Healthcare too expensive in the USA-Fly to Mumbai, India | SpillSpace.com

mri

This post was inspired by a true story and the numbers are all real…

A friend of mine I will call “Mark” began suffering from moderate low back and neck pain. Occasionally the pain would shoot down an arm or leg. He went to see his doctor who ordered two MRI’s at a local hospital. “Mark” is a self-made millionaire and as such, finds health insurance to be unnecessary opting instead to pay his bills himself. “Mark” decided to shop around for a bargain, and he found one… in Mumbai, India. Here are the numbers.

$3700: The cost for MRI’s of the Cervical and Lumbar spine in an American hospital.

Compared to:

$100: The same MRI’s in a hospital in Mumbai, India by American trained physicians.

$1080: Round trip tickets to Mumbai, India.

$340: One week stay at the luxurious Four Seasons Mumbai.

Total Cost for an MRI vacation to India: $1520

Total savings for a patient willing to take a vacation to India and outsource their medical care vs going to the American hospital 3 blocks away: $2180

Tags: healthcare

7 Responses to “ Healthcare too expensive in the USA? Fly to Mumbai and save $2000! ”

Mary-Kay Perris says:

2009/03/19 at 5:20 am

I have heard this from several people – Cuba is another excellent place for health care as well as Thailand.

badugah says:

2009/03/17 at 9:39 am

“My $70 Medical Bill”

I was on holiday in Asia. First stop, Bangkok. After checking-in to the hotel, we were whisked away to an elephant sanctuary.
It was a woodland, where the locals trained elephants to clear the forest of trees. We were shown how the animals were able to perform amazing tasks. A volunteer was requested from the audience. I quickly assented (emboldened by all the vodka consumed on the flight) and was shown how to mount the beast. I rode about for a bit, while the animal did some tricks.
When it was time to dismount, I was told,”…climb on top of the elephant’s head, grab his ears, and lower yourself down his trunk”. I followed the instructions…to a point. After grabbing his ears, I decided to jump down his trunk. When I hit the ground, I knew I had done some serious damage to my foot.
The ambulance, emergency room, massages, X-rays, cast, pain meds, crutches (and tea,”…of course.”), came to a grand total of …$70.
My broken foot and I spent the next three weeks touring: Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan. Throughout the trip I received the royal treatment from all, plus an abundance of sympathy. It was amazingly splendid.
My advice…If you break your foot, book the first flight to Bangkok…badugah