Blue Cross may soon fly you to India for surgery? Huh?

"The health insurer Wellpoint is testing a new program that gives covered patients the option of going to India for elective surgery, with no out-of-pocket medical costs and free travel for both the patient and a companion."

Talk about outsourcing! I'm not someone who thinks American healthcare is the only healthcare that is excellent, but it does strike me as another example of something being a bit out of kilter with our capitalistic system. If we can't compete with other countries what will happen to us? I'm definitely no financial wizard. Numbers make want to flee the area faster than mosquitos at a picnic, but this perplexes me.

"The quality is comparable" to care provided in the United States,
Dr. Hashmi said. All the physicians speak English, and patients can
share their medical records and consult with a surgeon in India
before making the trip, she said.

The pilot program arranges for patients to be picked up at the
airport and provides special meals to prevent food-borne illnesses.
The program complies with the American Medical Association guidelines
on medical tourism and uses hospitals accredited by the Joint
Commission International.

Dr. Hashmi said it had actually been easier to evaluate the quality
of medical care abroad than in the United States. "There is a lot
more willingness to share data about complication rates, the total
number of procedures and the outcomes," Dr. Hashmi said. "We're able
to get detail per hospital and per physician."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/health/21abroad.html