It sounds so appealing ! Have a fabulous holiday at an Asian luxury resort and then a few days in hospital getting long awaited cosmetic surgery - at a price unheard of here in Australia - and then fly home with new boobs or a younger face.
That appealing scenario has a down side. Cosmetic surgery is certainly a lot cheaper in some overseas countries, but it is a fact of life that some of the surgeons are less skilled and some of the hospitals do not make it to the standards we expect here in Australia - and that can result in some very unpleasant after effects.
Some travellers return with not only unsatisfactory visual results, but afflictions which can range from cardiac arrest to infections that include flesh eating bacteria - and even Tuberculosis - and of course they immediately look to Medicare to fix their problem here in Australia.
Clearing up the usual result of a botched cosmetic surgery job often results in a six day stay in a public hospital bed - at a cost of about $ 33,000. It is something that our struggling Medicare system can ill afford.
The logical way to fix this problem is to insist that those considering cosmetic surgery overseas take out private health insurance so that this treatment does not come from the public purse, but that runs foul of our much vaunted promise that all Australians are entitled to free public hospital treatment in our public health system.
Most overseas travellers take out travel insurance which covers accommodation and flight disruptions, stolen baggage and urgent medical evacuation, but which specifically excludes cosmetic surgery. In fact, reading through the usual exclusions in the policy the traveller finds that many other activities of a dangerous nature also have similar exclusions.
Private health insurance does cover the ill effects of cosmetic surgery, but most events other than accidents are subjected to a twelve month waiting list from the date of first signing up to come into effect. Perhaps the insurance industry would consider a one-off policy for overseas cosmetic surgery jaunts, but the premium would be commensurate with the risk - and out of the question for most travellers.
Unfortunately, this is a fast growing problem. We are seeing a steady expansion in cosmetic surgery advertising in which a package deal is offered and this includes air fares, luxury accommodation and the medical component all rolled into one. It is an attractive package - and this appears to be a fast expanding avenue of travel attractions.
The likely knock-on effect will be an expansion of clinics offering cosmetic surgery to meet demand and consequently more surgeons with limited skills offering their services. It seems inevitable that those who suffer an unfortunate after effect will make a quick dash back to this country and the safety of our excellent public health system - and further erode the cost expansion that is spinning out of control.
Buying on price alone is risky business. It could be compared to " Russian Roulette " !
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