I was suffering from chronic back pain following an accident from several years before. As my pain continued to worsen, I began to seek aggressive medical treatment options. Finally an orthopedic surgeon recommended a 2-level Total Disc Replacement (TDR) to alleviate my pain. I was quite relieved knowing that the end of my back pain was within sight. Then to my complete astonishment, just 4 days prior to my surgery date, my health insurance agent informed him that they would not cover the cost of the surgery because they saw it as experimental in nature.

I immediately contacted the hospital to see how much his procedure would cost in total. I was told that without insurance, this procedure would cost over $100,000. This news was devastating to me, as I did not know how or where I could come up with this kind of money in a short period of time. Faced with such incomprehensible anguish, I decided to proceed with the operation in 4 days and then immediately file for bankruptcy protection. This worst-case scenario would at least alleviate my physical pain and then I would deal with the financial ramifications later.

After a few hours of considering this option,I decided that there had to be a better and more responsible option. I then turned to the Internet to search for possible answers. This is where I learned the idea of obtaining my surgical procedure outside the U.S. by a highly qualified surgeon at a highly reputable hospital at a fraction of the cost in the U.S. It’s called medical tourism. This appeared to be a possible solution to my suffering.

It’s too bad I had to travel outside of the U.S. to receive my procedure.

I am now doing fine and have eliminated my pain…no thanks to the U.S. healthcare system.