title: A tale of 2 countries: the cost of my mother's cardiac care in the United States and India.
abstract: When my mother fell ill while visiting me in the United States, I had the opportunity to compare costs of surgical cardiac care in the United States and India. I faced challenges in making well-informed decisions in the United States due to the lack of cost transparency and the minimal flexibility offered in choice of care, whereas in India costs are readily available and allow most people to freely choose their preferred type of care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MassachusettsCenter for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), Bedford VA Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts sowmya.rao@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Sowmya R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D005791:Patient Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States
keywords: health care financing; health insurance; international perspectives; pricing