Let me tell you a story. After our nation was founded, Americans worked hard. Really, really hard. Parents sacrificed so their kids could go to secondary school. The best and the brightest students continued on at seminaries and colleges of higher learning. And some became doctors, nurses, and medical researchers.
American free enterprise encouraged these medical professionals to start businesses, improve technology, and develop drugs. Sometimes they would come across something big, something that could save millions of lives or eradicate diseases. They changed the world and pioneered modern medicine. Meanwhile, people in undeveloped countries often struggled just to put food on their plates.
Fast forward around 150-200 years. America accomplished great things like sending a man to the moon first and developing some of the best technologies in the world. But other countries were catching up.
Some of their school systems actually became more intense than American schools. For example, Chinese students went to school 6 days a week, with longer hours, and a longer school year.
After these students from other countries graduated, many of the smartest students came to the United States to learn from the best college professors in the world. They often worked even harder than their American counterparts, and they excelled. They returned to their countries with a top-of-the-line education.
And while this was happening, another major shift was occurring. The American health care system grew and grew. But not everyone could afford to pay, some some had to pay extra to subsidize this health care.
This leads us to where we are today.
America still has the best health care system in the world, hands down. Our doctors, equipment, and access to care are unparalleled. But some of the developing nations have almost caught up. They buy some of the same equipment. They use the same drugs. (An estimated 80% of the substances used to make or package drugs sold in the US are made in other countries, according to one source). Many of their doctors and professors are trained by American doctors in American hospitals, so they know what they’re doing.
But when they return to their home countries, they charge less because:
- The cost of living is so much lower overseas, so they can have a comfortable living by making a smaller profit.
- There aren’t as many lawsuits, so their malpractice insurance is substantially less.
- They don’t have to charge paying patients extra in order to subsidize the health care system.
As a result, health care in many nations now costs a FRACTION of what it does in the United States. According to an article by the University of Delaware publication UDaily:
The cost of surgery in India, Thailand, or South Africa can be one- tenth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe, and sometimes even less. A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the US, for example, goes for $10,000 in India–and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth $5,500 in the US costs $500 in India, a knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the States…Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the US runs about $1,250 in South Africa.
Some of the most popular countries for medical tourism include Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hungary, India, Malaysia, South Africa, and…drumroll, please…Thailand.