Medical tourism: '5-star' care at a discount

Canadians often travel south to get away from waiting lists on medical attention. However, Americans often look to go to Canada to escape the unreasonably high expenses that comes with medical attention.

"Former Mill Valley resident John Freeman, 61, now living in Reno, needed a coronary bypass. He had dropped his catastrophic insurance coverage because the $320 monthly premium was eroding his retirement savings and the $5,000 deductible left him with big bills.

Facing a $100,000-plus operation, he thought he had two choices: "submit or die."

A friend pointed him to a third: World Med Assist of Concord, which lined him up with a heart surgeon in Turkey. The all-inclusive cost: $18,000. He had the surgery last spring and "unreservedly" recommends the care."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/21/MNFJ1B6BRS.DTL#ixzz0aOaBjGKn

The doctors did not give him a price even when he asked for it. He said the doctors almost seemed proud if it saying that it wasn't their department. Even the nurses got annoyed at him and said, "do i have to call the billing department"?

I find this kind of story very saddening. When their are many injured people who don't have much money on their hands, the price is very important. When i hear taht doctors and nurses are getting mad and annoyed like it isn't in their interest to tell the patient, I am just like wow.