In a previous post about IVF vacations abroad I noted how medical tourism was becoming a popular way of trying to get high-quality, affordable medical care. Just how popular it was getting I didn’t know until today.
In a recently published article about the rise of medical tourism across the globe, Josef Woodman, author of the medical tourism guidebook Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody’s Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Tourism
To understand why so many people want to travel from their home countries in the USA, Canada, and the UK for medical care, you only need to compare the prices for treatment.
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.
Even more surprising than the price differences is the fact that insurance companies are now collaborating with medical travel agents with the hope of keeping costs their cheapest.
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.
400,000 international patients a year! That’s a huge number for just one hospital!
Safety Tips for Medical Tourists
- Check to see if your overseas hospital is accredited under the Joint Commission International, the international arm of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO), which accredits U.S. hospitals.
- Choose your doctor carefully. Check the credentials of your doctor to see if they have the proper credentials for their specialty.
- Choose your hospital carefully. Check the success rates for their fertility treatments such as IVF, ICSI, and egg donation.
- Discuss your travel plans with a doctor at home first.
loading...
