More Americans Seek Health Care Overseas

More and more Americans are heading overseas to seek medical treatment. The National Coalition on Health Care reports that the number reached around 500,000 last year. Asian hospitals have long catered to medical tourists for cosmetic surgery but now also take big-ticket operations like heart surgery, knee and back operations. Outsourcing health services to the developing world is now being considered by businesses, insurance companies and even a state lawmaker. "It’s just one of the many ways in which our world is flattening," said Arnold Milstein, chief physician at New York-based Mercer Health and Benefits. "Many companies see it as a natural extension of the competition they’ve faced in other aspects of their business." Other American hospitals have already taken to outsourcing X-ray readings and other diagnostics to places like India. Costs for employer-sponsored health coverage has increased by 87 percent over the years. Now, family health coverage amounts to $11,500 annually, with workers even spending almost $3,000 themselves.