Medical Tourism Considered by Nearly 30% of Americans

[CrysG]

there are many examples of people flocking to the US to get what most in this country would call routine... to avoid prolonged waits, and sub standard care.

And there are as many examples of people flocking to other countries to get what most in that country would call routine.....

Houston native Jennifer Hua gave birth to her first two children in Texas, and her last two in France. The Houston hospital looked like a luxury hotel. The hospital in Paris was a converted prison.

Amenities aside, she prefers Paris.

The American health care model, she says, is too expensive and too insecure. France offers her family good medical treatment, better insurance, more convenience and no worries about how to pay medical bills if her husband's job changes.

"If we were to consider returning to the U.S., health care would be one of my top concerns," the Rice University alum said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051709dnbusfrance.40cc221.html

An estimated 6 million Americans are traveling each year to such countries as India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand in search of less-expensive treatments for simple and complex procedures. Even France and Belgium tend to be cheaper than the United States.

http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/

[FayeforCure]

An estimated 6 million Americans are traveling each year to such countries as India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand in search of less-expensive treatments for simple and complex procedures. Even France and Belgium tend to be cheaper than the United States.

http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/

Wow, CrysG, thanks for that find.

6 million Americans traveling to "such countries as India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand in search of less-expensive treatments for simple and complex procedures."

Compare that to a handful, ok maybe a liitle over a handful or so, that conservative front groups find who travel from Canada to the US for medical care.

[CrysG]

Oh and about those "wait times".....About 2. 8 percent of Canadians have to wait longer than Americans to receive certain kinds of health care. That means of every 1000 people, 28 more Canadians have to wait longer. Not exactly the huge lines portrayed by certain American lobbyists, is it?

[Doctor_K]

So why are they 'flocking' to the US?

[CrysG]

So why are they 'flocking' to the US?

Where is this "flocking"?

To examine the extent to which Canadian residents seek medical care across the border, we collected data about Canadians’ use of services from ambulatory care facilities and hospitals located in Michigan, New York State, and Washington State during 1994â€"1998. We also collected information from several Canadian sources, including the 1996 National Population Health Survey, the provincial Ministries of Health, and the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. Results from these sources do not support the widespread perception that Canadian residents seek care extensively in the United States. Indeed, the numbers found are so small as to be barely detectible relative to the use of care by Canadians at home.

http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/3/19

[Shwaz]

East Coast Premier of Canada finds the worst in coverage for his own heart  God bless America.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world-canada/20100202/CN.Canada.Premier_s.Surgery/

Canadian official seeks heart surgery in US


ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland â€" The premier of Canada's east coast province is undergoing heart surgery in the United States this week because the treatment he is seeking was not available in his home province.

The announcement about of Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams' plans has triggered a debate since Canada prides itself on its universal health care system.

Kathy Dunderdale, the province's deputy premier who is taking over in his absence, said Tuesday that Williams decided to go to the U.S. for surgery after weeks of consultation with his doctors. She did not say where in the U.S. he would seek care.

Dunderdale says having the surgery done in the province was never an option. But she wouldn't comment on whether the type of surgery Williams was having was available elsewhere in Canada.

In Newfoundland, opposition Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones offered Williams her wishes for his full recovery. But she said he owes the public more of an explanation about exactly what procedure he needs and why he felt it necessary to go to the U.S.

Williams, 60, is an independently wealthy former lawyer and businessman who donates his premier's salary to charity.

He will take from three to 12 weeks to recover and will speak publicly about his condition once he is well enough to do so, Dunderdale said.

"Ultimately we have to be the gatekeepers of our own health," Dunderdale said.