Rising Health Costs Sending Americans to China for Treatment

$60,000 vs. $6,000. For a growing number of Americans, the decision to travel to China is simple.

ChinaConnection.cc - June 16, 2008

(PRNewsChannel) / Iowa and Beijing, China - From where Ruth Lycke sits, it comes as no surprise that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would warn that rising health costs may pose an economic risk.

She's seen the rising cost of health care emptying the wallets of her clients for several years now.

"My clients can't afford health care treatment in the United States," says Ruth Lycke, CEO of China Connection, an Iowa and China-based company and foundation that helps Americans and other foreigners seek medical treatment in China.  "These people go to China because the care in China is affordable, reliable and available."

The skyrocketing costs of health care are most acute, of course, for those who are uninsured or underinsured.

How much could a patient save by going to China?  Here are some numbers from Lycke:

-Stroke treatment could cost $500,000 in the U.S. for three months treatment.  In China, similar care would cost $16,500.

-Hip surgery runs $60,000 in the U.S.; it costs $6,000 in China.

-Cardiac bypass runs $60,000 in the U.S.; it's about $8,000 in China.

To stave off the effects of rising health-care costs on household budgets, Bernanke told the audience at a health care event organized by the Senate Finance Committee, the government may have to absorb a larger share of the bill for those costs.

"I'm seeing the affects of the high cost of health care already," Lycke says.  "I've know of patients in China right now for that very reason.

Editor note:  Ruth Lycke is available for interviews.

Media Contact:  Glenn Selig, ThePublicityAgency.com
Email: 
Phone:  (813) 948-7767
Web site:  www.chinaconnection.cc

Source Web Site: ChinaConnection.cc