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.

Laurie's Testimonial

"After considering dental implants for over 6 months, I took the "plunge" and set about having a series of exams and estimates done in Austin, Texas, my city of residence.

Good thing that MedTrava is based here, too!

After discovering the costs and care associated with my surgery, I decided to go through your company for this pretty extensive procedure. Your staff made it so much easier for me to do than I could have EVER done myself.

From identifying the BEST professionals to screening the procedure thoroughly, you guys were with me every step of the way! I'm now back home and back at work with renewed confidence and mending very well.

I could not have been happier with my surgeon. Her care and sincerity were coupled with professional knowledge that I never anticipated. The decision to have the complete procedure done in hospital was far different and much more manageable than the alternatives I had been offered here in the U.S. on an outpatient basis.

Since I do not have health insurance coverage, this would have never been affordable here and the preservation of my overall health would have been compromised.

I also elected to have a complete physical, which I had not had in over 10 years. I was surprised to learn of some issues that I had that I have been able to manage with the support of the wonderful doctors at Wockhardt Hospital. This alone was worth the trip!

The care in hospital was FAR superior to any I have ever experienced in the U.S., anywhere! The food and shopping were AMAZING...I came back with a great smile and deeper friendships; I am looking so forward to returning to the beautiful city of Bangalore with friends in August for my permanent teeth!"



To read more testimonials about patients' fabulous experiences, click here.

Taking Charge of Your Health

Did you know the number of people that die in the U.S. every week from medical errors is greater than the total number of people killed in 9/11?

And did you know that the U.S. ranks last among 19 industrialized nations in a measure of preventable deaths (deaths before the age of 75 that were potentially preventable with timely and effective healthcare)?

I recently stumbled across this information in a fascinating presentation given by Elizabeth L. Brewley, entitled Consumer Driven Healthcare: Consumers Need to Become CEOs of their Own Health and Health Care (you can download her presentation from this website).

In her presentation, Ms. Brewley advocates individuals take a more active approach to their medical care—shop around, ask your doctor more questions (Why are you prescribing me this drug? What are the side effects?), and practice healthy habits to prevent illness and minimize trips to the hospital.

According to President Obama, every 30 seconds an American files for bankruptcy because of their medical bills. Surely some of this debt could be avoided by following Ms. Brewley’s advice and taking charge of your healthcare to make sure you’re getting the right treatment, quality, and advice for your money.

Sometimes insurance companies have limits on which doctors they will pay for you to see or which treatments they will cover. And while it may be tempting to stick to the paradigm prescribed by your insurance company, sometimes after you’ve weighed the pros and cons it may be worth it to pay out of pocket for a certain doctor or treatment that best suits your needs and lifestyle. (I really like Health Savings Account insurance plans, as they allow for a greater deal of personal choice in healthcare).

At MedTrava, all of the patients that come to us have already done a great deal of research before coming to the conclusion that going overseas offers the best value for their money. Medical travel is not the right option for everybody, but all Americans could learn a thing or two from the people that choose to travel abroad for healthcare—namely to interview several doctors before finalizing your treatment plan.

Prevention We Can Believe In

Some may gasp at the thought of Obama’s proposed $634 billion plan to reform the nation’s healthcare industry. But even if you disagree with his politics, there is one resounding theme that hopefully everyone can agree on: the importance of prevention in keeping healthcare costs down.

In other words, if you invest in your health now you can reap the rewards later.

We’ve heard it all before--eating right, exercise, and going in for regular checkups all combine to make a person healthier and their overall average health costs more manageable.

But rarely is that sentiment translated into public policy. Modern medicine, while it advocates prevention, generally focuses on curing diseases rather than understanding why the disease occurred in the first place.

And that, in large part, may be because modern medicine is forced to be reactionary-rather than proactive-because many patients put off seeing a doctor until their health issues have become unbearable. This procrastination is, of course, understandable, when you consider diagnostic tests can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars.

I feel fortunate to spend enough time in India to get most of my health treatments done in this country. My mother, in fact, recently went in for a wellness exam that included a full set of diagnostic tests that would have cost thousands of dollars in the U.S, but she only paid a few hundred in India. Minor health problems she wasn’t even aware of revealed themselves in the tests, and now she can take action to prevent the issues from morphing into a full-blown health crisis.

And it’s for reasons like this that I founded MedTrava. If the adage knowledge is power is true, my mother has now regained control over her own health. Similarly, just making people aware of the quality of healthcare abroad allows them the power to choose where and how they want to be treated if they have a medical problem that needs attention.

Live well! Stay healthy!

-Poonam

Universal Health Care is Already Available for all Americans

The phrase universal healthcare has been tossed around in the news quite a bit in the past few months. A simple Google search turns up almost 13 million hits on the subject. And while the concept of making quality healthcare affordable seems like a far-off dream, it’s not exactly a long shot—we at MedTrava already providing it!

Yes, we’ve already made universal healthcare available. By enabling people to travel abroad for quality healthcare they can afford, we are truly embracing the full meaning of the phrase universal healthcare.

Because of issues with the healthcare systems in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, hospitals around the world—from Mexico to Germany to India—are offering their lower-cost, quality healthcare services to foreign nationals. In this free market model, patients can choose from a multitude of doctors and locations to choose the option that most appeals to them, giving them greater freedom than their PPO network in the U.S. might allow.

We can already see the trickle down effects that the quality and affordability of medical tourism is having on the American healthcare marketplace. Already, a few American practices have popped up that have a business model that allows them to offer medical options at a cheaper rate than is standard among their American peers (although at this point it is still more expensive than the overseas option). I expect that as more Americans start going abroad for their medical treatment and receive comparable quality to the U.S., more American healthcare professionals will start to reshape their business models to allow for more price competition.

Greg Scandlen, director of Consumers for Health Care Choices at The Heartland Institute compares this phenomenon to the impact Volkswagen and Toyota had on the U.S. auto industry. “It’s showing another way of doing business that the automakers in the United States were just too indifferent to adopt, so competition had to come from somewhere. It came from overseas.” (Read the full article International Medical Tourism is on the Rise from the Heartland Institute.)

So next time you hear someone lamenting the state of the U.S. healthcare system, make sure to point out that medical tourism provides a valuable incentive to help the U.S. system improve on its own. And in the meantime, medical tourism makes it possible for almost any American to afford any surgery they need (or want). And yes, financing is available.

New Website

After months of hard work from all the MedTrava team, we finally went live with our new website! There's some great new features throughout the website, but the biggest change is our new members' only area that has some really cool features for people who sign up on the website.

If you have a few minutes, go check it out at www.medtrava.com and let us know what you think!

U.S. News and World Report

The U.S. News and World Report recently published a really interesting series of articles about medical tourism. The articles are based on excerpts from the book Patients Beyond Borders.

I highly recommend reading these articles as they go into a lot of detail about what to expect from medical travel. Even if you're not planning on traveling overseas for health care anytime in the near future, it's good to be knowledgeable on the subject in case an unexpected medical crisis occurs for you or someone you know.

A few of my favorite articles are:

• 7 Reasons to Consider Traveling for Medical Care



• 13 Smart Questions and Quick Answers about Medical Tourism

Check them out and let me know what you think!