Posted on 07/06/2007 7:57:19 PM PDT by libertarianPA
FRIDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Soaring U.S. medical costs are causing many Americans to take to the skies on "medical tourism" junkets, looking for high-quality yet low-priced health care at foreign clinics.
In many cases, patients get exactly what they are looking for, but experts also warn that the booming industry does have some risks.
"My own advice would be to look carefully at the accreditation of the hospital and consider the nature of the procedure. Are you sure it is the procedure you need? And is it done well at the place you are going?" said Dr. Ann Marie Kimball, a professor of epidemiology and health services at the University of Washington School of Public Health, in Seattle.
The surge in medical tourism over the past decade is being driven by rising U.S. health-care costs and growing numbers of uninsured or under-insured Americans, said Josef Woodman, the author of a guidebook on the topic called Patients Beyond Borders.
Almost 45 million Americans, or slightly more than 15 percent of the population, are currently uninsured, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics from 2005, the latest available.
Woodman estimated that more than 150,000 Americans traveled abroad for health care in 2006. The number is projected to double in 2007, he said.
"That 150,000 number is conservative," he said. "Some experts say 400,000." Among the top destinations: Southeast Asia and Mexico, with many other countries, such as Costa Rica, expected to be the next popular destinations for medical care.
Medical tourism companies, in collaboration with special "health travel agents," have sprung up across the country, and some insurance plans are participating in these endeavors, as well.
In California, for instance, Salud con Health Net, a program of Health Net of California, provides access to health care for their insured Latino participants for services conducted across the border in Mexico. And BlueCross/BlueShield of South Carolina and BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina now offer medical care at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, among treatment options. Bumrungrad treats more than 400,000 international patients every year.
The price savings on cross-border medical care can be dramatic. For example, one commercial medical tourism Web site (www.medicaltourism.com) estimates that a heart bypass in the United States costs $130,000, but just $10,000 in India and $11,000 in Thailand. A hip replacement in the United States would cost $43,000 but just $12,000 in Thailand or Singapore. Hysterectomy costs are about $20,000 here but $3,000 in India.
The medical tourism companies that have sprung up can help travelers find the hospital that provides the procedure or care they need. A growing number of overseas hospitals are accredited under the Joint Commission International, the international arm of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO), which accredits U.S. hospitals and other facilities.
As the practice has become more common, medical tourism has evolved, Woodman said. While the practice used to be associated with vacations -- get your facelift, sit on the beach -- and sometimes still is, for most procedures, he recommended separating the surgery from the vacation.
"Even after a minor surgery, there can be swelling," Woodman said. "Most doctors will advise you to stay out of the sun after surgery."
"It's not a 'fun in the sun' gimmick," he added. "People are going overseas and getting serious surgeries."
Medical tourism isn't without some concerns, of course. Experts in the United States worry that consumers might end up getting substandard care i f they don't choose their hospital and physician carefully.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has issued a briefing paper on the subject, cautioning potential patients that "it may be difficult to assess the training and credentials of surgeons outside of the United States." The ASPS also stressed that typical vacation activities -- which are sometimes marketed as part of a surgery trip -- should be avoided to allow for proper healing and reduce the risk of complications.
Even when patients select and book medical care abroad through a health travel agent, they must remain critical, informed health-care consumers, Woodman said.
The main thing a patient needs to do, he said, is check out the accreditation of the hospital and the credentials of the surgeon.
Spread of disease is another potential concern, said Kimball, who is also director of the APEC Asia Pacific Emerging Infectious Disease Network and author of Risky Trade: Infectious Disease in the Era of Global Trade.
"Medical tourism is obviously a route for pathogen spread," Kimball said, noting that different hospitals in different regions may have different types of flora. "The extent to which it's a problem versus a theoretical concern is as yet not known," she said. "I can't issue a blank 'go' or 'don't go,'" she added.
Kimball's advice: Look carefully at the accreditation of the hospital concerned and do your homework before you board the plane. "Check out the number of surgeries done, the success rates," Woodman added. It's also key to ask the surgeon you talk to if he or she will perform the operation, not an assistant.
Kimball said she urges potential medical tourists to talk it over with their own physician. As the concept and the practice of medical tourism has evolved, she said, a physician is not likely to automatically rule out the idea.
I take it you are serious. Have you ever been there? There are probably a dozen hospitals in Thailand that I would take over any hospital in my native Canada but Bumgrungrad would be my first choice.
I haven’t been to Thailand in over 35 years. I stumbled upon it online while trying to figure out what to do about health insurance. After studying it, I think it’s a ‘slam dunk’ as an investment.
When you talk about costs, you must then consider - why are costs so high. Government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and countless state programs don’t pay doctors & hospitals what it costs to treat patients. They pay them what they think they should be paid. As a result, Drs & hosptials charge patients & private insurance companies inflated prices to supplement.
On top of that, almost every state has laws that dictate what insurance companies must cover in their policies - including massage & aroma therapies, accupuncture, herbal treatments, etc. They are not allowed to let consumers pick & choose the coverages they want.
Ins companies are not fully innocent here either because they know they don’t make money off sick people. So, to make up for that, they convince healthy people that they NEED coverage - which is not guarantee to access.
It’s imperative we get away from this notion that our health is someone else’s responsibility and treat our health insurance like we treat car insurance - pay for our check-ups and tests and use insurance for the catastrophic instances.
Government in any form of regulation or control over the health industry is NOT the answer. I’d like to hear one candidate talk about the radical idea of de-regulation.
Thats quite smart. It seems on a 150,000$ operation they could pay the person 50,000$ to go out of country and pay for the surgery there, and still come out ahead:).
Dream on. I also do not like subsidizing the cost it takes to take care of the deadbeats and illegals. However, many cannot be faulted for their poor health. It is often hereditary. You’ll think differently when you come down with something. Enjoy your invincibility while you can.
Tell that to the woman (an R.N) I did a total odontectomy on just yesterday. She went to Mexico a few years ago to have extensive dental work done at the cost of $6,000. They did a crown on almost every tooth in her head. When I removed her teeth(22 of them) the crowns practically fell of just looking at them. Sad thing is that this lady was only forty and her teeth were actually in pretty solid condition (exept for the crowns which were defective and non restorable. She now has a plastic smile and is very unhappy. Not the first case I have seen from Mexico. OTOH as an oral surgeon it keeps me busy cleaning up the mess. For all those who think licensing medical types is just keeping the shop closed I will be happy to discuss some of the disasters I see. P.S. Total Odontectomy=removal of all teeth.
As more illegal aliens flood our country, the cost of medicine skyrockets. You see, insured and uninsured Americans foot the bill for them, because hospitals and doctors transfer the costs to the people who will pay. ‘
The burden is WORSE on the uninsured because they pay cash and they don’t have a lobby, like the insurance companies, to pressure the hospitals. Uninsured patients often pay 3 times what an insured patient pays for the same treatment.
Hospitals and doctors don’t have price lists for their services because they can’t play fast and loose with the billing process if they have a declared cost for a procedure.
This is what illegal immigration and the unprecedented influence of the corporatisation of medical care has done to our system. For now, it’s from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.....unless you’re part of the protected class, like illegal aliens or insurance companies.
You forgot to mention the government mandated costs for treating the 30 million illegal aliens in this country and the ‘medical tourists’ who come here from asia and the third world and inundate our county hospitals to get free medical care— SF General is one fine example.
They don’t have to be faulted. And insurance need not be so expensive. Again, if de-regulation were the order of the day, you’d see health costs drop dramatically and most of the sick would be able to afford it. The rest could be taken care of through private charity.
We will all have something significantly wrong with us at some point. That’s not the issue. What’s relevant is what system will provide the most people with the best care. We haven’t had a free market health system for 60 years. Before employers and govt started paying for it, most people got by. Were there those who couldn’t afford even basic service? Sure. But to pretend that life can ever be perfect is what gets us into economically unstable and substandard programs like Mediare & Medicaid... and probably soon, universal health care.
Welfare, for example, was to end poverty simply by redirecting money from the wealty to the poor. Despite what Dems today say, that WAS the goal. Yet poverty still exists, and worse, the program has produced millions of people who are perfectly able to work, yet choose to live off the govt.
First of all if you think that physicians are the only thing that make a hospital tick you're sadly mistaken.And second of all,have you ever been to Southeast Asia? I have. And while it could very well be that the hospital you mention is good by Southeast Asian standards what I've seen of that part of the world...alone....would make me *very* suspicious of *any* hospital located there.
Bumrungrad was the first Asian hospital accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the international arm of the organization that reviews and accredits American hospitals. Their checklist includes over 350 standards, for everything from surgical hygiene and anesthesia procedures to the systems in place to credential medical staff and nurses. JCI sends a team to re-review hospitals at 3-year intervals. Bumrungrad was first accredited in 2002 and re-accredited in 2005.
Bumrungrad was the first Asian hospital accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the international arm of the organization that reviews and accredits American hospitals. Their checklist includes over 350 standards, for everything from surgical hygiene and anesthesia procedures to the systems in place to credential medical staff and nurses. JCI sends a team to re-review hospitals at 3-year intervals. Bumrungrad was first accredited in 2002 and re-accredited in 2005.
Yes and do they have a physician here in America that can look after you if something doesn’t go right with one of their procedures?
LOL. Yeah, I've lived there almost 20 years.
would make me *very* suspicious of *any* hospital located there.
Well, when I lived in Calgary the 8 year old daughter of someone I know well died from a burst appendix after being sent home twice from the biggest hospital there with the standard 'take two Tylenols' type treatment. I'll leave you with your 'suspicions' of the top southeast Asia medical facilities, but it pretty clear they aren't based on any facts or research.
That’s what your local primary caretaker is for. Emergencies, of course, would also still be handled locally, however I see outsourcing the expensive stuff, whenever possible, to be the new trend.
You said, “Notice how this reporter doesn’t question how these people have money to travel abroad but no money for insurance?”
That’s the beauty of it. You can have major surgery and the air fare included for way less than the limit on your credit card. Now Americans even have friends in India when they want the world’s best health, eye or dental care. They are America’s Medical Solutions at www.americasmedicalsolutions.com They take care of all you need and hold your hand too. Their services are free to us because the hospitals pay them.
“Notice how this reporter doesn’t question how these people have money to travel abroad but no money for insurance? “
I also note that you probably have never priced an individual insurance policy. I can’t imagine what the cost would be if you had pre-existing coronary artery disease.
A heart bypass in Thailand is far cheaper than even a single years insurance premiums in the US with such a pre-existing condition, presuming you could be insured at all.
I also note that you do not point out the vast distorting effect of the US government Medicare/Medicaid system.
I also note that you do not point out that a self-insured individual pays far more than an insured individual, partly because of the distorting effect of government.
You also don’t question why employers should offer insurance at all, or that fewer and fewer are actually doing so because of the cost.
Foreigners come here only if they can afford it. These are folks who cannot afford it here.
Hey, it’s another rational economic decision and as such is welcomed in a free-market (which medicine in the US is decidedly NOT)
You take the risks, you reap the rewards/consequences of your decision. Sounds good to me.
Have already done it. It works!
Arrive, unjetlag, sightsee a bit, and have your operation (in the case of Singapore for example, absolutely SPOTLESS--the whold damn country is one big semiconductor "clean room" it seems) and in some places, for one fifth to one tenth the cost of medical service in the USA.
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