For Indian doctors, western shores could be greener. But for an increasing number of foreign patients, Indian hospitals are fast becoming their first choice. Over 1.5 lakh medical tourists travelled to India in 2002 alone, bringing in earnings of $300 million.

Medical tourism can mean attractive opportunities for foreign patients and investors.  In our previous article, Medical Tourism: Seeking Affordable Healthcare Overseas, NuWire investigated the modern concept of medical tourism—traveling to foreign countries for lower cost of care...

Jerusalem is one of the world's great destinations - for generations people have travelled to the city to see the religious sites.  Now the government of Israel is hoping that visitors of a different kind will go to the country. Israel is marketing itself as a hub for medical tourism.

Two years ago, Jeanne Bennett could barely walk. Severely arthritic at 48, she had tried every nonsurgical remedy — prescription medicine, physical therapy, even acupuncture — but nothing helped. Her best option, said doctors at Duke University School of Medicine, was hip resurfacing, a new procedure developed in England that was in clinical trials in the United States. Since resurfacing was not yet FDA-approved, Bennett's insurance wouldn't cover the $48,000 cost.

There is no doubt that the spa is making a comeback. Despite the recent trend, it is of course a centuries old phenomenon – a thousand baths were to be found in ancient Rome and the grandest, Thermae of Diocletion, stretched for over 1.4million feet. Today’s spas are perhaps not quite as grand but people are certainly catching on to the benefits, both physical and mental, that such visits can bring.

More U.S. health insurers are slashing costs by sending policyholders overseas for pricey procedures.  For years, Americans have been traveling abroad to save money on elective procedures or dental work. David Boucher, 49, doesn't fit the usual profile for such medical tourists. An assistant vice-president of health-care services at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of South Carolina, he has ample health benefits...

Benefit managers can take certain steps to ensure that integrating a medical tourism option into an employer-sponsored health plan is successful and worthwhile. The first step is to "analyze the potential impact that offering the benefit might have," said Jay Savan, a Towers Perrin principal based in St. Louis...