Send to Friend

According to the United States 2006 Current Population Survey, the number of individuals without health insurance rose by 1.3 million to a total of 46.6 million between 2004 and 2005 - and this is not accounting for the under-insured Americans, of whom there were over 16 million in 2005. Little surprise then, that in 2007 an estimated 500,000 Americans are expected to travel overseas for procedures that cost ten if not twenty times more in Western Europe and the United States. As documented in Asian Hospital and Healthcare Management, medical tourism has become "A 40-billion-plus market growing at over 20% a year."

Recognizing the new fiscal opportunity, Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and Hungary have begun to cash in on this growing market. In a survey conducted by British magazine Cosmetic Surgery Answers, 17% of readers chose Eastern Europe as their favored destination for surgery. Whereas the average cost for a rhinoplasty in the United States is $5,500, the same procedure can be had for $2,600 in the Czech Republic or $1,400 in Hungary.

Nose jobs aren't the only deals to be found either. In a 2004 CBS news cost comparison it was shown that two dental bridges averaging $5,200 in the United States cost just $990 in Hungary. After finding Dr. Frank Kannmann, a dentist located in Monsonmagyar, Hungary through Posh Journeys of Nevada, Medical Tourist Nancy Carothers paid about 75% less than she would have in the US. Originally quoted at $11,150 through her employer's insurance plan, Carothers treatment cost only $2,900, with total expenses adding up to $4,300, including airfare, lodging and post-surgery travel. Darioush Dadian, a Philadelphia based restaurateur, had a similar experience with Dr. Kannmann, paying only $6000 for work on 26 teeth, including crowns, bridges and two extractions - a treatment that was estimated at $43,000 in the United States.

According to HealthAbroad.net, an international medical tourism website, the Czech Republic has become a notable destination for women seeking In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments. To date, the Czech Republic has 23 high quality IVF centers which all offer high rates of success and significant cost savings. While IVF centers in the United States charge as much as $18,500 for one cycle of IVF treatments, centers in the Czech Republic average between $2,400 and $2,850, including medication.

Prospective medical tourists interested in plastic surgery may consider Poland and Lithuania as Eastern European options. Whereas breast augmentation with a silicone implant averages between $6,000 and $8,000 in the United States, IQ Medica, a company that arranges specialized medical tourism packages to Poland, advertises the same procedure for $2,500. In Kaunas, Lithuania, Dr. Saulius Viksraitis offers tummy tucks for $2,000 and face lifts for $2,500. In the United States, these same procedures average $7,000 and $8,000 respectively.

Services in Romania are broad as well. According to Marshal Turism, a tour operator located in Bucharest, Romanian cosmetic and dental surgery clinics offer "solutions at international standards." Liposuction (including a pre-consultation, anesthesia, 24 hour in-clinic supervision, a personal nurse, meals, bandages, a 14 day stay and 6 month checkup) is quoted to cost between $1,300 and $2,600. In the United States, one could expect to pay between $2,500 and $4,500 for the same procedures- sans exciting European getaway.

Medical tourists have many resources available to them including Treatment Abroad, a web based service that allows people to compare the service and prices they would get from different companies. They are also on the verge of launching a price watch service which will compare the procedural costs of 300 providers in 20 countries. Healthbase, another medical tourism site, provides information on hospitals and destinations as well as allows users to plan a complete medical travel itinerary online.