Medical tourism: one answer to rising health care costs?
Why spend $160,000 on heart valve replacement surgery in Boston when the same procedure costs as little as $8,000 in India or a $43,000 hip replacement in New York when it can be done in Thailand for about $12,000? And that includes airfare, luxury accommodations, US or British trained doctors and, English speaking staff,
Ten years ago, the practice of traveling to another country for medical care known as medical tourism usually involved people getting breast implants or face lifts abroad. However, more Americans than ever are opting for significant medical and dental care thousands of miles from home, many taking these so-called “medical holidays” because they can not afford the high costs of similar procedures in the states when faced with rising health insurance premiums, high deductibles or no insurance at all.
According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, in 2007, an estimated 750,000 Americans traveled abroad to receive some kind of elective medical treatment with India, Singapore, Thailand, and Costa Rica as favored destinations.
And it’s not just individual patients considering overseas care. In the last few years, major insurers and employers have signed contracts with companies to cover a range of elective medical procedures performed at international facilities catering to medical tourists. Outsourcing of healthcare is a growing business.
In January of this year, Wellpoint, the nation’s largest health insurer in terms of renrollment included an India outsourcing benefit for employees of Serigraph, Inc. in Wisconsin. Healthbase Online Inc, a Boston based medical tourism facilitator is collaborating with Wellpoint on a pilot basis to provide global health care coverage to these employees. Those who choose to have non-emergency care in India such as major joint replacement or upper and lower back fusion have their deductibles and co-insurance waived as well as all medical costs and travel paid for the patient and a companion,
Blue Shield and Health Net of California offers its members care in Mexico. Aetna has a program for small businesses that allows immigrant workers to receive all of their care—not just selected procedures—in "network" hospitals in Mexico, through Vitalidad México con Aetna.
United Group Programs (UGP) in Boca Raton, Florida, a third party administrator, has targeted self-insured employers by promoting overseas surgeries to over 40 corporations. UGP claims its plan saves employers 50 percent in health care costs and cuts employee contributions to zero.
Companion Healthcare. an international subsidiary of Blue Cross of South Carolina, set up to manage all health and dental care delivered outside of the United States has signed alliances in the last few years with about a dozen hospitals worldwide including Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand, the first Asian hospital accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) the international arm of the organization that reviews and accredits American hospitals.
Aetna now manages a self-insured group of 27,000 members that introduced a medical-tourism benefit for hip and knee surgery for U.S. employees who want an option to reduce the $3,000 deductible on elective surgery.
Some US businesses are beginning to cover lower-cost options abroad. Last year, Hannaford supermarkets in Maine added an international option for hip replacement in Singapore where the cost is about $10,000 to $15,000, compared to more than $40,000 in the U.S. Generally, under the Hannaford health plans, the company pays 80 percent of an employee's medical costs -- until the worker reaches an out-of-pocket limit of $2,000 to $3,000. For an employee who goes to Singapore for a hip replacement, Hannaford will pay the entire medical tab; the worker won't have any out-of-pocket costs. In addition, the firm will pay for travel costs, including airfare and lodging for the patient and a companion, up to $10,000.
Blue Ridge Paper Products in North Carolina, is offering similar employees incentives to obtain major medical care overseas, providing up to $10,000 for undergoing expensive U.S. procedures in select hospitals in India.
Is this the future?
The medical tourism trend is clearly growing. The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions estimates that 6 million Americans will travel abroad for their care by 2010. The primary driver for this growth has been cost savings. According to Victor Lazzaro Jr., CEO of BridgeHealth International, Inc.,a global medical travel network, “If only 10 percent of the top 50 low-risk treatments were performed abroad, the U.S. health care system would save about $1.4 billion annually.”
At a time when healthcare reform is focused on costs, such an enormous savings is obviously a positive, BUT ONLY IF quality of care is not sacrificed. .How can consumers be sure that the medical treatment they receive outside of the US is up to recognized standards? What are the issues consumers need to consider and the questions they need to ask before jumping on a plane for India or Thailand to have that heart valve repaired or hip replaced?
Next, Part 2 will deal with advocacy and oversight.
For more information: CDC guide for travelers seeking medical care outside the US
Recommended reading: Patients Beyond Borders by Josef Woodman
Comments
Excellent Article by Deborah Shilan. Physicians of Indian Origin constitute more than 30% of the physician workforce in America. Americans find them Competent Caring and Compassionate. Most Specialists in India are American Board certified too. So Americans will feel quite comfortable going to India for medical care.
If you would ask my son about Bumrungrad he would tell you not to go near it. Unfortunately, he can't tell you since he died at Bumrungrad.
Many of these hospitals abroad are owned by American corporations.
Since the U.S. has no jurisdiction, you're on your own.
U.S. Joint Commission International accreditation is meaningless. No standards are enforced or policed. Foreign hospitals pay to be accredited to give the impression of credibility. Don't believe it.
I filed murder charges against Bumrungrad and several of its personnel. You can read about this on www.bumrungraddeath.com
The U.S. companies who export patients for cheaper care, don't care about the safety of their patients.
If you want to understand Medical Tourism, ask yourself: who stands to make the most money from this sham?
Do a google search for Josh Goldberg Bumrungrad and get ready for a real education and not yet another soft ball piece of unresearched journalism.
In the UK it's quite a similar situation, thousands of people go for dental treatment abroad though clinics like www.dentalholiday.co.uk to save money and time.
Excellent article. Of couse there will be people who don't have a good (even fatal) experience but then people die in U.S. hospitals every day. If you are sensible and check your facts and hospital credentials you'll be no worse off then in a U.S. hospital. I had 2 hip replacements at the top hospital in the U.S. and paid (well my insurance paid) $45,000 per hip. But there were people at the same hospital having the same procedure who did not have the same result I had. So much has to do with the individual surgeon and the medical state of the patient.
If I needed something else major done ( or something that would not be covered by insurance you can believe that I would check out an overseas facility). And I do mean check. There are hospitals and doctors I would not trust here.
Unfortunately this is leading to a 2 tier system of medicine. If "universal care" becomes the norm and is controlled by the government you can believe that I will be looking overseas to take control
Shelia G badly understates the risks of medical tourism. Check out what has happened to the Australians who have been butchered at Bumrungrad and other medical tourist destinations in South East Asia.
Of course there are bad doctors and hospitals everywhere.
I'm telling you all thatmoney and not good care. They are run by executives with ties to one of the worst corporations in the healthcare business, Tenet Healthcare. They have been fined billions and go back to business as usual.
www.bumrungraddeath.com
If you have ANY problems, there are no legal protections.
Please read what happened to my son at Bumrungrad. This was not just a mistake by a doctor or two. This was a concerted effort of a hospital to commit a crime and then cover it up. Why?
Do a search for Organ Trafficking and weep.
Ladies and gentlemen, you have no idea what you are getting into!
These people are working hard to get your business. Don't let them get your lif
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