I met my neighbor in the elevator a couple of hours ago. He was tearing open an envelope. He mentioned that he was expecting airline tickets.
I asked him where he was headed? He said, "I'm going to to Thailand but don't be jealous, I'm getting my teeth fixed." Then he explained that he needed a shitload of root canals and the price his Manhattan dentist quoted, had forced him to look into the "overseas option".
The overseas option is the polite name for medical tourism, which is the euphemism for the collapse of our healthcare system.
So I suppose, medical tourism has arrived in the Big Apple, the richest city in the richest country on the planet. Yet a city and a country which cannot provide for the basic health needs of its citizens.
Jim told me that the dental work he required would cost in excess of $50,000 in New York. In Thailand at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, the costs including airfare, hotel, etc. would be a fraction. "Ridiculously cheaper" were his exact words. Then he said, "it would be like burning money to have the work done in the United States."
Dental care in the United States is a very bad joke. For some reason when it comes to our mouths, the insurance industry has successfully removed the oral cavity from the rest of our bodily organs. Hence the dental industry has become the preserve of the rich. There is no way average Americans can maintain their oral health--the costs are simply prohibitive. Obviously, even the middle class can no longer afford the crippling costs of dental care. Look no further than my neighbor who is on his way to thailand.
Several years ago, I had my first and only root canal which set me back somewhere in the vicinity of $3500-$4000. This is outrageous and a scandal.
None of this is normal. None of this is acceptable. American citizens should not be forced to travel to distant lands and Third World countries to obtain healthcare because insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry have such a grip on the political class.
It would be interesting to know, have you traveled overseas for health or dental care? And if you have, is it because you're uninsured, or were you encouraged to use the "overseas option" by your employer or your insurance company?