Start with three numbers
Before comparing destinations, write down three benchmarks: your expected out-of-pocket cost through insurance, the best complete domestic cash price you can find, and the realistic all-in cost of treatment away from home. The third number should include travel, lodging, time away, follow-up and a contingency budget.
Make every quote comparable
Ask each provider to separate the surgeon or professional fee, facility fee, anesthesia, implants or materials, medications, routine follow-up and any tests required before treatment. A headline package price is not comparable until you know what is outside the package.
Do not save by skipping verification
Lower price should never substitute for checking the individual clinician, facility, proposed treatment plan and follow-up arrangements. Verify credentials using current official or professional sources and ask who is responsible if your recovery does not follow the expected course.
Compare the total trip, not the procedure alone
A lower procedure price can be erased by airfare, a long stay, a companion's costs, lost work or an expensive return trip. For smaller procedures, a transparent domestic cash price may be the better answer.