From "Welcoming The World's Ills" by Ronny Linder-Ganz, Haaretz, 14 February 2008:
Israel is emerging as a popular destination for medical tourists. In recent years, many thousands of visitors have come to Israel to undergo medical procedures. "It's a branch of tourism in its own right, and a trigger for bringing many more tourists, because a person who travels to Israel for surgery and is treated warmly and meets nice, helpful Israelis goes back home and becomes an ambassador for Israel," says Nir Crystal, head of marketing at the Herzliya Medical Center.
Meanwhile, today's BBC on the latest ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) report on Iraq:
Millions of Iraqis have little or no access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare, five years after the US-led invasion, according to the Red Cross. The Swiss-based agency says Iraq's humanitarian situation is "among the most critical in the world". Some families spend a third of their average monthly wage of $150 just buying clean water. (italics added)
The entire 15-page report is available here.
Finally, from Saturday's BBC World Service radio program "From Our Own Correspondent," where reporter Aleem Maqbool visits 21 year old Nael al Kurdi, terminally ill cancer patient, a week before he died:
I went to talk about his case with a spokesman for the Israeli government who pointed out that the border closures were for security reasons.
And when we got on to the subject of seriously ill patients being allowed out of Gaza for treatment, he told me that, while some patients had been let out, it was his view that terminally ill ones posed a potential danger to Israel.
They had nothing to live for, he suggested, so they might blow themselves up and become suicide bombers.
No medical "tourism" for dying Gazans.
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I don't begrudge Israel's desire to show off its shining hospitals and earn hard currency from wealthy foreigners. The Haaretz article speaks of the Indian example, which has set a national target of $1.2 billion annually by 2012. I do think that Israel - ever concerned about its image and desire for medical "goodwill ambassadors" - might consider the PR value of treating (or at least allowing to escape the "open air prison" of Gaza) some sick Palestinians. And the propaganda cost of denying treatment.
But my outraged citizen ire is more directed at the situation in my native country - perhaps no surprise to regular readers. Ever alert to irony, here's one from the Haaretz article:
"Then there are the Americans [says Amitai Rotem, director of marketing at Hadassah], who come here because they can get first-rate health care for a fraction of what it would cost them in the U.S. For example, an American with no health insurance would pay $120,000 for bypass surgery in the U.S. At Hadassah the procedure costs $35,000, and that includes all the necessary arrangements, such as airfare, accommodations and food for both patient and family. This means that ultimately, even with all the added expenses, the patient pays less than one-third of what the same operation would cost in the U.S."
"An American with no health insurance... ." Presumably this means wealthy Americans without health insurance, probably an oxymoron and certainly a tiny minority. Okay, let me get this right: the United States, which has no national health insurance program and which allows millions of Americans to languish without health coverage, become paupers, and die - subsidizes Israel to the tune of $100 billion over the last 40 years and permits Israel to develop its own world-class health system - which in turn allows "Americans with no health insurance..." I give up.
The National Health Insurance Law (in effect since January 1995) provides a standardized basket of medical services, including hospitalization, for all residents of Israel.
Of course, "all residents of Israel" gets into that thorny question of definitions: who is a resident? what is "Israel?" where are the boundaries? It's all so complicated - but very simple when it comes to Nael al Kurdi.
And then there's Iraq. I guess some of the two million Iraqis who have fled their country after the US invasion might be considered "medical tourists," in the sense that their country's medical infrastructure has largely vanished. Says Pascal Olle, the ICRC's health coordinator for Iraq: "In the 70's, the country offered one of the best health services in the region."
Medical "tourism." What a concept. Great - if you can afford it. Or if your country doesn't offer it at home.
(Images: Emblems of Magen David Adom, Red Cross, and Red Crescent)