Does Medical Tourism Save Money

Is medical tourism worth the cost savings?

If you require a hip replacement and your health insurance company refuses to cover the cost, you could face hefty medical bills. The procedure can cost up to $54,500 out of pocket at Catholic Medical Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire. However, if you are willing to fly to Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand, you could receive the treatment for a fraction of the cost in the United States, paying only $12,000 to $14,000 for the procedure.

Medical tourism, or traveling abroad for cheaper care, is a rapidly growing industry. According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, approximately 750,000 Americans traveled overseas for medical care in 2007. According to the center, medical tourism is growing at a rate of 35% per year, with the number of American medical tourists expected to exceed 20 million by 2016.

Who is traveling abroad for care?

There is little incentive for policyholders with low- or no-deductible health plans to travel abroad for cheaper care, and few providers consider such coverage "in network."

People whose health insurance plans refuse to cover costly procedures such as fertility treatments, hip replacements, or cosmetic surgery, as well as those with high-deductible insurance plans and the uninsured, are all good candidates for medical tourism.

Barbara Schantz of Huntsville, Alabama, for example, traveled to Europe for Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection after her insurer refused to cover the fertility treatments. The treatments would have cost $15,000 each in the US, but Schantz paid $3,000 in Germany and $2,000 in Finland the following year.

"We now have two sets of twins, plus we got to enjoy the countries we visited," Schantz says.

Many self-insured employers are turning to medical tourism to cut costs.

According to David Boucher, president of Companion Global Healthcare, a BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina subsidiary company that assists individuals and employers in booking international medical procedures, it is common for self-insured employers to have $100,000 deductibles on their company policies, so it is in their best interest to seek treatment discounts. Hannaford Bros., a Maine-based supermarket chain, was one of the first to take advantage of overseas opportunities in 2007, offering to send employees in need of hip or knee replacements to Singapore. As an incentive, Hannaford waived the deductibles and co-pays for participating employees and agreed to cover transportation costs for each patient and a companion. The one-of-a-kind offer prompted local hospitals to match the Singapore hospital's cost savings, allowing patients to receive care at home for the same low price.

Medical tourism, without a doubt, can assist individuals and employers in obtaining discounts on specialized medical services. However, there are several important factors to consider when considering medical treatment in another country.

Is the procedure suitable for medical tourism?

An emergency appendectomy, on the other hand, is not a good candidate for medical tourism. Knee, hip, and heart valve replacements, as well as hernia repairs, are ideal procedures for medical tourists, according to Boucher, because "patients can travel long distances safely, hospitals do a lot of them, and the rehabilitation process is short with relatively few complications."

It is also critical to ensure that you do not have any other medical conditions that would make the journey difficult. Potential medical tourists, according to Boucher, should get MRIs and other scans done in the United States and have the results sent to the foreign hospital where the procedure is scheduled. Before you spend money on accommodations and airfare, the treating physician can tell you whether or not you should travel for the operation.

What happens if there are complications?

If complications arise after a medical tourist has returned home, flying overseas for a corrective procedure is usually not an option. As a result, it's critical to plan ahead of time with a local specialist so that he or she can manage your follow-up care.

That can be costly at times. Dr. Robert Wilcox, a Plano, Texas-based plastic surgeon, says he's had to deal with follow-up care for many patients who got into trouble after seeking cheaper cosmetic procedures in Mexico and Costa Rica.

"I've seen patients return with infections because the standards and oversights aren't the same as what's available in the United States," Wilcox says. "Sometimes they'll have post-op bleeding and have to go to the ER." Their health insurance policies typically do not cover the cost of these complications, leaving patients to foot the entire bill."

Specialized medical tourism insurance policies, such as those offered by Global Protective Solutions, can reduce the risk of complications and the financial damage they can cause. "You can get a $250,000 policy for around $1,000 that covers extra time in the hospital or even accidental death," says Boucher.

Does the facility meet your standards?

When considering traveling to another country for medical treatment, make sure the facility has been thoroughly vetted by a third party. Companion Global Healthcare and other medical tourism facilitators can help you with this.

"Our organization collaborates with sophisticated hospitals that are part of the international networks of the majority of major medical companies," says Boucher. "These aren't mud huts filled with rusted scalpels."

If you prefer to save money and schedule a medical procedure on your own, look for a facility that has been accredited by the Joint Commission International, an organization that has surveyed and approved health care standards for facilities in over 80 countries. Make sure you've discussed your medical plans with the doctor at your preferred facility ahead of time so you know how much time to allow for your journey.

Given the costs and time involved in traveling, you may want to spend more time in the country sightseeing and relaxing. After all, recovering from surgery on a beach in Phuket will be far more comfortable than a 20-hour flight back to the United States.