By Evan Falchuk

No offense to the New York Times, but yesterday’s story on medical tourism featured the exact same medical tourist, Ben Schreiner, as a very similar article on the same subject in the Wall Street Journal in September of last year.

Is there no one else to interview?

It could be.  The Journal article suggests only a few thousand Americans a year travel abroad for in-patient care, and that almost all of them are doing it on their own dime.  Many are doubtless immigrants who want to be close to family abroad, and many others seem to be seeking elective surgery.  For example, Venezuela, whose doctors are renowned for their skill at cosmetic surgery has been a popular destination for Americans.

There will always be a small number of Americans who will travel abroad voluntarily for less expensive medical care.  But efforts to compel Americans to do so, or to give financial incentives that have the effect of compelling them to do so, will continue to fail to achieve anything more than a very limited impact.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user: “billadler”