Grant Laird, Jr. Blog

Sometime you did not realize that doctor and hospital service are very expensive in America.

No wonder many people opted to have their surgery whether it is serious or cosmetic in India. Yes, it is like outsourcing in another country and the cost is very attractive. You really can’t ignore it.

Which one would you rather pay $12,000 or $100,000 for bypass heart surgery plus post vacation while you are in India?

I am sure some of the medical insurance would cover it pretty good depending what plan you are on. However if you do not have insurance, just save up little bit and go to India.

Read on.

He estimates he would have had to pay over $100,000 out of his own pocket for the operation he needed, a complicated quintuple bypass. And he says he actually decided not to do it: "I guess I figured I’d rather die with a little bit of money in my pocket than live poor."

 But Bonnewell says his health was deteriorating quickly, when he read about Bumrungrad Hospital: "I was in my doctor’s office one day having some tests done, and there was a copy of Business Week magazine there. And there was an article in Business Week magazine about Bumrungrad Hospital. And I came home and went on the Internet and made an appointment, and away I went to Thailand."

He made that appointment after he learned that the bypass would cost him about $12,000. He chose his cardiologist, Dr. Chad Wanishawad, after reading on the hospital’s Web site that he used to practice at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

Another example…

"Yes, yes, I was somewhat hesitant about having any type of operation in a foreign country, and it turned out to be, I mean, it was beyond my expectations," says Atwater.

 And it was not beyond her budget: $1,500, and that included a private room.

How would she describe the difference between this place and an American hospital? "It’s much nicer than any that I’ve ever stayed in the United States," says Atwater.

Another example…when procedure is not approve (pending or not)….it is widely available in India and every time, it was successful procedure.

It hasn’t been approved yet by the FDA, but in India, Dr. Vijay Bose has performed over 300 of them. He showed 60 Minutes the difference between a hip resurfacing and hip replacement, which is the standard operation performed in the United States. He says his patients usually recover faster because his procedure is far less radical and doesn’t involve cutting the thighbone.

Instead, Bose fits a metal cap over the end, which fits into a metal socket in the hip. The result, he says, is that patients end up with enough mobility to do virtually anything.

Until the FDA approves it, the only way to have this operation in the United States is by getting into a clinical trial. But be warned: It isn’t cheap.

How much does it cost in the States?

"I believe it costs something from $28,000 to $32,000 U.S. dollars," says Bose.

And in India, Sedlmayr says it costs $5,800: "Private nurse after surgery. And, feeling always that they were just totally attentive. If you rang the bell next to your bed, whoop, somebody was there immediately."

To read full article at 60 Minutes website, click here.  

Grant W. Laird, Jr.
http://blog.grantlairdjr.com