Health care outside of the United States . There used to be a time when traveling abroad to seek health care was frowned upon. People seeking cheaper health care would spend less money flying to other countries to get medical procedures done that would cost them twice as much as in the United States. What some are worried about are the credentials of the providers and the sanitary conditions of the facilities they are getting treated in.

Lately a lot more people are doing it as there is a shortage of physicians and costs are up as usual. Oh, and there’s this recession thing I keep hearing about. Even health insurance providers are jumping on this trend, offering healthcare overseas as part of their options. That not only saves the patient money but their insurance companies too. We all know insurance companies aren’t in the busniess of helping people, they are in the busniness of making a profit. The less money they spend the better chance they have of coming out on top.

According to an article on MSN Health there are plenty of accredited hospitals overseas and even with the airline ticket it’s still cheaper than getting the health care in the United States. Will this hurt the health care system in America? Probably, but it may also start a trend of lower health care costs in the States as well.

According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, costs for treatment abroad can be as little as one-half to one-fifth the going rate in the United States. As an example, it cited New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, which charges $4,000 for heart surgery, compared with an average of $30,000 in the United States.

Read more about Healthcare Abroad at MSN Health .

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