The low cost of medical procedures is the number one reason why people travel out of their country for medical treatments. The savings range between 30% and 80% of the cost that you would normally pay in the USA.  The main reason behind the low cost of medical treatments abroad is the low cost of highly-skilled, highly trained physicians and the many technically trained disciplines supporting the practice of medicine at the destination.  Although the treatments are inexpensive in relation to costs in the USA and Canada, surgical procedures are performed by well-trained experts using some of the best technology and medical equipment in the world.  In addition, the lower costs of malpractice insurance and administration also promote the low cost of overseas medical procedures. 

Although the medical costs are lower overseas, international medical travel, also referred to as medical tourism, brings income to these overseas hospitals and allows their physicians to practice the highest quality medicine in the world in their home countries; international medical travel allows these physicians to remain in their home countries rather than consider immigration to western nations.  For residents of the USA or Canada that simply cannot afford a critical treatment, the alternative of international medical travel can be the difference between bankruptcy and non-filing or prompt treatment or delayed treatment in the case of Canada.