MORRISTOWN, NJ (Expansionary News Service) August 23, 2007. While Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Barack Obama present health-care plans promising medical help more affordable and accessible to the average American, many of our citizens are taking a uniquely market-driven approach to their medical treatment.
In an intriguing article appearing in the Providence Journal entitled "What Medical Tourism Teaches America," sociologist and futurist Dr. Michael G. Zey uncovers a little-publicized trend—the health care system is quickly becoming globalized. In 2006, over 150,000 of us boarded planes to India, the Philippines and Eastern Europe to get hip transplants, heart surgery, liver transplants and dental work, often for a fraction.of what such procedures would cost in the U.S.
Michael Zey, in his numerous speaking engagements and media appearances surrounding the publication of his new book "Ageless Nation," (New Horizon Press Books), has been busy informing the public of the promise of what is loosely labeled "medical tourism"
Zey has also been warning Americans to take a very close look at any health care programs offered by the likes of Clinton and Romney that might prevent Americans from "going outside of the plan" for medical help. Such a requirement would preclude any American citizen from going overseas for cheaper, and perhaps even superior, medical treatment.
From his Morristown NJ offices, Dr. Zey states that he is not surprised that this article has been picked up by publications across the globe. As he says, "India, Thailand and other Asian nations are anxious to tap into this growing market of Americans and Europeans looking for affordable and often cutting-edge medical service"
Michael Zey states that as the candidates design and roll out the next great American health-care system, they should remember the advice the Hippocratic Oath imparts to all medical practitioners: "Do no harm"