Medical tourism for insured patients at a glance
(AP) — Health insurers trying to tame rising medical costs have started offering medical care in other countries as a money-saving solution. Here are some things to consider if your insurer offers these trips.
? How high is your deductible? Travel can make little sense if insurance is already covering most of your bill for care closer to home. But it may be worthwhile if you have a high-deductible plan that means you have to fork over several thousand dollars out of your pocket.
? Are there any incentives? Some insurers will waive the deductible if you agree to take the trip because the savings to them is so great. Employers also may provide time off for the travel, and some programs will pick up travel costs too.
? What kind of savings can you find abroad? Medical tourism can cost 80 percent less, not counting travel costs, depending on the procedure. Dental work, hip and knee replacements, heart bypasses and cosmetic procedures are common procedures for medical tourists.
? How can you check for quality? Ask your insurer how it vetted the hospital or care providers in its overseas care network. Ask how many times the doctors have done your procedure, since there's a strong tie between quality and experience.
? How will follow-up care be handled? Some U.S. providers have agreements with hospitals in other countries to coordinate care after a procedure.
? What are the travel expenses outside the cost for care? These can run anywhere from several hundred dollars to $10,000 depending on where you go and how long you stay. Some overseas hospitals provide accommodations for the patient and a companion.
? Is it OK to travel alone? No. The Medical Tourism Association recommends traveling with a friend or relative, who can assist you and help and navigate the health care system in another country.
? How long do these trips take? Again, it depends on what you have done. Trips for dental care can take only a few days, but surgeries may require a stay of a couple weeks.
Medical tourism trips offer steep savings, but they don't pack enough financial might to play a key role in President Obama's push to lower U.S. health care costs.
Medical travel cost U.S. health care providers about $5.1 billion in business in 2007, according to estimates by Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. While significant, that amounts to less than 1 percent of the $2.36 trillion spent on health care in the United States that year.
Medical tourism can yield savings of as much as 80 percent on some procedures compared to care in the United States. But traveling isn't for everyone and these trips are generally not an option for emergencies. A patient's willingness to travel for non-emergency care often depends on the savings at stake. With a low deductible and no incentives from an insurer or employer to travel, a patient may have little motivation to make a trip.
Any result from the Washington reform push is unlikely to affect medical tourism, Keckley said, because it won't lower costs enough to erase price gaps with foreign care providers.
____
Sources: Medical Tourism Association, Harvard Medical School professor Sharon Kleefield
Arthur Williams, " Start Your Own Online Travel Business And Work From Home. "
No comments:
Post a Comment