Going The Distance (LITERALLY) For Affordable Health Care

How far would you go to get affordable, quality medical care? 

Well, a growing number of Americans are heading to across the pond and the globe for non-elective and in some cases, life-saving surgeries for one reason: the cost.

When I first heard about this, I thought it was one of those rare situations that was a last resort for sick Americans who exhausted all plausible treatments stateside and flew to a place where FDA regulations wouldn't prevent them from trying an experimental treatment.  But I later learned these were people who weren't covered by insurance and simply couldn't afford the out-of-pocket expenses that come with medical care.

Healthbase, a medical travel company based out of Massachusetts, says it's business is expected to triple in the coming year.  The owner, a native of India,  founded the company strictly because she was appalled at number of Americans (49 million and 650,000 in Oklahoma) without health care coverage.

Perhaps this issue should be a top priority for those actively seeking to occupy the White House for the next four years.  Otherwise, medical care will become yet another American industry that ends up on the outsourced list.