourists so it was uncomfortably hot for us when out of our rooms. So you might want to keep such considerations in mind when scheduling your trip.) But our Doctor was the head of his specialty, speaking great English and very skilled and personable. The equipment was sometimes a little outdated, but the staff was nothing short of great. Labor is dirt cheap in India and they are always fully staffed. IF we could get HALF this staff in the U.S., with HALF the concern it would be a radical improvement.
Operation was performed and all went well. We were quoted $11,000 in the U.S., and the price was reduced to $9,050 when all was said and done. This procedure in America is about 40k. After a few days, we were able to be discharged to a Bed and Breakfast we had arranged. Delhi seems to be the location in India with the best B&B opportunities.
The B&B was the high point of the trip. Up to this point, it had pretty much been work. But now, as the wife recovered in a great, well air conditioned room, I was able to arrange a trip to Agra and see the Taj Mahal. He got a fine English speaking driver and a personal tour guide for me, when there. He also had a number of other adventures available to boot. One of them was a guided shopping tour where his wife would haggle my prices for me. This is no small advantage, let me tell you. A custom Astrology reading could be arranged or Indian cooking class. Most valuable was our discussions over the dinner table where the proprietor could explain to me all the puzzling things I was seeing in this exotic country. (Culture Shock is not to be underestimated for India. There's SOOooooo much stuff going on you're just not going to see here!)
Then the time to leave came. We contacted the same guy who we first saw at the Airport and he arranged a driver. We then were able to pay for both rides and the cell phone use. This came to 2000 Rupees, which is about $50.
Here's a tip. Remember to cash in all or most of your Rupees BEFORE you get through security. There's no place to cash out on the other side. The Rupee is a closed currency and when you try to change it in America; you will be outta luck. So a few of my friends are getting Rupees in their Christmas cards.
In closing, I can recommend Medical Tourism from my experience. It offers an opportunity for many to get life saving treatment without destroying their families financial integrity. If you are curious and want to know more, type "Medical Tourism" into a search engine. There's a real wealth of info out there. India is certainly one of the better destinations, but there are plenty of others; - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, South Africa, Hungary, Brazil,Costa Rica, Mexico, Barbados, Antigua... So do your research, allow 6 months or so, if you can, to get everything together comfortably. Good Luck and Good Health.
An ascendant man, living in a degenerate age, MUST, by definition, live in contradistinction to his times.
