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Related to our discussions of the U.S. healthcare crisis:
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 Takes Flight - Yahoo! News (broken link)
Eventually, doctors will figure out that they could form group practices based in foreign clinics and then fly patients in for free, provide high-end health care, make huge profits for themsleves, and still save money for their patients. If Castro ever dies and relations are normalized, the Cuban medical community may be able to start doing this the very next day...
Sag I used to live on the border in a couple different states. The hospitals, dentists, and dental care specialists are packed with gringos on the weekends. I used to go across the border for my dental care. We received top notch care and it was still a lot cheaper than the US, even with my insurance plan.
I don't doubt that at all. The question is how long will it be, given that the US continues along its current path of inactivity re health care reform, before that sort of one-man cross-border operation based on foot and short-run auto traffic starts to get packaged and marketed at industrial grade...
Related to our discussions of the U.S. healthcare crisis:
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 Takes Flight - Yahoo! News (broken link)
I saw a segment on the news a week or two ago where American medical patients were heading overseas for heart procedures. The patients were even treated by doctors that went to American medical schools, all for a fraction of the price. I don't remember what country it was. Taiwan or Indonesia or something.
Sag you may be on to something - blue cross has approved a program for Americans to go abroad for their health care needs.
An often cited example of the cost differences between the American and overseas systems is the cost of the average hip replacement. In the US, patients can expect the bill to run about $45,000 while the same procedure overseas will cost just $16,000. Including travel costs.
With the growing number of Americans willing to travel to other countries for medical procedures ranging from hip replacements to heart surgery, insurance companies have started to take notice. Recently, Blue Cross/Blue Shield - a giant in the medical insurance industry - decided to trial a program allowing customers to use their coverage to support these activities. In a trial program, all Blue Cross customers in South Carolina will be able to use their medical coverage to seek care overseas.
While the advantages of cost savings may initially seem very attractive to potential patients, the medical system in the United States is still the strongest and most advanced in the world, with a powerful system of consumer protections backing its practice. While seeking care in other countries may save money, the long term outcomes are unknown, with quality controls and legal recourse options extremely limited.Blue Cross Supports Americans Going Abroad for Health Care
Sag you may be on to something - blue cross has approved a program for Americans to go abroad for their health care needs.
Interesting. I hadn't heard that. Not quite enough to encourage me to move to South Carolina, though. There are a lot of bad things to say about insurance companies overall, but it's still true that much of the industry has at least kept an ear and eye open to new ideas. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this...
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