How far would you travel to save on medical care?

A hip replacement in Thailand.

A dental surgery in Costa Rica.

Millions of people travel to foreign countries every year for procedures at a fraction of the price, or medical treatments not offered at home.

How far would you travel to save on medical care?

IT was 4:30 a.m. when the Uber pulled up in front of Frieda’s house. She and her husband Moshe were already outside, standing by the curb with their suitcases ready. After weeks of researching, packing, planning, and prepping, the couple was about to embark on a 22-hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand, with a three-hour stopover in Taiwan. What have I gotten myself into? Frieda thought.

“I’m the type of person whose idea of an exciting night is going to a Chinese auction to raise money for Bonei Olam,” Frieda says with a laugh. “I’m a 58-year-old grandmother who rarely travels outside Brooklyn. To say this was out of my comfort zone is a huge understatement.”

Frieda wasn’t going to Thailand to see the historic sites or pristine beaches. She was joining the 14 million people who travel for medical tourism every year. From the Bangkok airport, she would be heading straight to Bumrungrad International Hospital for a hip replacement.

When Frieda was in her 30s, she was diagnosed with arthritis, and it only got worse with age. “I couldn’t chase after my grandkids anymore. I couldn’t walk without pain. At 58, I felt I was too young to live like this. My doctor told me I needed a hip replacement, but my health insurance sent me a letter saying my claim had been denied, stating my condition wasn’t bad enough. I appealed and lost. The cost of paying for it myself in a New York hospital was around $50,000.”

Frieda and Moshe had some money saved, but they had set it aside to help pay for their grandchildren’s yeshivah tuition. “I know for a fact that for at least one of our children, our financial help is the reason they’re able to send their children to yeshivah. I was willing to be in pain for my grandchildren’s chinuch, but one day, as I was limping to shul, an acquaintance of mine asked me what was wrong. I told her my whole saga and she relayed that a friend of hers had gotten a total hip replacement at a hospital in Bangkok.”

Frieda was intrigued. She spoke to the woman, who had been very happy with her experience at Bumrungrad Hospital. The doctor who treated her had even done a fellowship in America. “I did some research online and found out that I could get the same hip replacement done for $25,000, including airfare and an Airbnb.”

Though Frieda was excited about the idea, her husband was not. “You want to get surgery in a third-world country when we have the best doctors in the world right here in New York?” he said to her.

“It’s the same procedure,” Frieda argued back, “for a fraction of the price. Everyone speaks English, most of the doctors have done part of their training overseas, and they’re one of the top medical tourism spots in Asia.”

Moshe realized that Frieda had done her research. “I looked into the orthopedist at the hospital I would be using. He had gone to medical school in Japan and had completed a surgery fellowship in the United States. I saw that Bumrungrad was one of the world’s best hospitals,” she says.

Frieda’s adult children begged her to have the procedure done in America. “One of them said they wouldn’t accept money for yeshivah tuition if I didn’t do the surgery here. I said, ‘I made my decision. I’m doing this.’ I was going to use the same doctor as the woman who’d had a good experience at Bumrungrad hospital, so I knew I’d be in good hands. Besides, supporting my grandchildren was more important to me than doing the surgery in America.”

Even though Frieda’s mind was made up, when she stepped onto the plane, she felt a wave of fear. “My mind was filled with what-ifs. What if I got an infection at the hospital? What if the surgery goes wrong? What if we get robbed in Thailand? I davened like it was Yom Kippur. ‘Please Hashem, watch over me and give me hatzlachah.’ ”