Why are my employees so freaked out about the idea of going to India for medical care?

Here's the deal - I run a small 20-employee business in the auto sector. We used to have our own health plan, but that got too expensive, so we switched to a shared plan where we pooled with other small businesses. But now even that is getting too costly, and my options are pretty much either to drop coverage entirely (which is not what I want to do), or go with a plan that is a lot cheaper, but which only covers certain procedures (like joint replacements, and other procedures that are way overpriced in America) if they are done at a medical facility in the Indian city of Chennai. I floated this idea with the employees, and their hostile reactions shocked me. I actually flew to Chennai to investigate this place, and it is NICE! I had some dental work and blood tests done there for cheap. There are no shared patient rooms; patients get their own private suites. The atmosphere is much calmer and more relaxed than an American hospital. It is extremely clean. And it's near the beach! Why the heck would my employees be upset at the idea of traveling to a place that nice for certain procedures? Is it because it's in India, and not America? Why would that be a problem? Chennai is a major city with plenty of flights to America. Anyway, I think outsourcing is the future of healthcare, so I might as well be on the leading edge, right? Would YOU be comfortable with a health plan that is partly based out of India? Why or why not? What if the alternative is no employer coverage at all? I think my employees have unrealistic expectations about what we can afford.
--------------------
You sound like a responsible employer who is seeking the best deal for your employees that you can afford. Thank you! That said, I really can't blame them for not wanting to travel half-way around the world for a medical procedure (especially if they've seen the movie _Slumdog Millionaire_). Besides the obvious hassle, in most cases their families couldn't afford to be there with them or it would be a *huge* expense for them. (That doesn't mean that you aren't right). Attention Proust's employees: lose that extra 50 lbs. and don't engage in high-impact aerobics and you probably won't need a knee-replacement. :)
Source