Unless you have personally experienced the agony of a healthcare crisis compounded by financial concerns, it is truly difficult to fully appreciate. David Himmelstein observed in his 2005 Health Affairs article that 1.9-2.2 million Americans experienced medical bankruptcy in 2001...and a striking 75% had insurance at the onset of the illness. It is hard to imagine that anyone would believe that these numbers have not increased dramatically since the 2001 study.
If you are a decision maker that is considering the merits of a Medical Tourism option for individuals, whether a corporation or branch of government, I recommend that you take a few moments and read Poe's 1843 short story entitled The Pit and Pendulum.
While I will leave it to the reader's imagination as to which parts of the healthcare system most closely match the options available to the narrator of the story, I would like to believe that the emerging Medical Tourism industry is playing the role of General Lassale.
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