As health costs skyrocket, Western travellers are getting comfortable with “foreign doctors” and much cheaper procedures If you’re considering surgery and a vacation this year, you may want to combine the two.
Medical tourism is booming, thanks to the massive savings that can be had if you’re willing to trust in foreign doctors.
In India, angioplasties go for around US$11,000, one-ninth the going rate in the United States.
The facelift that rings in at around US$12,000 in the United Kingdom can be had for US$1,800 in Brazil.
These are the benefits medical tourists are increasingly discovering, a result of the growing awareness that no one country has a monopoly on health care and that cheap doesn’t necessarily mean poor quality.
“Medical tourism has grown significantly in the last 10 to 15 years, especially in the developing world,” says Harvard law professor Glenn Cohen, author of “Patients with Passports: Medical Tourism, Law, and Ethics” and “The Globalization of Health Care.” “The revenues generated by this trade are staggering.”
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), medical tourism contributed 9 percent of global GDP (more than US$6 trillion) and accounted for 255 million jobs in 2011.
Now, even small countries such as Mauritius and Jamaica want to get involved.
I – Word Understanding
Stampede – a situation in which many people participate
Skyrocket – to increase quickly
Angioplasty – a medical procedure to open a blocked or narrow (heart) artery
Stagerring – surprisingly large
II – Have your say
1.To destinations for medical tourism are: Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United States
Brazil has long been known as a destination for cosmetic surgery.
India’s medical tourism sector is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 30%. The Indian government is taking steps to address infrastructure issues that hinder the country’s growth in medical tourism.
2.Aside from risk, medical tourism also has some ethical issues. The illegal purchase of organs and tissues for transplantation had been alleged in countries such as India and China.
3.To promote medical tourism, the Japanese government issues six-month entry visas to travelers entering Japan to receive medical care. Japan’s medical system is reportedly strong in the area of cancer treatment.
