Don’t worry, my blog isn’t going to be all kidlet all the time. I am still interested in many other things. Like…when CSP & I get together with his parents we talk politics a lot more than we do with my my parents. His parents are of the same political party affiliation as we are so we know it’s safe to talk politics. Last time we were all together we talked about medical tourism. This is a relatively new concept to me. When I go on vacation it’s usually to spend time with family and friends in a fun location. When I think vacation I just don’t think “Ooh, time for a hip r
eplacement!” But apparently other people do! There’s even an association- The Medical Tourism Association. It’s a growing trend even! You can view this video about it here. Who knew?I just don’t know about this…there just seem to be some flaws in the plan to me. let’s say that you go to France and while there you get a knee replacement. Well unless you plan on staying in France for a couple of months for follow up medical appointments, where are you going to get your post surgery care? If you come back home I don’t even know if you can go see a local doctor about a surgery that was performed in another country. And what if you come home and have a bad reaction to something? Hmmm, all that just makes me nervous. I’d have to stay in France for like 6 months! While that would be fabulous, that’s certainly nothing I could afford.
Seems to me medical tourism isn’t really for regular Joes. Although the trip and stay in France could cost less than your co-pay here in America. That is assuming your insurance would even cover the procedure. I have heard of people jetting down to Mexico for gastric bypass surgery. Apparently it only runs around $6-8,000. I could be totally off on that number though. Since not many insurance companies in the US are covering it, traveling South of the border might be a good option. I tell you right now though, CSP would NEVER go for anything like this. Even when we were in Vegas and I had some medical trouble he would have preferred to come home to NC to get medical help versus staying in Vegas. And Vegas is in the United States! Can you imagine how he’d freak out if we were in Brazil or something?
I suppose it all comes down to the fear of the unknown (foreign hospitals, medical practices, etc.) versus cost savings. If anyone were planning on traveling abroad for surgery I would certainly recommend doing some serious research. The Medical Tourism Association has a list of recommended hospitals. I would start there. Well, if I were into it and if I weren’t married to Captain Safety Pants!
Bless Your Heart 