Medical Tourism Surges Despite Recession

In these recessionary times, almost every industry is seeing significant losses.

Not so with medical tourism.

Hospitals specializing in Medical Tourism report seeing a 30 percent increase in business from international patients last year. Discounting other nationalities, The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions estimated the number of Americans that traveled abroad for healthcare in 2007 at 750,000. As money gets tighter, more people are opting to travel long distances to save on their healthcare bills. Current research indicates that more than one million Americans are traveling overseas to receive medical treatment.

While traveling abroad for medical care is not a new concept, it is only in the past few years that the medical tourism industry has exploded. International hospitals in foreign countries began focusing their marketing efforts on global clientele and medical tourism companies like MedTrava were created to help fill the gap between the patient's need for information, support, and assistance and the hospital's ability to devote its valuable resources to this area.

With the current state of the U.S. healthcare system, it's no wonder that many uninsured Americans are eschewing medical care in their home country in favor of medical tourism. More than 47 million Americans are uninsured and nearly 120 million Americans are underinsured. The statistics for certain states are appalling. Only 76.1 percent of Texans and 79.9 percent of New Mexicans were insured as of 2007. Worse still, only 81 percent of Mississippians and 81.5 percent of Texans could get medical care when they needed it.

President Obama recognizes the problems inherent in the U.S. system of healthcare, saying "Fixing what's wrong with our health care system is no longer a luxury we hope to achieve -- it's a necessity we cannot postpone any longer."

But with no clear idea of how the administration will pay for the estimated $630 billion price tag for its proposed reform, and with Republicans remaining vehemently opposed to nationalized healthcare, it could be a long while until Obama can make good on his promise of "It's time to deliver."

In the meantime, more and more Americans will continue to feel the pinch of healthcare bills. A recent Harvard University study reveals that medical bills play a factor in more than 62 percent of all bankruptcies.

And it's not only the uninsured that are affected by hefty medical bills; 78 percent of those citing medical bills as a reason for filing bankruptcy were actually insured.

Part of this reason is the ever-increasing share of the medical bill insured consumers are expected to pay. According to a survey by the National Opinion Research Center and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the annual out-of-pocket medical expenses for an insured worker increased 34 percent between 2004 and 2007. The researchers recognized this problem and stated in their report, "in the United States, if you are sick and earn a modest income, then you are probably underinsured -- even if you have employer-based health coverage."

Health Insurance premiums have risen 73 percent since 2000, according to the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC). Employers and insurance companies are forced to more closely scrutinize their health plans to contain the high costs. Employers are now covering fewer employees, reducing the number of covered procedures and increasing co-pays and co-premiums. In fact, the NCHC states that employee contributions have increased 145 percent since 2000.

Many insured individuals in this situation find that they can save more money by traveling abroad for their treatment than they can by paying these hefty co-pays. Some have been pleasantly surprised to find that their insurance company will reimburse them for part of their medical travel.

While many medical travelers take advantage of cost savings for dental treatments, tummy tucks, facelifts and liposuction, a growing number are opting for open heart surgery and orthopedic procedures like hip or knee replacements overseas. Medical tourism can also allow a patient to take advantage of procedures difficult to receive in the U.S. Surgeries such as Birmingham hip resurfacing and cervical disc replacement were only recently approved by the FDA, so overseas surgeons can have years more experience than U.S. surgeons on these techniques. Procedures like stem cell treatment are also available in some foreign countries.

However, the bulk of the treatments medical tourists are seeking include orthopedics, cardiology, and dental. Patients are able to save up to 80 percent in these fields and receive superior treatment over what they would probably have been able to afford in the U.S. Quality of care at hospitals is comparable in quality to those in the United States. The Joint Commission International, an arm of the organization that accredits American hospitals has accredited nearly 200 hospitals overseas. Many doctors and surgeons are English-speaking and have trained at Western medical schools and teaching hospitals.

Medical travel companies can help expedite and facilitate a patient's treatment. Once a patient contacts a medical tourism facilitator like MedTrava, it can connect them to carefully selected, pre-qualified providers and fast-track the sending of the patient's medical records and set up a conference call with an overseas surgeon in days. Surgery can be scheduled in as quickly as two weeks, and the medical travel facilitator can assist the patient with every aspect of their medical travels, from visa and passport assistance to arranging for a patient care manager, driver, cell phone, and hotel in the destination country.

While traveling abroad for surgery is not usually a person's first choice, the quality of medical treatment available abroad is at an all time high-in some cases, superior to what is available in the United States. And in these days of a recession with no end in sight, being able to save 80 percent on anything without sacrificing any quality is a much-needed reprieve.