1.4 million Americans traveled abroad for medical care in 2016: survey

According to Patients Beyond Borders, an estimated 1.4 million Americans traveled abroad in 2016 for medical care, and the market has been growing at 15-25 percent a year. The association estimates the size of the market at $45-72 billion USD annually. And that was under the Affordable Care Act.

If Trumpcare passes, those numbers will surely soar.

The savings by going abroad range from 20-30 percent in Brazil to 65-90 percent in India. Savings in Thailand are 50-75 percent and 40-65 percent in Mexico. With healthcare costs soaring into tens of thousands of dollars, the cost of an overseas flight is barely a blip on that scale.

The most popular kinds of treatments Americans are currently seeking abroad include cosmetic surgery, dentistry, heart transplants, orthopedic surgery, cancer treatments and fertility treatments. The top destinations are Costa Rica, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. Mexico and South and Southeast Asia are seeing the largest numbers of inbound medical tourists.

Ironically, if Trumpcare passes, it may end up being the Mexicans who want to build a wall after all.

Click here for full article on Travel Pulse

Source: http://www.travelpulse.com/