000 that her operation would have cost inside the U.S.

South Korea Joins profitablePractice of Inviting Medical Tourists to Its Hospitals

on the resort island of Jeju, the government is building fitnessCare Town, a 370-acre complex of medical clinics and upscale apartments surrounded by 18-hole golf courses and scenic beaches, to lure foreigners in need of medical care.

West of Seoul, on the muddy beaches of Inchon where American troops splashed ashore 58 years avisit fight inside the Korean War, a brand spanking new steel-and-glass town is rising to attract foreign visitors, including medical tourists.

South Korea has joined Thailand, Singapore, India and other Asian nations inside the profitablebusiness of medical tourism. Heart bypasses, spinal surgery, hip-joint replacements,Clinton Portis Jersey, cosmetic surgery procedures that might cost tens of thousands of dollars inside the U.S. ca standardly be done for one-third or even one-tenth of the pricein Asia, with much shorter waiting times and by specialists occasionallytrained inside the West.

Americans fleeing the highestcost of substances at home have spurred the craze. Last year, 750,000 Americans sought cheaper treatment abroad, a figure projected to achieve 6 million by 2010, in keeping with a freshreadby the Deloitte Center for fitnessSolutions, a consultancy. Asian nations are also wooing wealthy Middle Eastern patients who've found it harder to get a visa to enter the united states since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

the choice of foreigners coming to South Korea for medical care is still a fraction of those getting treatment in India, Thailand and Singapore, industake a look atofficials said. But clinics and the South Korean government strivehard to attract these tourists, who not simplybring in money for cash-strapped hospitals but as well as assistancethe economy by staying on to shop for and sightsee after their procedure is over.

the government has revised immigration rules to permitforeign patients and their families to get long-term medical visas and altered laws to allowlocal hospitals to shapejoint ventures with foreign hospitals in a couple ofcases.

When Hassan and Fatima Al-Abdulla of Qatar arrived in Seoul in October, they found a car and an English-speaking nurse waiting at the airport.

Soon they were checking into the Wooridul Spine Hospital so Ms. Abdulla may have surgery for her chronic back and leg pain.

Mr. Abdulla found his wife's hospital room furnished with a television, broadband that webaccess, private bathroom, sofas and an additionalbed so cushtythat he decided to remainat the side of her versus visit a hotel.

Ms. Abdulla had all her pre-surgical tests the day she arrived. tomorrow, she was on an operating table.

"i feel excellent,Ed Reed Jersey," she said five days after her surgery. "i can stroll and storenow."
Mr. Abdulla said he and his wife were now eager to visit the stores and museums in Seoul, "probably spending more on shopping than inside the medical center."

Wooridul Spine Hospital said it expected to draw about 1,000 foreign patients and $1 million in revenue from their treatments in 2008, its third year of wooing foreigners. It said its patients hailed from 47 countries, with a couple of third from the united states.

Wooridul plans to build a hospital branch,Marcus Allen Jersey, apartments, a concert hall and an art museum on the Jeju island as part of its medical tourism offerings,Reggie Wayne Jersey, at the side of the golf course it has alablebuilt, said Lee Mi-jeong, a Wooridul spokeswoman.

"We believe this is an enormous future industake a look atfor our island," said Kim Kyung-taeg, head of the government-run Jeju progressionCenter. "the cityshall be aware of medical checkups, long-term convalescence and procedures Korean doctors are we able toll and affordably, this kind ofs plastic surgery and dentistry."

No government records can also be found on what selection of medical tourists come to South Korea. But a survey of 2ninehospitals showed that they treated 38,822 uninsured foreign patients excluding surecategories like long-term Korean expatriates between January and August, compared with 15,680 in 2007, in keeping with the government-financed Korea fitnessIndustake a look atprogressionInstitute.

It said 2five%of those patients were from the united states, and 10 %each were from China and Japan.

Medical fees are strictly controlled by the government as part of a rusticwide health insurance program,Dwight Lowery Jersey, but hospitals like Wooridul can negotiate fees with foreign patients without interference from insurance authorities.

Gregory Kellstrom, a civilian forklift operator at the yank military base in Seoul, decided to go to Wooridul recently to get spinal scans and drugsfor his back and hip problems versus comeing to the united states.

"For me personally, this is not about money," said Mr. Kellstrom, 42, who paid out of his own pocket but planned to make use of for reimbursement from his American insurer.

"inside the States, it will probably take easily six months simplyto get the treatment i've here in a single day," he said.

Baialinova Dariakul, 49, the wife of a wealthy businessman in Kyrgyzstan, said she came to Wooridul for treatment for her spinal tumor because it was unavailable at home. Fumiko Yamada, 75, a Tokyo resident who recently had a back operation at Wooridul, said she would have had to attfinishyears to get an appointment with a prime Japanese surgeon who perbureaucracythe same operation.

a couple ofKoreans fear that social inequality will grow if medical resources and professionalstaffmigrate from public fitnesscare to boostd-paying jobs that cater to foreigners, said Dr. Yoon Dae-hyun, a psychiatrist at the Healthcare System Gangnam Center at Seoul National University Hospital. But he added that the attemptto attract foreigners mayinspire more local hospitals to upgrade their services.

"there'sn't much of a gap anymore between the nicehospitals in Asia and the united states," he said.

His center plans to open a marketing office in los angeles, and hopes to attract medical tourists from the pool of two million Korean-Americans. Foreigners who can document Korean ancestake a look atcan qualify for the South Korean national health insurance.

Sally Im, a Korean-American from Honolulu, recently traveled to Wooridul for back surgery. After her husband popid two months' worth of premiums about $90 on their arrival, an part of Ms. Im's medical bill was covered by the South Korean government. The couple ended up spending $3,200, versus the $30,000 that her operation would have cost inside the U.S., Wooridul said.

neveryone in South Korea is hooked in to this kind ofrrangements, fearing that ethnic Koreans from abroad might become a drag on the national insurance coffers. there's talk of limiting benefits to long-term residents.

The Ims, meanwhile, were satisfiedthon thon that they had an alternative to the yank medical system.

"We met a smartdoctor and had smartsurgery," said Ms. Im's husband, Stan. "We feel very lucky."

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