Posted on 09/30/2004 7:19:44 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
WASHINGTON: India's great outsourcing debate with the United States may have just moved from software to 'heartware.'
Defeated by exorbitant health care costs in the United States, a North Carolina worker flew into New Delhi over the weekend for a heart surgery on the cheap.
Howard Staab was wheeled into the Operation Room at Escorts Heart Institute at 9 a.m. on Monday listening to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," with dhanyavaad (Thank You) written on his chest with a purple marker.
He was out in the Recovery Room by 3.30 p.m. with "every best case scenario plan implemented," according to his partner Maggi Grace. A team of doctors led by the well-known cardiologist Dr Naresh Trehan fixed a broken mitral valve in his heart.
The cost of the procedure and after care in India – less than $ 20,000, compared to the $ 200,000 Staab was asked to fork out in the US.
Although 'health tourism' and outsourcing of medical procedures has been on the horizon for some time, this is one of the first instances of an American worker seeking out India for high-end medical treatment.
"This is happening because of the prohibitive cost of health care in the US," Dr Vinay Malhotra, a Seattle cardiologist said in an interview while assessing the milestone event. "I don't see the medical profession here objecting to this, but if this becomes a trend, the insurance companies could well be up in arms."
Howard Staab's health woes began in July this year when doctors discovered a broken heart valve after a routine physical. A 53-year carpenter with an active lifestyle, Staab never had – and could not afford --health insurance. Some 45 million Americans do not have health insurance, which can now run up to $ 500 per month per individual.
When he shopped around post-diagnosis, insurance companies quoted astronomical premiums for policies with limited benefits because it was a pre-existing condition.
"I've always thought that the insurance companies are the real terrorists of our country," Staab said in an interview to a local paper later. "They put terror in everyone's mind. You don't have insurance? You could have a catastrophic accident or illness."
But with no insurance cover, Staab and his partner Grace began exploring other avenues for affordable treatment. Around this time Grace's son Bryan Maxwell, a medical student at Stanford, had returned to the US after spending the summer in India Maxwell and his professor from Stanford, Dr. Sakti Srivastava, connected the couple to Dr Trehan, the New Delhi cardiologist who now has a fabled reputation after returning from New York a decade back to set up practice in India.
When they landed in New Delhi in the early hours of Saturday, they were received at the airport by Dr Trehan's staff who scooted them past hundreds of passengers to get them through customs.
"Everyone is so incredible. No worries. Howard is waited on like royalty," Maggi Grace recorded on the website www.howardsheart.com , which chronicles their Indian healthcare experience.
According to Dr Malhotra, India is a relative newcomer to the healthcare tourism from the U.S. Americans have been trickling into specialized hospitals in Thailand and Singapore even as healthcare costs have been rising fast enough to cause cardiac arrests among the working class and senior citizens here.
A report released by a non-profit outfit Families USA this week said insurance premiums have gone up by 36 per cent in the last four years and are rising three times faster than workers' wages.
"For a blue collar worker earning just above minimum wages, what is the option?" asks Dr Malhotra. "India will become the destination as more and more lay people know about this."
Jennifer Morcone, a spokeswoman with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "If you travel outside this nation, the same protections that are built into the health-care delivery system here may not apply."
Many people have told Staab he was irresponsible not to have had health insurance in the first place, Grace said. Now, he can't get coverage for his pre-existing condition. But other than wishing that he didn't have heart problems, "he does not have any regrets," she said.
Let's start by putting a cap on monetary awards and damages for malpractice suits, and ESPECIALLY caps on how attorneys may profit from malpractice suits, so that doctors can actually afford malpractice insurance again - that might bring down the costs to within reason.
Just wondering where many Indian heart surgeons get their training?
And where the son of "Grace" is getting the funds for medical school at Stanford?
Try as I may- I just cannot join these people in their anger against US capitalism.
People act like health insurance pays for everything. HA! We pay monthly premiums. We also put money aside in a tax free account for medical/dental expenses. We also pay $20 when we go to the doctor. We pay about 1/2 of our prescription expense. We pay most of it when we get a crown. I got one recently and it was $750 and insurance didn't pay half. When my kids have surgery I have to pay up front for a lot of it and wait for insurance to repay. And insurance pays less and less all the time. I don't go whining to the US Gov to pay our med. expenses. We just budget and pay it ourselves.
Might not part of the problems be caused by the insurance middlemen. They suck BILLIONS out of the healthcare industry every year.
Go study abroad, young man. Much cheaper and possibly better.
Jennifer Morcone, a spokeswoman with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "If you travel outside this nation, the same protections that are built into the health-care delivery system here may not apply."
Good joke, using health-care abroad is better than no care at all and India has some real centers of excellence. BTW, other developed nations have longer life expectancy than USA, despite lower prices.
Bangkok hospitals get pretty decent ratings from the U.S. Embassy Thailand. Had a wisdom tooth pulled there for $25.00 by an excellent dentist, in the chair for less than 5 minutes, in and out of the office in 15 minutes. Antibiotics and codeine OTC at the nearby pharmacy for a few bucks.
Agreed. Let them be next on the list.
Yeah, John Edwards isn't standing by, watching over the doctor's shoulder and waiting to file suit on your behalf. ;)
Hmmm.... I wouldn't need catastrophic health insurance if I just paid out-of-pocket for care from India...
Insurance Middlemen?
Call them what they are -- TRIAL LAWYER SCUMBAGS~!
I forgot to mention above that the Bangkok dentist was a vastly better experience (faster, more skilled, less painful) than having the other 3 wisdoms removed in the States (2 by a U.S. Navy dentist, one by an expensive "dental surgeon").
I've heard other excellent reports from people who've used Bangkok hospitals ... and of course they have pretty nurses.
There are some excellent dentists in Poland, the savings can pay for the ticket, expenses and more. I did it.
Ahhhh! Now the truth comes out! ;)
Where did you get the info on life expectancy?
Last report I read, Indian men had a life expectancy of about 65, lower than American men.
I really do not think they have "anger", I think they did their research and made a choice. Their bio does not make them sound like they have ever lived "high on the hog" and seem pretty self sufficient in providing for their own needs.
But no one can dispute the cost of medical care in this country, no matter what political button one chooses to wear. Politicians talk the talk but.. (The End).
Nothing new - Europeans are doing this all the time - one of their favorite vacation/surgery destinations is Thailand; next you will see China become a favorite for blood analysis, radiologist readings, - the whole nine yards.
Can't afford $50 a month? Health insurance is not expensive, free healthcare plans are though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.