More who need major surgery are leaving U.S.

More who need major surgery are leaving U.S.
Overseas treatments sometimes carry extra risks, but can come at fraction of the expense

Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, May 4, 2008


Robert Lupo of Santa Rosa had never been on an airplane until last month, when he flew to India to get his hip replaced.

The 45-year-old self-employed contractor had dropped his Kaiser coverage before an uninsured driver hit him last summer while he was riding his motorcycle. A $50,000 settlement covered those medical bills and living expenses while he was unable to work, but Lupo later learned he needed a hip replacement - a $30,000 price he couldn't afford.

With pain as his primary motivator, Lupo started researching his options online. He eventually found his way to WorldMed Assist, a 2-year-old Concord company that is part of a growing industry that makes arrangements for Americans to get medical care abroad.

Lupo's hip surgery and hospital stay cost $8,880 at Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore. Even with the $1,300 airfare, the procedure totaled about a third of what it would have cost Lupo at a local hospital.

"My hip feels great," said Lupo, who was recovering at home while making magnets out of photographs from India to send back to the nurses and hospital staff in Bangalore. "But I really don't want to go to another Third World country again, to tell you the truth, unless I had to. This was a means to an end. But the pain was so bad I would have swum the English Channel if that's what it took."

more...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/BURS10BARG.DTL

We *are* the third world country.

:thumbsup:

:hi:

use the law preventing Americans from going overseas to do something illegal. They'll get surgeries that are not up to US standards listed. They'll make sure to apply a standard that makes ones overseas not "up to standards."

(if I can find it, I'll post it) claiming that medical insurance companies are encouraging patients to go overseas for surgery to keep their costs down. So medical outsourcing is already happening.

:hi:

dirt cakes for breakfast. :shrug:

now they are managing to even outsource that.


maybe if I specialize in ER, they won't be able
to replace me.