\nSpeaking to reporters at a press conference in Panaji, chief cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at the Fortis group of hospitals Vivek Javali said the medical tourism sector in India would only mature as time goes by and that India would continue to attract patients from Europe and US, because of cost effective and qualitative healthcare available here.
\nJavali, who has performed more than 15,000 surgeries and is known as the father of invasive cardiac surgery in India, also said that the economics of healthcare globally, tilted the scales of medical tourism in favour of countries like India.
\n\u201cThe ground reality is that more and more foreigners from Europe and US are now heading towards India for not just cosmetic treatment but even for complex surgeries. Despite what Obama says, medical tourism in India is bound to mature,\u201d Javali said.
\n\u201cThe nature of politics in the US is forcing them into making such statements. Medical tourism in India will only grow in the coming years,\u201d Javali said.
\nObama earlier this week had said that he would change the US healthcare system to discourage Americans from seeking medical treatment in India and Mexico.
\n\u201cMy preference would be that you don\u2019t have to travel to Mexico or India for cheap healthcare. I\u2019d like you to be able to get it right here in the United States of America that\u2019s high quality,\u201d Obama said, when asked about why US health insurance won\u2019t cover medical expenses incurred abroad.
\nThe growth rate of India\u2019s medical tourism sector is reportedly pegged at 30 percent and is expected to be a Rs.9,500-crore industry in the next five years.
\nHealthcare experts have pegged medical tourism market in India go notch the $2 billion a year by 2012. An estimated 150,000 people travel to India for low-priced healthcare procedures every year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"