Poland a medical care tourism hotspot

WARSAW, Poland, May 28 (UPI) -- The number of people traveling to Poland from Western Europe for cheap but very good private medical care is likely to rise up to 20 percent per year.

Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have been leading the list of private medical care tourism since the three countries joined the European Union in 2004, Polish Radio reported Monday.

Lukasz Liese of the Internet medicare tourism company StatMedica said patients from Western countries are surging into these three countries because of prices and quality being offered at private hospitals.

Visitors can get good work done for up to 60 percent less for some medical treatments in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, Liese said. The low cost of budget airlines also has added to making Poland an attractive country for Western patients.