Medical Tourism and Health Care Reform

Whether liberal or conservative, most of us can agree that the U.S. health care system needs work. With health care costs spiraling out of control, affordable health care is fast becoming out of reach for uninsured or underinsured Americans.

Many people automatically assume that this broken health care system is what drives the medical tourism industry, fueling the need for overseas travel for health care. They think owners and employees in the medical travel profession automatically oppose any reform that could potentially harm business.

But in reality, many people in this industry were drawn to the profession in the first place simply to help make premium health care more accessible to the average person. I, for one, started MedTrava after helping my mother battle breast cancer as an uninsured patient in the U.S. Once I realized what a daunting task it was to face a major health crisis with limited options, I made it my mission to give people like my mother an alternative option with the high-quality, low-cost care available overseas.

Medical tourism will continue to grow as the global supply chain for this industry continues to expand. Everyday newer destinations are emerging and more and more countries are adopting medical tourism as a strategic growth initiative. In this Age of Information, patients will continue to seek out different options to determine what best suits their needs.

Medical tourism is not an American phenomenon. Patients from places as diverse as Nigeria to England have contacted MedTrava for help arranging an overseas surgery. Their reasons vary—some are avoiding long waiting times in their native countries, others are seeking cutting-edge treatments not yet available at home, and still others choose to go abroad to save thousands of dollars on their medical bills.
Here is a snapshot of a few medical travel patients and their reasons for traveling:

-An 87-year-old woman with dental insurance in the U.S. opted to get her implants in Costa Rica, where she was still able to save about $30,000.

-A 35-year-old man whose insurance would only cover spinal fusion surgery (a painful surgery with not only a long recovery time but also one that needs to be repeated every few years) opted to travel to India and pay out of pocket for disc replacement surgery. He saved precious recovery time, eliminated the need for future surgeries - all for less than what he would have owed on his co-pay on the spinal fusion surgeries.

-A 55-year-old man needed knee replacement surgery. His company was self-insured (they paid for employees' medical costs directly) and offered him a share of the savings if he flew to India for his surgery.

The world continues to get more globalized in all economic areas, and health care is no exception. Different countries are establishing themselves as the leaders in various health care specialties, and medical tourism will be a necessary tool to ensure that the quality of medicine everywhere continues to advance. Whether you love or hate the Obama administration's health care proposal, MedTrava is committed to embracing all changes to the law to make sure that you continue to receive the best health care in the world.

No insurance = death?

Have you heard? Being uninsured could kill you.

A recent study shows that people who have no health insurance are 40 percent more likely to die than those who are insured—that translates to 45,000 Americans dying each year because they don’t have health insurance.

To arrive at this number, researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance examined a group of 9,000 people for six years and kept track of their overall health. “The uninsured have a higher risk of death when compared to the privately insured, even after taking into account socioeconomics, health behaviors and baseline health,” lead author Dr. Andrew Wilper said in a statement.

This study comes right after a report by the U.S. Treasury that followed 17,000 Americans for a decade and found that half of working-age adults can expect to lose their insurance at some point in the next 10 years.

With all this grim news, I’m happy medical tourism companies like MedTrava can offer Americans affordable health care abroad. There’s no reason why anybody should put off needed surgeries or even a comprehensive diagnostic exam when there are alternatives almost anyone can afford.

More Americans Overweight than Ever Before

Did you know:

-2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese?

-In 30 states, 30% of children are obese or overweight?

-The rates of obesity have risen in 23 states over the past year?

Source: “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009,” Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

It’s clear that excessive weight gain is a growing problem in the U.S. In addition to the statistics above, the study “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009” found that NO states had a decrease in obesity rates from last year. Many analysts predict that obesity rates will only continue to rise with the recession; as food prices continue to climb, some will eschew paying a premium for fresh fruits and veggies and opt for the lower-priced (but nutritionally deficient) pre-packaged meals.

Saving money on groceries this way may be the easy choice, but is perhaps not the wisest choice. The health risks associated with being overweight are numerous, increasing the risk of ailments ranging from heart problems to cancer to arthritis. For teens, being overweight has been linked to increased rates of suicide.

So we know there’s a problem, but what is there to do about it? The obvious answer is to suck up the extra cost and prepare healthy meals with fruits and veggies. But for some, this solution may just be unfeasible, and no amount of dieting has ever worked. At this point, it may be time to run to weight loss surgery such as gastric bypass surgery or lap band surgery.

Weight loss surgery is not for everyone and should generally only be a last-resort solution. But if you’re one of those people unable to lose weight with conventional methods, this may be the best option to help you preserve your future health.

Stay tuned for our next post that goes into detail of what to expect from weight loss surgery.

Till then, stay healthy!