Travel Plan Information

Thailand is on the net? Employers and insurers embrace medical tourism

As 47 million other Americans, Nancy Sowa has no health insurance. So when her doctors told her last year he needed a hip replacement, the office manager of a nonprofit organization did what a growing number of citizens of the United States: It walked abroad. Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore, India, 56, was released from the hospital, “private” much smarter than that normally found in the United States, with a computer, refrigerator, cable TV, living room and a bed for your pet.

Specifically, the two-hour surgery in July by an orthopedic surgeon trained in the United States and Australia, was a success. Four months later, a resident of Durham, North Carolina feel like your old self again, taking long walks and planning their next vacation. The last tab of the proceedings, including rehabilitation therapy and plane tickets back and forth for two? , 000. It is a fraction of the, 000, 000, he was told the surgery would cost at home.

“I would not have been able to perform surgery in the United States,” Sowa said. “I did not have to consider taking a second mortgage or exploitation members of the family because I had that option. “

With Americans able to save 50% to 90% by going to places like India, Thailand and Costa Rica , the uninsured are not the only ones to consider the option of medical tourism. Increasingly, U.S. employers facing rising health care costs will increase by 9% in 2010, sending their employees abroad for treatment. Many companies are exploring the possibility of small businesses that are self-financing – which means he is responsible for paying their own health care demands

insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield are. into the act, too. For good reason: Even when employers or insurers waive co-payments and deductibles and throw in airfare and pocket money for the patient and a companion – some of the typical incentives offered to employees who have medical procedures carried out abroad – you can always save, 000, 000 or 000 by the
not only for the face and abdomen Ski Tucks

“The main factor is the reduction of costs,” said David Boucher, Companion Global Healthcare is the leading company launched by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina in 2007 to offer medical tourism plans for employers. “But when members return, they also tend to say very good things about his experience.” In the past, medical tourism was mainly attributable to the spa-rich Brazil and South Africa for a facelift and tummy tuck. More recently, however, the middle class and uninsured have also boarded planes for elective surgery could not afford />

travel as part of their health plans, the number could explode.

For now, the number of U.S. employers they are countries such as Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok “on the network” is still weak. Renee-Marie Stephano, president of the Association of Medical Tourism in West Palm Beach, Fla., estimates that the number of employers that offer options for treatment abroad is less than 10%. And nearly 350 companies have signed Companion Global Healthcare through its subsidiaries, more than 30 employees to date have travel health abroad, said Boucher, who is based in Columbia, SC

“We’re very happy where we are,” Boucher said. “It is clear from the figures that employers are not simply jump into the deep pool. They take the right approach, it measure. ”

return abroad Spurs />

In addition to questions about the quality of care and legal recourse, other concerns have been raised. Among them, with flights abroad signs of care, employers discourage their employees from seeking treatment in the United States by increasing deductibles and other methods? And what follow-up care will be like coming home, especially if there are complications after surgery abroad?

“If you look at the American College of Surgeons, who are reluctant to have to take after other medical errors, and especially not in this country,” said Judy Dugan, Director research with the Santa Monica, California based consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.

Dugan accepts the cost of medical care is to hand the United States, but she said that industry officials and politicians should seek other forms of medical tourism to reduce it. “If globalization is increasingly important in the American doctor who will probably lose their jobs either in the country, from top to bottom, the surgeon at the person who makes his bed, he said. “You really want to get to the bottom in wages abroad, rather than seeking to contain costs in the U.S.?”

Plane Tips Everyone

Most employers of medical tourism facilitator, which usually handle travel arrangements and medical care for their employees. Despite the persistence of stereotypes of hospitals in developing countries that facilities miserable invaded by deadly disease, many say that these devices offer advanced care really less than what many hospitals offer U.S. Leaders say they work only with hospitals accredited by the world recognized accrediting agencies, such as Oakbrook, Illinois-based Joint Commission International.

“There are high-quality hospitals worldwide, not only in the U.S.,” said Tom O’Hara, president of Travel Tourism Facilitator Medical and Surgical, based in Boca Raton, Florida

Like some 47 million other Americans, Nancy Sowa doesn’t have health insurance. So when her doctors last year told her she needed a total hip replacement, the office manager for a non-profit did what a growing number of U. S. citizens are doing: She headed abroad. At Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore, India, the 56-year-old was put up in a hospital “suite” far swankier than what she would typically find in the U. S. , with a computer, fridge, cable TV, sitting area and an extra bed for her travel companion. More to the point, the two-hour surgery in July, performed by an orthopedic surgeon trained in the U. S. and Australia, was a success. Four months later, the Durham, N. C. resident is feeling like her old self again, going for long hikes and planning her next vacation. The final tab for the procedure, including rehabilitative therapy and round-trip airfare for two? $12,000. That’s a fraction of the $45,000 to $90,000 she had been told the surgery would cost at home. “I wouldn’t have been able to do the surgery in the United States,” says Sowa. “I didn’t have to explore taking out a second mortgage or tapping family members because I had this other option. “With Americans able to save 50% to 90% by going to places like India, Thailand and Costa Rica, the uninsured aren’t the only ones considering the medical tourism option. Increasingly, U. S. employers, faced with soaring health care costs that are expected to rise another 9% in 2010, are sending their workers overseas for care. Many of the companies exploring the option are small- to medium-sized firms that are self funded — meaning they’re responsible for paying out their own health care claims. Insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield are getting into the act, too. For good reason: Even when employers or insurers waive co-pays and deductibles and throw in airfare and spending money for the patient and a companion — some of the typical incentives offered to employees who have medical procedures done abroad — they can still save $40,000, $50,000 or $60,000 per surgery, depending on the procedure. No Longer Just for Face Lifts and Tummy Tucks”The biggest driver is cost savings,” says David Boucher, who leads Companion Global Healthcare, the company launched by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina in 2007 to provide health tourism plans to employers. “But when members come back, they also tend to say really good things about their experience. ” In the past, medical tourism was primarily for the wealthy who jetted off to Brazil and South Africa for face lifts and tummy tucks. More recently, however, the middle class and uninsured have also been boarding planes for elective surgeries they couldn’t afford in the U. S. In fact, Americans are becoming increasingly nonchalant about hopping continents to go under the knife. Some 180,000 Americans went abroad for treatment in 2007, says Josef Woodman in his book Patients Beyond Borders. As employers and insurers start offering medical travel as part of their health plans, those numbers could explode. For now though, the number of U. S. employers that are making places like Bumrungrad International hospital in Bangkok “in network” is still small. Renée-Marie Stephano, president of the Medical Tourism Association in West Palm Beach, Fla. , estimates that number of employers that are offering treatment options abroad is less than 10%. And, of the nearly 350 companies Companion Global Healthcare has signed on through its affiliates, no more than 30 employees so far have made health trips abroad, says Boucher, who is based in Columbia, S. C. “We’re very happy with where we are,” Boucher says. “It’s very clear from the numbers that employers are not just jumping into the deep end of the pool. They are taking an appropriate, measured approach to it. “Sending Patients Abroad Spurs BacklashThey have reason to be cautious. In 2006, Blue Ridge Paper Products in Canton, N. C. abandoned plans to pay for an employee to have shoulder and gall bladder surgery in India after his union raised questions about the quality of care and medical liability overseas, The New York Times reported. The employee had volunteered to go in exchange for a share in the savings that would have come from doing the work in India, the paper said. But the United Steelworkers union sent a letter to the U. S. Senate and House committees overseeing health care saying it opposed what it called a “shocking new approach” of sending workers to low-cost counties for health care — and it demanded the worker get a health care option within the United States, The Times reported. Besides questions regarding quality of care and legal recourse, other concerns have come up. Among them, with cheap care overseas beckoning, will employers discourage their employees from seeking treatment in the U. S. by raising deductibles or other methods? And what will follow-up care be like back at home, especially if there are complications after surgery abroad?”If you look at the American College of Surgeons, they are reluctant about having to pick up after another doctor’s mistakes, especially by one not in this country,” says Judy Dugan, research director with the Santa Monica, Calif. -based consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. Dugan agrees the cost of medical care is out-of-hand in the U. S. , but she says industry and policy makers should look for ways other than medical tourism to bring it down. “If medical globalization were to become sizable in the U. S. , it would no doubt cost good jobs in the country, from the top surgeon on down to the person who makes your bed,” she says. “Do we really want to go with the salary bottom overseas, rather than look for cost containment in the United States?”Not Everyone Boards a PlaneMost employers use medical tourism facilitators, which typically handle travel and health care arrangements for their employees. Despite lingering stereotypes of hospitals in developing countries as squalid facilities overrun with the deathly ill, many say these outfits actually offer cutting-edge care equal to or superior to what many hospitals offer in the U. S. The facilitators say they work exclusively with hospitals accredited by globally-recognized accreditation agencies, such as the Oakbrook, Ill. -based Joint Commission International. “There are top quality hospitals all round the world, not just in the U. S. ,” says Tom O’Hara, president of medical tourism facilitator Surgical Trip, based in Boca Raton, Fla.