Medical tourism is traveling to another country for healthcare. For decades, foreigners have traveled to the United States for medical treatment. Now it's Americans heading abroad for medical care, a response to the exorbitant cost of healthcare here. In 2006, an estimated half million Americans did so -- and that number is expected to soar over coming years.  

Patients With Passports helps these so-called "medical refugees." We are an international medical care arranger. We help Americans decide the best place to go for treatment, given the person's current health, required treatment, budget, personal preferences and travel experience. And once a client has decided, we make all arrangements, for both medical treatment and travel. We make going abroad for healthcare safer, easy and inexpensive.

Cost is the big reason. Many surgical procedures (i.e. heart bypass, joint replacement, spinal disc repair, Lasik eye surgery, Lapband weight reduction surgery) cost half to 90% less abroad, depending on country. Those huge savings can make the cost of even major medical care affordable for anyone forced to pay out of pocket for treatment.

That includes:

• Americans without health insurance.
• Someone whose insurance has such large deductible and co-pay amounts that out-of-pocket expenses for domestic surgery would exceed the entire cost (medical plus travel) of treatment abroad. The cost differences are so tremendous, that is often the case.
• People seeking care (i.e. costly dental work or cosmetic surgery) not covered by insurance.
• Canadians and citizens of countries with national healthcare systems requiring six- to 12-month waits for non-emergency surgery. That's a long time to wait for someone with a painful condition like a herniated back disc, making the low cost of immediate surgery abroad a compelling option.

Heart valve replacement surgery costing $150,000 in the U.S. is performed in Thailand for $11,000 -- and for $9,000 in India.

Ditto for cosmetic surgery. Total cost of a face-lift here performed by a plastic surgeon is $7,000 to $9,000 -- or even 50% more in places like New York City, according to Beauty from Afar: A Medical Tourist's Guide to Affordable and Quality Cosmetic Care Outside the U.S. In Latin America, a face-lift -- performed by a plastic surgeon with comparable credentials and training -- costs $3,500-$6,000, including travel expenses, author Jeff Schult writes.

Americans can also save a third to over half on dental care. So if someone needs extensive dental work costing $3,000 or more, they could fly to Acapulco or Cancun -- and stay for a week at a swank resort while getting their teeth fixed -- and still save money. For peridontal and dental procedures costing over $10,000, the savings are even greater.

(To view tables showing comparisons of the average costs for various medical, dental and cosmetic surgery procedures, by country, click here.)

Medical care always entails risk. So the proper question to ask is: will the treatment received be at least as good and safe as that provided domestically? On par with the quality of care available at a U.S. or Canadian hospital nearby?

And the answer is yes, it will be, if not significantly better. We in fact help clients receive treatment at hospitals abroad where the quality of care is typically superior to what you'd receive locally.

The reason: our international network of healthcare providers includes many of the top hospitals globally. These hospitals benchmark their performance, their standards, only against the very best medical facilities in the United States. And many have management and staff training tie-ups with leading U.S. medical organizations such as Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical International.

Many hospitals in our service network are accredited by the Joint Commission International, which certifies -- through painstaking periodic inspections -- that procedures and practices meeting demanding standards.  (See JCI Accreditation.) JCI is the sister organization of Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the U.S. hospitals certifying body.

Many facilities in our network are super-specialty hospitals, equipped with the most advanced equipment for diagnosis and treatment. These hospitals employ hundreds of highly-trained and specialized surgeons with impeccable credentials. Many either trained or previously worked in the U.S., Europe or Australia; many are U.S.-certified; and the vast majority speak English fluently.

Our service network also includes many fine dental clinics and cosmetic surgery centers, staffed by U.S.-certified dentists or plastic surgeons.

Extremely detailed information about all the healthcare facilities in our service network is available to registered clients. Our database includes comprehensive information about each hospital and care facility in our network. It also includes highly detailed information about staff surgeons, dentists and plastic surgeons, displaying details of their training, credentials, professional experience and treatment specialties.

There are many reasons. But to mention just a few of the most important.

The difference is largely the result of the shockingly high cost of healthcare in the United States. No other country comes close to spending so much on healthcare. The U.S. spends twice the amount per person on healthcare of any other industrialized nation, for often inferior results. (Click here to see how U.S. healthcare compares internationally.)

High salaries, over investment in multi-million dollar medical equipment, inappropriate/ unnecessary treatment, the cost of medical malpractice insurance, and tens of billions of dollars wasted annually on superfluous tests performed only as a defense against potential malpractice suits are some of the factors behind stratospheric U.S. healthcare costs.

Economic factors further skew the difference in healthcare costs between the United States, and countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand and India.  Fact is, overall costs are simply much lower in developing countries, especially labor and service costs. A 50-year-old neurosurgeon in the U.S. can make $300,000 to $800,000 a year. In India, a similar surgeon would do well to make $30,000. And a nurse in India might make only a 10th that amount.

Other factors also explain why private hospitals abroad are so price competitive. Many spend nothing on medical research or running medical schools. They needn't spend anything on treating indigent patients. And they aren't required to run full-service facilities, thus to offer money-losing services that must be subsized.

With enough time and patience, anyone can make their own arrangements to be treated abroad. But it can take months. And really what do you gain?

You can more quickly and easily make arrangements through us. And the cost? Nothing.

You would pay the same price at our network hospitals and clinics whether you book treatment directly or through us. For healthcare, you pay nothing more than the hospital or clinic's published rates. Yet you can save on accommodation and other travel services via our specially negotiated package rates.

The service is free. But the value is real. You receive expert guidance in deciding where, given your circumstances, you want to go for treatment. Making that decision on your own would require weeks of research, and you'd likely still be dogged by doubt and uncertainty.

Booking treatment and making travel arrangements through us is faster and safer, enabling you to concentrate on preparing -- as you should -- for your trip and treatment. Book directly and you might frequently be kept waiting a week for replies to emails. Given the extensive number of emails involved, you can imagine the cumulative delay and frustration. We, on the other hand, enjoy hot-line access to our service network partners.

Our comprehensive service also means the potential for irritating or even costly mistakes is greatly diminished. Our 28-step service procedure is designed like a pilot's pre-flight checklist: it insures a systematic approach to the complicated task of arranging Health-care abroad. It regiments the critical treatment pre-screening and patient-qualifying process. Helps insure all essential health records and test results are provided. And that health treatment and travel arrangements are expertly integrated (i.e. clients apply for passports, visas or vaccinations properly ahead of time; travel isn't scheduled during inappropriate times like monsoon season, festival season or high-season when airfares can double; and proper arrangements are made for aftercare.)

Some service network facilities have agreed to a payment system designed to eliminate the anxiety you may feel about paying for treatment before arrival.  International patients are typically required to make a large down payment to book treatment. That payment is typically made to a foreign entity, potentially leading to problems recovering the money if you don't follow through with treatment.

Now consider this advantage of booking care through us. Some PwP network partners have agreed to allow us to collect the required deposit. That money is held by us, in an escrow account at a U.S. bank. That money is forwarded to the healthcare provider only after you have arrived, visited the facility, met the staff, and confirmed your intention to go ahead with treatment.

Should you not go ahead with treatment for any reason, the entire sum will be refunded to you within 15 days.