Short answer: even after flights and three weeks in India for two people, a knee replacement typically costs about half or less of the average US cash price, and heart bypass about 89%–93% less. Canadians and Britons also skip months of waiting.
Work Out Your Own Saving
Pick a treatment. We fill in the average US cash price; type your own quote instead (from the US, Canada, the UK or Europe, in US dollars). Change any trip cost to match your plans.
You could save about US$11,800–16,500
51%–71% less than the average US cash price for a knee replacement, including flights and three weeks in India for two.
Trip costs are assumptions you can change. India prices are published ranges converted at ₹95 = US$1 (August 2026). Nights in India: your surgeon or transplant team decides when you can fly home.
Prices Side by Side
The same operations, in accredited private hospitals. The India bar shows the top of each published range, so the real gap is often bigger.
- Knee replacement
- US$23,157US average cash price
- US$6,316India, top of range
- Hip replacement
- US$23,962US average cash price
- US$6,316India, top of range
- Spinal fusion
- US$48,691US average cash price
- US$6,316India, top of range
- Heart bypass
- US$104,751US average cash price
- US$6,316India, top of range
Sources: Turquoise Health (US average cash prices, 2026); CARE Hospitals and PACE Hospitals (India published ranges). Rupees converted at ₹95 = US$1. India prices exclude flights and stay.
| Treatment | United States | India (published range) | Saving before travel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knee replacement (one knee) | US$23,157 | ₹1,50,000–6,00,000 ≈ US$1,600–6,300 | 73%–93% |
| Hip replacement | US$23,962 | ₹1,50,000–6,00,000 ≈ US$1,600–6,300 | 74%–93% |
| Spinal fusion (lower back) | US$48,691 | ₹2,30,000–6,00,000 ≈ US$2,400–6,300 | 87%–95% |
| Heart bypass (CABG) | US$104,751 | ₹2,00,000–6,00,000 ≈ US$2,100–6,300 | 94%–98% |
| Kidney transplant | US$446,800* | ₹6,20,000–12,00,000 ≈ US$6,500–12,600 | 97%–99% |
| Liver transplant | US$1,017,800* | ₹14,50,000–22,50,000 ≈ US$15,300–23,700 | 98%–99% |
| IVF (one cycle) | Varies widely by clinic — use your own quote | ₹1,00,000–2,50,000 ≈ US$1,100–2,600 | Depends on your quote |
US: average cash prices (Turquoise Health, 2026). *Transplants: Milliman's estimated total billed charges from 30 days before to 180 days after the transplant, including medicines — list prices, which insurers usually negotiate down, so this comparison is not like for like. India: published price ranges from CARE Hospitals (knee, hip, heart bypass, transplants, IVF) and PACE Hospitals (spinal fusion), converted at ₹95 = US$1. International patient packages can cost more than these ranges.
The Time You Get Back
In Canada and the UK, treatment is free at the point of care, but the wait can be long. Months on a waiting list can mean months of pain, lost work and worry.
- Canada · neurosurgery
- 49.9 weeks
- Canada · orthopaedics
- 48.6 weeks
- Canada · all (median)
- 28.6 weeks
- England · NHS median
- 12 weeks
Sources: Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn 2025 (median wait from GP referral to treatment); NHS England referral-to-treatment data for July 2026, via Cover. In India, a specialist video consultation within days and a surgery date within weeks are common once your reports are reviewed.
Canadians who pay privately at home report around C$33,000 for a knee replacement (CBC, 2025). In England, a private hospital guide price for a knee replacement is £17,445 (Nuffield Health Leeds).
What the India Price Usually Includes
Usually included
- The surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees
- The operating theatre and the hospital room for the planned days
- A standard implant or stent (heart stents have a legal price cap in India)
- Routine medicines, tests and nursing during your stay
- Physiotherapy while you are in hospital
Usually extra
- Flights, and your stay after you leave hospital
- Premium implants, if you choose them
- Extra days in hospital, and treatment of complications
- Tests before admission and medicines to take home (often)
- Your companion's or donor's travel and stay
What BookMedTrip adds:
- A video consultation with a specialist before you travel
- The hospital's written estimate, and a medical visa letter
- Flights, airport pickup, a stay near the hospital and an interpreter
- One coordinator from your first message to your follow-up at home
Your Trip, Costed: a Worked Example
A US patient has one knee replaced and travels with one companion. They stay three weeks in India. Every trip cost below is an assumption you can change in the calculator above.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Knee replacement in India (published range) | US$1,579–US$6,316 |
| Return flights, 2 people × US$1,300 (assumption) | US$2,600 |
| Stay, 21 nights × US$60 (assumption) | US$1,260 |
| Food and local travel, 2 people × 21 days × US$25 (assumption) | US$1,050 |
| Visas and other costs (assumption) | US$150 |
| Total in India | US$6,639–US$11,376 |
| Average US cash price for the same operation | US$23,157 |
| Your saving | US$11,781–US$16,518 (51%–71%) |
The same trip for heart bypass costs about US$7,165–US$11,376 in total, against an average US cash price of US$104,751.
Why Is It Cheaper — and Is It Safe?
- Lower costs, not lower standards: salaries, buildings and insurance cost far less in India.
- Prices capped by law: India's drug-price regulator caps the price of heart stents (NPPA, April 2026).
- Accredited hospitals: India has more than 1,299 hospitals accredited by NABH, its national hospital standard.
- Packages, in writing: you see the hospital's written estimate before you book anything.
- Checked by us: we verify doctors and hospitals, and no hospital can pay to be recommended. How we choose.
Risks to Weigh Honestly
- Flying after surgery raises the risk of blood clots. Your surgeon decides when it is safe to fly home.
- Complications can add days and money. Ask what the written estimate says happens then.
- Your insurance at home may not pay for treatment abroad, or for problems that follow it. Ask your insurer in writing first.
- Follow-up at home still matters: stitches, scans, medicines and physiotherapy. Line up a doctor before you go.
- Legal routes differ. Complaints and compensation work differently from your home country.
- These are indicative prices. Published ranges are a guide; international packages can cost more. Only your written estimate counts.
Get your own written estimate
Send us your reports. A specialist reviews them, and you get the hospital's written estimate before you book anything.
निःशुल्क प्रश्न सोध्नुहोस्Specialist video consultation — $99WhatsApp us
Independent research. Figures are quoted from the published sources listed below, as they stood when we checked them (October 2026). Prices are averages and published ranges, not quotes. BookMedTrip is not affiliated with Turquoise Health, Milliman, CARE Hospitals, PACE Hospitals, Nuffield Health or any other organisation named here, and receives no commission from them. Our CARE Community is BookMedTrip's own programme and is not connected with CARE Hospitals. If anything is out of date, write to care@bookmedtrip.com and we will correct it.
प्रश्नहरू
Is treatment in India still cheaper after flights and a hotel?
Usually, yes. In our worked example, a knee replacement for a US patient travelling with one companion for three weeks costs about US$6,639–US$11,376 in total, against an average US cash price of US$23,157.
Will my insurance pay?
Most plans do not pay for planned treatment abroad, and some exclude problems that follow it. Ask your insurer in writing before you book. Some employers offer medical-travel benefits.
How long do I need to stay in India?
It depends on the treatment and on you. We plan three weeks for a joint replacement, and longer for transplants. Your surgeon decides when it is safe to fly.
Can my family come with me?
Yes. India grants up to two e-Medical Attendant visas for each e-Medical visa. Apply on the official portal at least 4 days before you travel.
Why should I trust these prices?
Every figure links to its source. They are published ranges and averages, not quotes. Your written estimate from the hospital is the price that counts, and we show it to you before you book.
स्रोतहरू
- Turquoise Health — Total knee replacement, average cash price (accessed Oct 2026)
- Turquoise Health — Total hip replacement, average cash price (accessed Oct 2026)
- Turquoise Health — Spinal fusion (non-cervical), average cash price (accessed Oct 2026)
- Turquoise Health — Coronary bypass with cardiac catheterisation, average cash price (accessed Oct 2026)
- Milliman — 2025 U.S. organ and tissue transplants: cost estimates (Feb 2025)
- CARE Hospitals — Knee replacement cost in India
- CARE Hospitals — Hip replacement cost in India
- CARE Hospitals — Heart bypass surgery cost in India
- CARE Hospitals — Kidney transplant cost in India
- CARE Hospitals — Liver transplant cost in India
- CARE Hospitals — IVF cost in India
- PACE Hospitals — Spinal fusion surgery cost in India (2026)
- Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital — Knee replacement self-pay guide price
- CBC News — Why some Canadians are using their savings, GoFundMe to pay for private surgeries (8 Sep 2025)
- Fraser Institute — Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2025
- Cover — NHS waiting list increases to 7.33m (NHS England data for July 2026, 10 Sep 2026)
- NHS England — Referral to treatment statistical press notice, August 2026 data
- Medical Dialogues — NPPA revises coronary stent ceiling prices from April 2026 (7 Apr 2026)
- National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH)
- HDFC Sky — Rupee closes at 95.46 against the US dollar (25 Aug 2026)
- Indian e-Visa portal, Government of India
