Still around:
Perhaps some of the treatments were prohibited by TPTB. But a lot foreign medical tourism is by uninsured people that could obtain treatment at 1/2 to 1/3 of the US price tag.
Before the cartel violence began in Mexico; I would drive to a El Paso parking garage and a Juarez dental van would pick a bunch of US citizens and transport the patients to & fro. Prior to 2009, one did not need a passport.
Damn, John, that is insane! I sure hope the prosthetic works out well and lowers your golf scores…. 
@rainphakir in many cases the issue is that the “work” isn’t covered by insurance even though it is not prohibited.
In my case…
My family has an extensive history of breast cancer. (Great-grandmother, grandmother, 3 aunts and several cousins.) When a 3-D mammogram detected tiny pinpoint calcifications in 2013 I requested an MRI which is the gold standard for sensitivity and specificity. I knew that insurance wouldn’t pay so I didn’t even ask. I simply told the radiologist that I would pay in cash out of pocket. That MRI detected tiny 5 mm cancers in both breasts. I had a bilateral mastectomy. Stage 1, no chemo needed.
Bottom line: you can get whatever you want as long as you are willing to pay out of pocket.
Wendy
It is part of why husband and I moved to Mexico, where there is more availability of high skill for not astronomical fees.
Gee, thanks, that’s a big help.
/sarcasm
Wendy
I called around Houston, Austin, n Waco TX last summer trying to get a “private lab business” to do ultrasound, and then MRI.
These are places that advertise “pay x, get scanned”.
None of them would do it without a “referral”.
I told them I was paying out of pocket. No insurance involved.
The response was “no referral, no appointment”.
Ie, TPTB prohibited it.
ralph
IMO, the US healthcare industry is running scared of individuals taking their health care into their own hands.
The healthcare industry lobbyists push laws that create obstacles to individuals being his/her own advocate.
TPTB threaten Drs n clinics with HIPPA violations and must require referrals to prevent personal responsibility.
I used to order my own lab tests before I went on Medicare at age 65. I didn’t even bother to get an order from my Rheumatologist, since all of these discount labs have a doctor sign the orders in mass and maybe pay him/her $1 per order.
I suspect it’s the same with these online firms offering medically unnecessary full body MRIs or other diagnostic tests.
intercst
You’re welcome. . .
MoneySlob
You beat me to it, @WendyBG . Sometimes you have to wonder if folk are deliberately trying to insult your intelligence with the twaddle they dump links on.
One strength training forum I’ve followed for years had become a mess of threads that were little more than a collection of duelling link dumps and AI overview GOTCHAs rather than a place for swapping experiences, ideas and decent discussions (a bit like the old TMF) The board moderator (a very sweary sort of bloke) eventually stepped in with a threat to remove any posts with AI overviews instead of proper answers to a question (he didn’t much tolerate daft questions either) ……and block anyone who didn’t learn from their first wrist slap. Seems to have worked.
I asked if they had a Dr for referrals.
They declined.
ralph
No. You need to go to one of these companies that already have a doctor lined up. Note that their prices include “Consultation with a provider”.
You might ask your Primary Care doctor to write a referral. When I needed a medically unnecessary MRI for my FAA pilot’s medical certificate, that’s what I did. Then I went to a store front MRI shop in a small town about 90 miles South of Portland that was $1,000 less than of any of the places I got quotes from in Portland.
intercst
Sorry if I created any hysteria with a simple link.
I actually read the link. And thought it was food for thought, not something for distinction at my expense. Moving on.
Thanks for the link.
ralph
This is a question to ask again of the place you choose…..for a slightly different reason. Namely, what will you do if this screening MRI shows up a bunch of worrisome, potentially serious warnings? Is there someone on hand to guide you in decision making on how far to go/how much to spend ($$$$bucks or stomach lining) in chasing down possible diagnoses/misdiagnoses (always a possibility)???
This might seem an odd take, given that I post frequently on my belated diagnosis of ASCVD and my own proactive discovery. However, I already had my ducks lined up for follow up before I even discussed getting a CAC scan and the “advanced” lipid profile and circulating insulin add on (all of which probably should be standard of care when the accepted “low hanging fruit” of basic testing showed a Red Flag….. and which I assume you’ve already utilized??)
FWIW, even Peter Attia……and, more importantly, his guests who advocate for full body MRI testing……discuss the caveats and downsides of a testing set up that is known for false positives and misleading negatives. Emphasizing very strongly that it’s an adjunct and not an alternative to the standard stuff.
I would give them the contact info for my pcp.
Each storefront scanning place said the scans would come with an ‘expert’ interpretation.
And, I’ll get copies of the scans, on CD or DVD. I asked about flash drive, cause I no longer have a cd/dvd reader. It might require a large memory flash drive?
The customer facing folks are less than knowledgeable.
I want to run the scans through an LLM.
As for false positives, I’m willing to deal with those fears if/when they show up.
That’s what second opinions are for?
ralph
My prosthetist just called and said that Medicare approved everything we asked for in the microprocessor controlled knee and blade runner foot. They are now ordering the parts. My next appt is Dec 30th, but they’ll call me in sooner if the leg is ready before then. The knee, foot and connecting hardware are off the shelf items. The component that will take the longest to make is the definitive socket they are molding from the test socket I tried on Monday Dec 8th. That will take about 2 weeks.
Looks like I’ll be getting a lot of toys for Christmas.
intercst
Fun and games. Hope it’s not too cold for golf. Enjoy!