Like most doctors, I have a few patients without insurance.
Raj is a hard-working guy who, like me, has his own business and a family to support. He pays his bills, but really can’t afford insurance.
Recently, he tripped over his dog and suffered a back injury. I tried to manage it conservatively, but things kept getting worse and it became obvious that an MRI was needed. I found a decent place that gave him a cash discount and got the study.
Dr. Allan M. Block
Unfortunately, he had a pretty bad disk herniation with severe canal stenosis and radicular impingement. It was obvious he needed surgery.
He made some calls around the state, looking to get a decent surgical package put together. The best he was able to get, including surgery, anesthesia, and a few hospital days, was $60,000. This didn’t include any costs that might arise from complications.
Raj, like most of us, didn’t have that kind of money lying around. Nor was he going to go to an emergency department to make the rest of us pay for it.
But he also was having increasing problems walking. He and I had a few phone calls trying to find a solution, without any clear ideas.
His answer was to contact his grandparents, who live in India. They were able to get him names of established spine surgeons in the country. He flew there with his MRI disk, saw the surgeon, had a successful operation, and was back home after 10 days. He’s now back at work, without any complications, and doing fine.
Total cost (not including plane fare): $4,000.
I have nothing against the American health care system. I’m a part of it. But I’m left wondering why a successful back surgery would have such a dramatic cost difference between two countries. I’m sure malpractice issues are part of it, but not the whole issue. Are equipment and drug costs lower in India? Labor?
There are probably a lot of factors, which I won’t pretend to understand. But it raises a question. In an era when American medicine is trying to do more with less, what can we learn from other countries? A lot of major breakthroughs are made here that travel elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean we have all the answers.
I may be naive, but if we can learn ways to improve our system by looking elsewhere, we have to. Our patients deserve it.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.