Admittedly, America has some of the best hospitals in the world but soaring costs have made medical care a luxury for the average Joe. A friend of mine just had her inflamed appendicitis surgically removed. She got an ugly infection and was in hospital post-surgery for over a week. Long story short — a $15,000 medical bill. That’s nearly Rs 7 lakh. Her insurer paid a chunk of the bill but she still forked out a king’s ransom. “I should have jumped on to a freaking plane to India,” she fumed when I visited her in hospital in downtown Manhattan.

Nearly 150,000 Americans travelled overseas last year for medical care. Heart bypass surgery, which costs $130,000 in the US, can be performed for $10,000 in India and $19,000 in Turkey.

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