Holidays for Health.(International Edition; SPECIAL REPORT: TRAVEL)(medical tourism)

Byline: Sana Butler

People are traveling overseas for cheaper medical procedures like colonoscopies and hip replacements.

Two years ago, when Suzanne Rakow was diagnosed with breast cancer, doctors recommended a mastectomy followed by two months of radiation.aUnderinsured and retired, the 59-year-old Californian was shocked when she heard the hospital bill would total $100,000 or more. She had already received a $10,000 doctor's bill for a second opinion and a 25-minute needle biopsy, and her insurance wouldn't cover any of it. "I am not poor and I am not rich," says Rakow. "I didn't know what I was going to do. If I spendaall of my money now, what if the cancer comes back? I have to live on something."

A friend she met while traveling in China recommended she call Planet Hospital, a medical-travel company that connects patients with 32 hospitals in 18 countries. Within 36 hours, she was on the phone with a surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. "I was very confident he knew what he was doing," she says. So Rakow packed up her medical files and flew to Singapore. Planet Hospital scheduled her medical procedures and found hotel accommodations, as well as a local concierge. Her total bill, including the surgery, radiation, airfare, hotel, concierge and a two-week side trip to Bali, was under $30,000. She paid it out of pocket.

Jetting off to a foreign country for affordable cosmetic surgery has been a popular option for years. But now, pinched by rising health-care costs, travelers are going abroad for routine required surgeries and procedures, including colonoscopies and ob-gyn exams. By 2012, experts predict, medical tourism will turn into a $100 billion international industry with more than 780 million patients seeking health care abroad. Planet Hospital and similar companies, like Global MD and Med Retreat, are based predominantly in the U.S. and serve mostly retired baby boomers who don't yet qualify for Medicare. The companies shop around for a hospital and make all the arrangements; in return, the hospitals pay them referral fees. Patients pay the health-care providers directly.

It's not only the underinsured who are eager to take advantage of geographical ...