Saving on Surgery by Going Abroad
Medical tourism or medical travel can produce discounts of 80 percent
If he could have, Brad Barnum would have kissed the ground when he climbed out of the car in Ruidoso, N.M., at the end of March. But the 53-year-old building contractor had undergone major remodeling himself—and his new knee and two new hips ruled out kneeling for a few more weeks. Still, he was ecstatic. More than two months after leaving for the hospital, he was home, and he had afforded the otherwise unaffordable. By having the work done in India, at Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore, he'd gotten his new joints for just $23,000. Even after adding about $5,000 for airfare, passport, visa, and incidentals, the total was nearly 80 percent less than the $125,000 or more he easily could have been charged by a U.S. hospital. And that bill wouldn't have included physician fees and "ancillary charges."
Barnum is one of thousands of Americans—estimates range from an ultraconservative 5,000 to 500,000 annually if minor procedures are counted—who are leaving the States for surgery when they have to come up with funds themselves. They may be self-employed or work for a small business and lack health insurance, for example, or their procedure may not be covered. More than 1 in 4 workers earning at least $60,000 a year went without insurance in 2006, according to a Census Bureau survey; too well-off to be eligible for medical assistance, they can often wring tens of thousands of dollars out of hospital "rack rates" by going abroad. Some employers and big insurers like UnitedHealth and Blue Cross and Blue Shield are so intrigued by "medical tourism" that they're beginning to sniff for signs that it might be smart to cover it. "I was totally amazed not just at the quality of the medical care but at the quality of the service," says David Boucher, an assistant vice president of healthcare services at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina who has visited many facilities abroad. "The initial driver may be price, but patients' positive experiences will do a lot to advance the movement."
So far, there's been mostly talk, with little action from employers and health carriers. In fact, the first verified case of major surgery abroad as an employee benefit took place only earlier this year. (The patient reportedly paid nothing out of pocket for a knee replacement—in fact, the company, a North Carolina manufacturer, paid him a tidy sum for saving so much money.) Wockhardt, where the procedure was done, won't name the company.
Meanwhile, patients are finding their way abroad on their own. Wockhardt's hospitals in Bangalore and Bombay operated on about 850 U.S. patients in 2007, more than double the 2006 total. In Thailand, Bangkok's Bumrungrad Hospital says it treats more than 38,000 Americans a year—a somewhat inflated figure that represents "patient encounters," not individual patients, and includes expatriates. Other hospitals in India and Thailand, as well as centers in Singapore, are actively courting Americans, and the governments of South Korea and Taiwan are about to launch campaigns.
Low-budget dentistry, Botox-ing, lipo, and other cosmetic work have for years drawn Americans into Mexico and to other Latin American countries. But the growth in serious elective surgery halfway around the world is new. Josef Woodman, who publishes the Patients Beyond Borders series of guidebooks to finding good care, thinks about 50,000 patients a year leave the country for major noncosmetic elective procedures such as joint replacement, coronary artery bypass, new or repaired heart valves, or back repair.
Many, like Barnum, do the legwork on their own. But concierge services like MedRetreat.com and IndUShealth.com are multiplying, to help with lists of potential hospitals, appointment scheduling, arranging airport pickup and drop-off, and general hand-holding. (Information from Woodman's annual hospital survey has been incorporated into the World Hospital Finder, a U.S. News search tool for people who are seeking care abroad.)
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Avocats Associés Zone
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Medical tourism
Medical travel facilitators such as <a href="http://www.worldmedassist.com/">WorldMed Assist</a> can save you time, money and headaches. Many patients come to us in desperation, having found the process too daunting of choosing a country, then a hospital, then a surgeon--and [b]then [/b]making all the travel arrangements. A reputable medical travel company has partnerships with accredited facilities that meet or exceed US standards, and after discussing your individual needs and circumstances, will provide you a set of options and detailed background information so you can make an informed decision. Read the attachment for a roundup of patient stories who've traveled to Mexico, India, Turkey and Belgium for treatment they either couldn't get at home or couldn't afford.
<a href="http://www.worldmedassist.com/Hip_Resurfacing_Surgery_India.htm">Hip Resurfacing</a> is an example of a procedure that patients travel outside the U.S. for. It was approved in the US in 2006. What does that mean for patients considering hip resurfacing, which is much less invasive and has a faster recovery time than hip replacement? It means doctors in the US don't have anywhere near the track record of surgeons in places like Belgium and India.
Dr. Quiroz
I am also a patient of Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed clinic in Tijuana. He and his staff were great and very attentive to my needs and concerns. I had an arm lift on May 28, 2008 and am still in recovery. Dr. Quiroz has checked on me and talked to me about proper care for my healing wounds. He went above and beyond to make sure that I was happy with my results. I know that I will be back at Cosmed in the near future to have more plastic surgery done. I still want to have a tummy tuck and breast implants. Cosmed gave me a great procedure at a fraction of the cost of the U.S.A. It was another step in my new journey in life. I would recommend Dr. Quiroz to anyone considering having plastic surgery. It was one of the best decisions I could have ever made.
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