Released on: April 10, 2008, 7:56 am

Press Release Author: Laura P. Wright, CameronWeeks Public Relations

Industry: Healthcare

Press Release Summary: Poonam Dhawan, founder and CEO of The MedTrava Group,
predicted that the number of Americans choosing medical care outside of the U.S.
will exceed one million in as little as two years.

Press Release Body: AUSTIN, TEXAS, April 10, 2008 - Responding to recent testimony
given before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on high health insurance
costs and late middle-aged Americans, Poonam Dhawan, founder and CEO of The MedTrava
Group, predicted that the number of Americans choosing medical care outside of the
U.S. will exceed one million in as little as two years. Texas-based MedTrava
provides turnkey services for low-cost, top-quality healthcare overseas to American
individuals and corporations.

"In 2002, an estimated 150,000 Americans traveled abroad for healthcare," said
Dhawan. "Last year, it more than tripled to 500,000 - and that's considered a
conservative estimate. With the cost of healthcare and insurance skyrocketing, it's
safe to say that that number could reach three to four percent of the U.S.
population."

The reasons are cost and quality, she said, citing examples of medical care in
India, where open-heart surgery can cost $8,500 versus $100,000 in the U.S.; a knee
replacement can cost $6,000 instead of $48,000; and a facelift is about $5,000
versus $20,000. "The largest share of persons seeking treatment in India will be
late middle-agers," she said, "for the very reasons Ms. Lambrew pointed out.

"In addition, clinical outcomes are on a par with the world's best centers, due to a
large pool of internationally qualified and experienced specialists and super
specialists and the latest equipment and infrastructure, Dhawan continued.

Jeanne M. Lambrew, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress specializing
in healthcare policy and research on the uninsured, Medicaid, Medicare, and
long-term care appeared before the Committee on April 3 to report on health security
for people in late middle age.

"Median out-of-pocket spending on health care among those ages 55 to 64 is over
twice as high as that of people ages 35 to 54, 3.5 times higher than people ages 18
to 34, and over ten times higher than that of children," said Lambrew. She also
cited a study by the Urban Institute of Washington D.C. that found that "high
out-of-pocket health spending has caused a significant number of older Americans to
delay retirement as a means of funding such costs." (see
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/04/lambrew_testimony.html.)

"These people are looking for an alternative that allows them to get the
high-quality medical care their families need without going into bankruptcy," said
Dhawan. "When you can save 50 to 80 percent over the cost in the U.S., including
travel, it's an option that's hard to ignore."

The MedTrava Group
Based in Austin, Texas, with offices in Hawaii and India, The MedTrava Group
provides turnkey medical tourism services for low-cost, top-quality healthcare in
India to American individuals and corporations burdened by burgeoning healthcare
costs and restrictive healthcare plans. MedTrava's healthcare provider partners meet
the highest standards of care and are internationally acclaimed centers of
excellence.

MedTrava has pre-negotiated rates with each of its healthcare provider partners, and
has assembled procedure packages that assure its clients substantial savings.
MedTrava is fully transparent in its pricing to ensure clients receive the lowest
price possible in a single, itemized bill that is often 50% to 80% less than they
would pay in the U.S. For more information, visit www.medtrava.com.



Web Site: http://www.medtrava.com.

Contact Details: Laura P. Wright
CameronWeeks Public Relations
512-461-5777
lwright@cameronweeks.com