How trips to Asia are making some Americans healthy again | CNN Business

Isaias, an artist and designer living in Atlanta, had a few things in mind for his first trip to China. He knew he wanted to see the urban metropolis of Shanghai, as well as Chongqing, an instagrammable megacity with a cyberpunk aesthetic in China’s mountainous southwest. But his main motivation for flying across the world wasn’t wanderlust. It was an effort to save thousands of dollars on a medical procedure not covered by his insurance at home. He’s one of a growing number of Americans seeking cheaper medical treatment abroad, for everything from cancer to dental care, as healthcare costs at home hit record levels. During a December checkup, a doctor told Isaias, 26, that he had an abnormal growth on his gallbladder. Though it was non-cancerous, he would need to have it surgically removed within a year, the doctor said. In Atlanta, the out-of-pocket cost was close to $10,000, said Isaias, who requested that only his first name be used to discuss his personal medical history. His father started looking for alternative options overseas, including in the UK and in China. While UK costs were comparable, a medical tourism agency connected them with a facility in Shenzhen, which