Pre-election days, there was a lot of discussion about which candidate’s health care reform was best for the country. the choices given were creating competition amongst health care companies or the government providing better health care.

When looking at the rising trend of medical tourism, it might not be any of those two. A foreign nation may give better care and cheaply. Medical tourism is a term used when a patient travels to a country for a less expensive medical treatment. The reason people would do this, is because medical care overseas is a lot less expensive.

BusinessWeek says that a surgery in India would cost $10,000 while the same surgery in the U.S would cost $50,000! In this scenario, the insurance company would shell out less than half for major medical in a foreign nation, even if they covered the plane ticket. The patient would end up with more health coverage and smaller premiums.

But on the other hand, there’s the obvious. If something goes wrong, does the patient have the same rights as in the U.S.? Can the patient be sure the care will actually be high quality? Unfortunately, the answer would be ‘no’ to both questions. Although, there is an American non-profit organization that accredits hospitals and other health facilities overseas for providing quality care.

There is also the concern about follow up care on procedures performed in other countries. The questions asked are if they would return the patient overseas, or cover physical therapy and follow up care in the United States. BusinessWeek says that most insurers are feeling more secure about those worries.

The question now is if medical tourism will be the norm? If the answer is yes, does that mean our health care is not good enough? Lastly, have we been reduced to traveling the world for less expensive care?