Case after case is being shared about blue collar workers seeking alternatives to the out of control healthcare costs at home. A typical scenario is that of a laborer who suddenly finds himself in need of heart surgery or a knee replacement. The choice for many of these workers is to either do without the surgery, empty out the lifetime savings account, use the retirement account or sell their home. Like millions of others in need of a costly medical procedure, they simply cannot afford it.

In some instances, wait time is also a factor. In countries such as Canada, for those with needs that some of us might perceive to be a priority, there is a waiting list up to a year long. Reportedly, it is the bureaucratic red tape that is often the sole hindrance to timely medical care. A person can literally die waiting for approval for a life saving surgical procedure in a developed country, yet the same procedure can be obtained at a medical tourism destination with little effort.

Medical tourism offers hope to blue collar workers and others who are in need of medical procedures but cannot afford them, cannot wait for them, or do not want to use their retirement accounts to pay for the procedure.

In some instances, it is not the worker who is making the decision to have the procedure done overseas. Medical tourism facilities have started heavy marketing campaigns to Western employers, particularly those who employ the blue collar labor force. More and more, it is the employer who suggests (and in some instances, mandates) having the surgery done in another country.

The bottom line is that the worker in need of a heart bypass can obtain one in another country for $10,000 vs. $70,000 in the US. He can get a knee replacement for $6,000 vs. $50,000! It can be scheduled within a couple of weeks in another country, rather than wait a year or more in the US or Canada.

Ten years ago, the concept of medical tourism was new and received bad media coverage in developed countries. It was misunderstood and given bad press. Today, that trend has not only reversed, but medical tourism is being embraced as a viable option for people in need of affordable medical care.

Case studies and statistics verify that medical tourism offers top quality medical care in accredited facilities. A growing number of facilities that offer medical tourism are accredited by the IOS (International Organization of Standardization) and the JCI (Joint Commission International).

Many of the doctors who work in these medical tourism facilities have studied in the developed countries and then have returned to work in their home countries. A person in need of having a medical procedure done can rest assured that he will be cared for by highly qualified staff, with proficient translators standing by!

India has a goal of becoming the choice destination for medical tourists, and they are marketing to the blue collar workers who are need of both medical services and a long overdue vacation. Making the choice to obtain medical services in India means that the average laborer could travel with a companion to a state of the art facility in India, have the procedure done, and recover in a five star resort setting, for about 1/8 of the cost of having the procedure done at home.

If India is not appealing, there are multiple other options. Destinations such as Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico, Singapore and Panama are also exotic choices for the medical tourist. In many instances, post-surgical recovery can be done in a beach front resort. Once the patient has sufficiently recovered from surgery, there are plenty of shopping and activity options available to the medical tourist.

The concept of going to a third world country to obtain a package of services that supercedes what is available at home is becoming more widely understood and accepted. Just as the economy has become a global economy, so it is with the medical field. It is becoming commonplace practice for a person to travel abroad for all types of medical procedures. We are seeing, in the 21st Century, that we are truly living in a world with no medical borders!

As insurance costs rise at home, and wait time lengthens in the midst of government red tape, blue collar workers are taking advantage of an industry that once belonged to the elite white collar workers. Medical tourism is a viable option for obtaining timely and quality medical services in a vacation paradise, for a fraction of the cost of the same medical procedure in the home country.

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