Outsourcing to India Grows

Indiana-based health insurer WellPoint, Inc. has begun testing a program that allows patients to undergo elective surgeries in India instead of the US. . . .

. . . even though flights cost roughly $2,000 per person, round trip (according to Orbitz), it's still more cost-effective for WellPoint to send patients to India than it is to airlift them down to Milwaukee. Want your knee fixed up? Knee surgery typically costs $70,000-80,000 in the US; in India, it's a tenth that price.

Even more incredible is the fact that, at least according to the insurers, patients are actually more likely to receive high-quality, transparent care in India than they are here. . . .

All-Expenses-Paid India Vacation, Courtesy of Your Health Insurer