Medical & Dental Tourism

Medical & Dental Tourism

 

This week I had a dental situation that, even with a sliding scale, has put me into a financial hole. And what happened is bound to happen again as the crowns and fillings in my mouth begin to deteriorate after a lifetime of use.

 

I’ve been reading International Living magazine for about a year now and am astounded by the enormous discrepancy between what other countries use their tax dollars for (universal health coverage and other social benefits that are the envy of the world) and what our Congress has earmarked our federal and state taxes for.

 

As I understand it, our government was originally created to support the “common defense and welfare” of its citizenry, not the oligarchs, corporations and other gluttons who claim the lion’s share of the benefits today.

 

During FDR’s terms in office (1933 to 1945), the government was retrofitted to benefit the masses during an extended period of  financial and existential crisis: the Great Depression and World War II. That’s one of the few times in American history when the government actually worked the way it was designed to, providing for the common defense and welfare of its citizens.

 

Since the 1980’s there seems to have been a sea change that goes against the common man and woman and toward the people who already have more money than they could spend in ten lifetimes. And they use millions of their excess dollars to buy politicians to make sure the sea change is permanent.

 

So, instead of taking care of the common man and his (and her) needs, the government now takes care of the well-heeled profiteers who are lining their pockets with greenbacks.

 

Most so-called representative are millionaires, or they become millionaires shortly after becoming so-called representatives. (Gee, I wonder how! HA!)

 

The rest of us have to find ways to eke out a living that covers basic necessities like food, shelter and health care without running ourselves ragged. It isn’t easy. Two-income families struggle; single-income families struggle even more.

 

Unless you’re white and male with a college education and working for a successful corporation, you’re largely relegated to  unworthy “serfdom” (debt bondage)  where everyone else lives and languishes.

 

It’s insane!

 

As a result, a lot of people are engaging in medical & dental tourism, because they can’t keep their heads above water whenever a medical or dental expense pops up.

 

My question is, since most international physicians are US-trained and  English-speaking, why are US-based physicians and dentists forced to charge ten to twenty to fifty times more for the same procedures that a doctor or dentist in a socialized medicine country does?

 

It’s because here, health care is a for-profit business! It hasn’t always been. I had intestinal bypass surgery in 1977 for around $4000 dollars. Today it costs $23,000 in the US but just $10,000 in Costa Rica!

 

Dental work in the US in insanely expensive. I’m having a tooth pulled on Wednesday because it developed a cavity under the crown and is affecting a nerve which is driving me crazy.  To repair the cavity and replace the crown would cost close to $2K; a root canal would run $800 so I’m having it pulled for $105 (with a sliding scale because I exist below the poverty line).

 

In a lot of other nations, I could save the tooth and get a crown or a root canal for a couple hundred dollars. That’s why so many people with extensive dental and medical conditions have elected for medical & dental tourism–heading to another country to have their needs taken care of. Even with the costs of travel and hotels, the cost to be cared for elsewhere is less than staying right here and having our neighborhood medical people care for us.

 

THE ONLY PEOPLE BENEFITING FROM THIS CHARADE ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS: Big Pharma, corporations, and oligarchs. They benefit from our misfortunes, and a great many of our misfortunes are instigated and maintained by their policies!  They’re the ones causing anxiety, stress, and unsavory behaviors (drinking, drugging, etc.); we’re living lives that aren’t in our control no matter how smart we are, how hard we work, or what we produce.

 

If we voters don’t turn this thing around in the next election, we can kiss the American Dream goodbye forever. I’m already looking for places to live in other countries because I know I won’t be able to live here a whole lot longer. I don’t have the savings or the retirement income (Social Security and two small pensions) to keep my head above water here in the  USA.

 

We need to get money out of politics and politicians out of office who are lining their pockets with dark money from greedy bastards who don’t care about anything other than their bottom lines, which are obscenely large already.

INFO ON MEDICAL & DENTAL TOURISM IN MEXICO:

https://patientsbeyondborders.com/mexico

https://patientsbeyondborders.com/procedure/dentistry

 

INFO ON MEDICAL & DENTAL TOURISM IN THAILAND:

https://skift.com/2015/01/30/cnn-documentary-shows-medical-tourism-in-thailand-is-a-serious-business/

https://patientsbeyondborders.com/thailand

 

INFO ON MEDICAL & DENTAL TOURISM IN GERMANY:

Medical Travel Destination Guide: Germany

 

INFO ON MEDICAL & DENTAL TOURISM IN CANADA:

Canada

 

INFO ON MEDICAL & DENTAL TOURISM IN COSTA RICA:

https://patientsbeyondborders.com/costa-rica