Monday, April 26, 2010
US chickens aren't worth what they used to be
Consider the case of one Godfrey Davies who was in need of surgery and lacked medical insurance.
When Godfrey Davies learned he needed surgery to remove polyps blocking his nasal airways, the self-described bargain shopper set out on a mission to find an affordable surgeon. He quickly learned a good deal is hard to find.True, he had his polyps removed by a socialist but I don't think the polyps would have noticed any difference. When given a chance to revisit their price quote, the best the Americans could do was $17,860. Any way you look at it, he was ahead of the game in Wales.
"The total numbers they were throwing at me were just incredible. I couldn't believe it," he says.
Davies, who is semiretired from his real estate business and uninsured, says he received estimates from two surgeons. When hospital, anesthesia and incidental fees were all tallied, the cheapest price he could find in Indianapolis, Indiana, was $33,127 -- which he would need to pay out of pocket.
"I was speechless." Davies recalls. "It was absolutely out of the question financially for me to have this done under those circumstances."
Frustrated that his bargain shopping saved him so little, Davies called on family in the United Kingdom for assistance. When they told him they had found a private hospital in Wales that would perform the surgery for $2,930 [or £1,897], Davies didn't think twice.
He purchased a $768 round-trip ticket, and on March 18, he boarded a flight to the UK to have his polyps removed there at a savings of nearly $30,000.
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