> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://beyond-borders-1.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ireland Now Pays Women to Get Their Surgery Abroad - URL: https://beyond-borders-1.ghost.io/ireland-now-pays-women-to-get-their-surgery-abroad/ - Published: 2026-10-22T11:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T21:08:42.000Z - Description: An Irish doctor borrowed tens of thousands to have surgery in Warsaw, then her government paid her back. Countries are now moving patients across borders on purpose. - Author: Beyond Borders - Tags: Trending | Ireland ESAIS Korea Patients JCI in PH 57 2.01M 6 women abroad in 2025 of 13 hospitals | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Trending Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Rachel O’Connor is a doctor herself, and even that couldn’t get her the operation she needed in Ireland. She has endometriosis, a painful condition that can need complex surgery. Moving her care abroad felt like the last hope, so she borrowed tens of thousands of euros (at least $22,500 at today’s rate) and had the surgery in Warsaw. The surgery worked. “It saved my life.” — Dr. Rachel O’Connor, via RTE Investigates Then, this summer, more than a year after her operation, something unusual happened. The Irish government paid her back. Her costs were reimbursed under a program called the Endometriosis Surgery Abroad Interim Scheme. Ireland launched it in October 2025 alongside a new national plan for the disease. In plain English, the state now pays — often up front — for approved patients to have their surgery in another country. By September, 57 women had gone abroad through it, to approved specialist centers that include the Cambridge Endometriosis Endoscopic Surgery Unit and the London Endometriosis and Advanced Pelvic Surgery (LEAPS) Centre. In other words, Ireland stopped making women choose between debt and pain. Think about what that means. A government looked at its own waiting lists and decided it was faster and smarter to buy the care somewhere else. That’s the trend this week. And it’s running in both directions. Who’s moving patients: the latest numbers 🇮🇪 Irish women sent abroad for endometriosis surgery under ESAIS 57 🇰🇷 Foreign patients in South Korea, 2025 vs. 2024 +71.9% 🇺🇸 Americans choosing European IVF clinics, 2025 +37% 🇲🇾 Sarawak healthcare-traveler revenue, first half of 2026 +21% 🇵🇭 Philippine health tourism hospitals with JCI accreditation 6 of 13 Sources: Doireann Barrett / HSE figures (Sept. 2026); KHIDI via Travel and Tour World; European Fertility Society via KFF Health News; The Borneo Post; Philippine Department of Tourism via BusinessMirror. Some countries are paying to send patients out. Others are spending to pull patients in. The Philippines’ tourism department told foreign investors this month that it has now accredited 13 hospitals for health tourism, six of them with JCI accreditation. Malaysia has declared 2026 its Year of Medical Tourism. South Korea treated just over 2 million foreign patients last year — a record — and took its pitch to a trade event in Los Angeles in September. Meanwhile, Nigeria is working on the opposite. A conference in Lagos last weekend was built around keeping its patients home. So where does that leave American readers? Mostly on our own. There’s no US federal program that sends patients overseas when the bill at home is too high. A handful of self-insured employers do it. Everyone else does the research, books the flight, and pays the bill themselves. Ireland’s plan isn’t perfect either. Patient advocate Doireann Barrett, one of the first approved, says the scheme doesn’t cover hotels, food, or taxis. She crowdfunded those. Being approved, she says, isn’t the same as being able to go. Still, a government writing the check… that’s new. Could Washington ever do it? I have no idea. We’ll see. | | | | Reader Review Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch, Germany Lu-177 PSMA therapy for prostate cancer · 2024–2026 · [newsgram.com](https://www.newsgram.com/health/2026/10/13/how-i-found-right-treatment-abroad-help-from-airomedical-platform) Daniel P., 77, from Florida, had been through nearly everything for his prostate cancer: surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and targeted drugs. When his PSA climbed above 20 and new bone lesions appeared, he went looking for another option and settled on Lu-177 PSMA therapy in Germany, which he says wasn’t available to him at home.He was treated at Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch under nuclear medicine specialist Prof. Dr. Stefan Dresel. The treatment day was easier than he feared. He felt heavy fatigue, but nothing alarming. Follow-up scans showed some bone lesions improving and his PSA falling.After two stable years, new lesions appeared in May 2026\. He went back to Berlin for a second course, combined with dendritic cell therapy in Duderstadt. His PSA dropped from 5.1 to 0.682.Editor’s note: costs weren’t disclosed, and the account was published as a guest piece that names the booking platform he used. A version of this drug (Pluvicto) is FDA-approved in the US, so ask your oncologist about eligibility first. — Daniel P., Florida, interview published by NewsGram, Oct. 13, 2026 Published account | | | | Quick Reads Destination The Philippines Wants Your Recovery Trip The Philippine Department of Tourism is pitching health and wellness to foreign investors. As of September, it has accredited 13 hospitals for health tourism, six of them JCI-accredited, plus 21 ambulatory clinics, 10 dental clinics, and 63 spas. The pitch goes beyond surgery to rehab, recovery, and “healthy ageing.” Whether many Americans follow is another question. English is widely spoken there, which matters more than most people admit when you’re signing consent forms. Interesting… Trend Korea Treated 2 Million Foreign Patients Last Year South Korea counted 2,011,822 foreign patients from 201 countries in 2025\. That’s up 71.9% from 2024 and the highest figure since record-keeping began in 2009\. About 173,000 of them came from the US. Korean officials brought their pitch to a trade roadshow in Los Angeles in September. The count includes outpatient dermatology visits, so it isn’t all surgery. Still, expect Seoul to keep turning up in American feeds. Safety Note Some Famous Medical Tourism Numbers Are Wrong Medical Tourism Watch checked popular statistics against their original sources. Several didn’t survive, including widely repeated claims about how many foreign patients Turkey treats. It also found that countries count very different things. Thailand counts visits, including people who already live there. Korea counts registered patients. So when a clinic or a country quotes a giant number, ask where it came from. We’re doing the same with ours, and we’ll correct anything that doesn’t hold up. | | You’re reading Beyond Borders, published five days a week, Monday to Friday. This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making treatment decisions. We are not affiliated with any hospital, clinic, or practitioner mentioned. |