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Imagine this scenario. You go into a pizzeria for a pepperoni slice and a coke. But there are no prices. When you ask the young lady at the counter what the pepperoni slice and coke will cost, she doesn’t know. In fact, no one who works there knows. The only way to tell is to punch the proper pizzeria ordering codes into the computer. Okay, you say, punch in the codes. But the young lady can’t. She can only punch them in after you’ve consumed your pepperoni slice and coke. Weird, yes, but you’re hungry. So you get a pepperoni slice and coke and go to town. When you’re done, she punches in the codes and you get your bill: $27.43.
Does this sound familiar? It should, if you have ever obtained healthcare in this country. This is the healthcare business model brought to your friendly neighborhood pizzeria.
Our Anti-Consumer Healthcare System
One of the biggest problems with our healthcare system is the lack of price transparency. Doctors, hospital administrators, pharmaceutical executives, insurance bosses, and government officials all appear to be hellbent on sowing ignorance. Their collective response to the public is essentially this: “Don’t worry your pretty little heads about what things cost. That isn’t important. Your job is to get healthy. You worry about that. We’ll take care of the grubby money business. Trust us.”
Yeah, right. I’d trust the healthcare-industrial complex if a guy with reputable healthcare insurance left the hospital after bypass surgery and received a bill that totaled $500 and could be read and understood by a fifth-grader. But that’s not what happens. The guy with reputable healthcare insurance leaves the hospital after bypass surgery owing tens of thousands of dollars—he thinks. Only someone with technical training and years of experience can know for sure. The avalanche of bills and supporting documentation he has received in the mail is too byzantine for a layperson to understand.
The unvarnished truth is that our healthcare system is an anti-consumer mess. And healthcare insurance is hardly foolproof protection against it.
And here’s the real kicker. Our anti-consumer healthcare system isn’t changing anytime soon. Those who prefer the status quo have far more lobbying clout than those who don’t. So twenty years from now, just like today, your neighborhood pizzeria will be infinitely more upfront about prices than your neighborhood hospital, clinic, or pharmacy.
Is Medical Tourism the Answer?
So what to do? Take it? Allow the healthcare-industrial complex to bankrupt you for a procedure that could easily be covered by your emergency fund if the healthcare sector operated in an environment of price transparency, competition, and Yelp-like consumer reviews?
Aside from not getting sick or injured, the only real defense against the ravenous maw of the healthcare-industrial complex is to seek healthcare outside of the United States. That might strike you as exceedingly rash, but hear me out. America is no longer the only game in town when it comes to competent and technically advanced medical and dental care. You can now find excellent care that caters to healthcare tourists in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, India, and Thailand. More importantly, this excellent healthcare is very affordable—even when you account for travel costs. Check out the following YouTube clips.
Algodones, Mexico, for Dental Care, Glasses, and Medications
In this clip, vlogger Bob Wells documents how much it cost him to address his vision, dental, and prescription drug needs in Algodones, Mexico. Here’s the breakdown of those costs.
| Item or Service | Description | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Glasses | Bifocals Including Frame and Exam | $95 |
| Dental | 1 Root Canal 2 Crowns 1 Cleaning | $795 |
| Prescription Meds – 300 Days Worth | Lisinopril – 600 Tablets Metoprolol – 600 Tablets Amlodipine – 600 Tablets | $159 |
| Total Cost | $1,049 |
What would the above have cost here, even with insurance? Four grand? Five grand? Not bad savings for a half hour drive from Yuma, Arizona.
Bangkok, Thailand, for an MRI and a Super-Duper Wellness Exam
In this clip (excuse the poor sound quality), Mr. Supersize himself, Morgan Spurlock, travels to Bangkok, Thailand, to determine the extent of his shoulder injury and get a thorough wellness exam. Here’s a breakdown of what his care cost.
| Item or Service | Description | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | MRI and 2 Exams | $400 |
| Wellness Exam | Blood Analysis Urine Analysis Stool Analysis Electrocardio Exam Exercise Stress Test Chest X-Ray Abdomen Ultrasound Eye Exam Colonoscopy | $2,600 |
| Travel | Round-Trip Airfare from New York and Hotel Accommodations for Three Days | $1,300 |
| Total Cost | $4,300 |
Do You Dare?
Is medical tourism risky? Yes. Doctors and dentists who cater to medical tourists are not superhuman. They are just as fallible as the doctors here. What happens when your Mexican dentist or Thai doctor screws up? Who will fix the shoddy work? Will you have to seek corrective measures from the overpriced healthcare system that forced you overseas in the first place? And what happens when your Mexican dentist or Thai doctor really screws up and you die in either one’s care? Will the Mexican or Thai legal systems allow your loved ones to seek damages? [Mrs. Groovy here. Never mind damages. Will the Mexican or Thai legal systems allow your loved ones to collect your body?]
I’m a reluctant proponent of medical tourism. In one sense, the notion of traveling halfway around the world for a crown or a colonoscopy is absurd. In another sense, however, the notion of a healthcare system that keeps patients in the dark about prices is equally absurd—especially when you consider that that healthcare system’s bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.
Medical tourism is absurd. But sometimes the only way to combat one absurdity is to turn to another absurdity. I’m putting medical tourism on my radar. And so should you.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, I’m almost done. What say you? Is medical tourism a reasonable way for you to defend yourself from the ravenous maw of the healthcare-industrial complex? Or is medical tourism too risky? Let me know what you think when you get a chance.
Finally, I have some great news. Groovy Home is under contract. Yesterday we signed the papers and we’re closing in a few weeks. Mrs. G and I have to quickly hightail it out of here. And because of that, there won’t be any activity over here for the next few weeks. We were hoping to continue with our weekly Groovy Ranch updates, but that won’t be feasible. Sadly, Freedom Is Groovy is going dark. Have a great weekend. See you next month. Cheerio. [Mrs. Groovy here. Mr. Groovy forgot to mention we may publish a guest post or two. “Cheerio.” Yeah, right. I married such a wit.]
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