One in seven Americans lack health insurance

BRONX, N.Y. -- One in seven Americans don't have health insurance -- where do you go for help? Many are headed overseas for surgery. Traveling for health care that's not available, accessible, affordable or acceptable in the United States is a growing trend. Whether you don't have insurance -- or are refused treatment -- more and more people are headed overseas to get their medical needs met. For many, it's a life-saving trip that also saves them money.

"You're going to die because you don't have insurance … that's a scary thought," Kevin Stewart said.

"I was in the beginning stages of congestive heart failure, and so without the surgery, I would have died," Tom Hiland said.

"I can't afford it here. I'm one of those people who's just out of luck," Jeff Schult added.

Stewart, Hiland and Schult -- men left with few options and little time. Stewart's liver was failing -- without a transplant he would die.

Cost of care across the border
One in seven Americans don't have health insurance -- where do you go for help?

"I started feeling really lousy," he recalled.

Stewart is one of 45-million Americans who don't have health insurance. Many will either not get the health care they need -- or will need to look to other countries for more affordable care. In the United States, the out-of-pocket cost for Stewart would be $330,000. In India -- the cost -- $57,000!

"I could afford it. It was like, 'Hey, I can live. I don't have to die,'" Stewart continued.

Hiland also needed a life-saving surgery he couldn't afford. Congestive heart failure was threatening his life.

"I would probably not be here today if I had not had the surgery," Hiland said.

Denied insurance again and again. Surgery in the United States would set him back $200,000. In India, the 23 night hospital stay cost him $15000. The operation … done by an American-trained surgeon.

"I said is this possible that there could be such affordable treatment and high quality care compared to what we're brainwashed into believing in the U.S. … that we have the best medical system in the world?" Hiland asked.

Doctors in the United States are divided on the issue.

"Price is not the main mediator of service anywhere, but especially in health care," said Mark Solomon, M.D., a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"It may be a reasonable decision if something that you need and you just cannot afford it here to take the risk," explained Arnold Berlin, M.D., associate professor of surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y.

But is care being comprimised? United States based Johns Hopkins now works with hospitals in Panama City, Panama and in Singapore, China. The Cleveland clinic owns facilities in Canada and Austria. Harvard is affiliated with facilities in India, and a new report by the National Center for Policy Analysis shows the 20-day mortality rate for patients undergoing heart bypass surgery is 0.8 percent -- the United States' national average is 2.9 percent. More and more Americans are deciding to go abroad -- using medical tourism companies to guide them.

No one can guarantee a good outcome, and many countries have no recourse for anything that goes wrong. But for many people desperate for affordable care, it's their only option. Schult is author of Beauty From Afar -- a book about his experience going overseas -- a divorced dad, with no extra cash and a mouth-full of rotting teeth.

"I stopped smiling. I had lost my smile," Schult added.

He did have insurance -- it would cover the cost of dentures -- but only if he waited for his teeth to fall out.

"I joke now, but I was kinda bitter about it," Schult continued.

He saved 70 percent to 80 percent by going to Costa Rica.

"I had a smile again. I had really given up on that and they gave it to me. I was very grateful," Schult said.

A feeling Hiland and Stewart share.

"It's a great thing to be feeling better every day and better than I have in well over a year," Stewart added.

"I like to say, two and a half years after having mitral valve surgery in India, that I'm still kicking, and my heart is still ticking," Hiland said.

Overseas surgery -- a big decision for anyone, but for these three men … it paid off.

The medical tourism industry has caught the eye of congress. Last year, the Senate held a hearing on the globalization of health care to determine what is at the root of the growing trend. It found the ease of international travel and the growth of quality care facilities in developing countries plays a role, as well as soaring costs of medical care in the United States.