$100 for a comprehensive medical checkup
One of the hot trends out here in India currently is Medical tourism. Hospitals are aggressively marketing abroad to attract patients. The basic rationale is cost difference. Number of new hospitals are being set up to cater exclusively to such segment of the market.
Here in Pune a new hospital with US standard medical facilities has just opened in recent months. So even though we have insurance, my wife and I got a comprehensive medical checkup done here. It consisted of some 26 different medical tests for all organs and body fluids. It includes consultation with all major specialist like cardiologist, endocrinologist, orthopedics surgeon, ophthalmologist, neurologist, and gynecologists for females and number of high end tests. We spent a complete day in the testing facility and the follow up consultation is included in the price. All that I paid for it was Rs4100, which is approximately 100 USD.
Here in Pune a new hospital with US standard medical facilities has just opened in recent months. So even though we have insurance, my wife and I got a comprehensive medical checkup done here. It consisted of some 26 different medical tests for all organs and body fluids. It includes consultation with all major specialist like cardiologist, endocrinologist, orthopedics surgeon, ophthalmologist, neurologist, and gynecologists for females and number of high end tests. We spent a complete day in the testing facility and the follow up consultation is included in the price. All that I paid for it was Rs4100, which is approximately 100 USD.
Posts
7 comments:
I used to live in Bangkok and experienced much the same. I had an unfortunate trip to the emergency room via ambulance, an overnight stay in the Bumrungrad hospital (Bangkok's best hospital), and many, many tests. Total price: $500! I think medical tourism to spots like India, Thailand and other places will absolutely boom in the future. Hmmm...maybe there's an investment idea?
Medical treatment and letting capitalism / free market manage the prices versus the Insurance Companies?….. hummm what a concept.
If you didn’t have to use your insurance, AND they (the health care system) made a profit. Why would that NOT work other places? Maybe even America? (oh yea, then the lawyers and insurances companies wouldn't get their MASSIVE cut)
Theres a good arbitrage, fly to India for all your medical treatment. I have very basic medical insurance because i dont work for a corporation. It protects me from catastrophic expenses but nothing elective or routine. I get to pay my costs at the "negotiated" rate however which is the primary reason to have minimul insurance. My mom flew to South Africa for a surgical procedure. We have family there anyway but it saved us money even if you include airfare and other expenses.
The standards to become a "physician" in India are drastically lower than that in the states from what I hear. You get what you pay for.
60 Minutes had a segment sometime this past year on US Insurance companies who send their plan members to India to save costs. They waive the co-pay and deductible and maybe throw in some other things as an enticement. Of course the US doctors are up in arms because they fear such outsourcing will become "mandatory" rather than an "option"
Sorry “f” … that isn’t quite the full story. A LOT of doctors are either trained in the US or trained by people that were trained in the US. Two of the biggest costs to the US medical system are obviously absent from the India snap-shot in the blog. Insurance and Lawyers…. an aunt (who works as a financial exec at a major insurance company), told the family during a discussion about medical and medical costs; “$80-$90 of every $100 that the doctor charges goes to insurance in one form or another.” No wonder they have to charge $200 and see 20 patients an hour, just to pay for the office and their staff. Ask the doctors how long it takes them to receive payment on your doctors visit. When I have asked, they have stated between 3 month to a year. Now, lets wait a year before you receive the make money on your stock. Let the doctors charge you the full price and let you get the money back from you insurance (good luck there too). I don’t know about other states, but there is a growing number of doctors here in Texas that don’t accept insurance. You pay as you go. I hope it catches on nation wide. The free market is a good thing!
My friends father went to India for a Bypass he got it done for 9000 USD in a good hospital.
Post a Comment