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Since we have seen the pbs video on how unfair and expensive medical procedures are in the United States…many people also go to international countries to get the same procedure done..for much cheaper!

India is a booming economy, in which medical tourism is on the rise.

Heart Sugrery in the United Sates       $30,000 vs.    India $8,700

Orthopedic Surgery in the U.S.         $20,000 vs.   India $6,300

With hotel stays & plane ticket expensese, the patient would end up paying less!

Some facts of Medical Tourism in India

	An estimated 150,000 “medical tourists” visited India last year, representing a 20 per cent jump over the previous year.
	The CII-McKinsey report suggests that medical tourism could fetch as much as $2 billion by 2012, compared to an estimated $333 million currently.
	A Famous Mumbai and Goa based cosmetic surgeon says his practice goes 1200 international patient last year, double the number from previous year.

Medical tourists can also check with their insurance provider whether treatment at an internationally recognized hospital in India is covered by their policy. If not, the patient will have to bear the expense of their treatment. The cost of treatment will however be much less than the equivalent treatment in a hospital in the West.

I think that though it is cheaper to go to another country, someone is not chosing their surgeon face-to-face. The question that what if something goes wrong…whats a patient suppose to do then?

Real-life Welfare Quotations

The following are taken from actual letters received by the Welfare Department in applications for support.

– I am forwarding my marriage certificate and 6 children. I had seven but one died which was baptised on a half sheet of paper.

– I am writing the welfare department to say that my baby was born two years old. When do I get my money?

– Mrs. Jones has not had any clothes for two years and has been visited regularly by the clergy.

– I am glad to report that my husband who is missing is dead.

– This is my eighth child. What are you going to do about it.

– Please find for certain if my husband is dead. The man I am now living with can’t do anything until he knows. 

– I am very much annoyed to find out that you have branded my son illiterate. This is a dirty lie as I was married a week before he was born.

– I am forwarding my marriage certificate and my 3 children one of which is a mistake as you can see.

-Unless I get my husband’s money pretty soon, I will be forced to lead an immortal life.

– I want money as quick as I can get it. I have been in bed with the doctor for two weeks and he doesn’t do me any good. If things don’t improve, I will have to send for another doctor.

Thought this was funny!

http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/welfare.htm

To get a idea of the life of poor people in India..Watch this video..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXP2sM7cFac&feature=related[/youtube]

(one thing about the video is that i dont understand why the people have to be converted..)

Man Holding Burberry Umbrella

Woman Holding $10,000 Hermes Bag

Women wearing designers shoes valued above $1,000 each

Baby wearing $100 Fendi Bib

Hey guys, this is my first attempt at posting =]

So bascailly Vogue India is causing alot of tongues to be wagged…in their August issue there is a spread which depicts people from rural areas wearing high end luxury goods..

These are the poorest of the poor (465 million people) who live on $1.25 a day. In a country where there are farmers committing suicides because of shortage of food…where families are forced to sell daughter because their dowry cannot be afforded (talking about the rural population here.. not the big city dwellers who are the new middle class)

How do you guys feel?…Is this just fashion to you or do you find it offensive that the poor are being just “paraded around” ?  

Do you think this a genius editorial ( my mom thought so ) which has a bit of humor and some light charm? Are we laughing at poverty if we find these pictures a work of art?

-Pictures from Highheelconfidential.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/business/worldbusiness/01vogue.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

This editorial is being called “an example of vulgarity”

According to vogue India’s editor, “fashion is no longer a rich man’s privilege. Anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful.”