Those are some good questions. And I don't have pointers to data. You can find plenty of anecdotes about one-off procedures/events that are ruinously expensive

Those are some good questions. And I don't have pointers to data. You can find plenty of anecdotes about one-off procedures/events that are ruinously expensive in the US but are affordable out-of-pocket cost at medical tourism centers. The question of on-going health care costs would normally be of interest only to expats since most medical tourists plan to go back to their home country after treatment. As an expat I have some anecdotes of my on that subject. In short, they also seem to be a fraction of the cost for better care and service. Full time elder care/nursing home care, for example. When my family researched it in the US it was very expensive and mostly quite depressing conditions. We were able to obtain 24-hour care for about US$1,000 per month in Thailand and the care was quite good. An acquaintance mentioned comparative cost of dialysis - about US$10,000 per year at a Thai private hospital versus US$90,000 in the US (assuming you paid the actual cost). One thing that remains expensive is any specialty medicines that must come from big pharma in the west, although there are more options for sources and not the racket that people experience in the US - think of meds from Canada for example.