Death and taxes may be life’s two certainties, but American families facing serious medical problems could add another to the list: high health care costs. Whether you’re insured, underinsured or uninsured, the bill for chemotherapy or a life-saving transplant can
Death and taxes may be life’s two certainties, but American families facing serious medical problems could add another to the list: high health care costs. Whether you’re insured, underinsured or uninsured, the bill for chemotherapy or a life-saving transplant can be daunting.
Today’s globalized marketplace has taken note of this predicament and is forging an alternative.
According to media reports, an estimated half million to one million Americans will travel abroad for medical procedures this year. For some, medical tourism means inexpensive cosmetic surgery and a vacation all in one. For others, it means salvation from medical bills that would eat them out of house and home. Even self-insured corporations have jumped on the bandwagon, lured in by the savings to their bottom-line.
In Hawai‘i, the first medical tourism consulting agency opened its doors last month. MedicTrex, located on Maui but serving all Hawaiian Islands and beyond, aims to facilitate such trips — a sort of medical travel agent.
The company officially launched in October, but began researching hospitals in January 2007. Nicole Rullet, vice president of MedicTrex business development, says the goal is to take care of the travel arrangement details and link patients up with accredited, international hospitals that welcome them.
“They’re accommodating and planning on a huge influx of international patients,” Rullet said of the five hospitals MedicTrex has selected. All are accredited by the Joint Commission International, an agency that certifies hospitals on standards of care.
According to the commission’s Web site, the accreditation process is designed to accommodate specific legal, religious and cultural factors within a country and it provides uniform, achievable expectations for structures, processes and outcomes.
MedicTrex works with two facilities in Thailand and one each in India, Brazil and Singapore. What locale a patient selects depends on where a procedure is offered and personal preference. “Where does someone want to spent their time for recuperation,” Rullet said.
Just about any procedure can be performed abroad, from dental to cosmetic to orthopedic to heart surgery.
“If it’s not an emergency and (the patient) is willing to travel, their options are endless,” she said.
Rullet offered as an example a heart bypass surgery. Without insurance, the cost can be $100,000 or more; even with coverage, the out-of-pocket dues can total $20,000. In India, Rullet said, the operation can run $10,000 to $15,000 — tack on travel expenses and you’re still just broaching the deductible.
Savings usually come in at 50 to 80 percent of U.S. costs. But the benefits are not just in dollars and cents, Rullet noted. Many Americans are turning to medical tourism because of the personalized attention that their money buys abroad. Nurse-to-patient ratios can be higher and the accommodations more luxurious.
Of course, the risks of medical tourism are implicit. Americans abroad have less legal recourse should something go wrong, and there is no guarantee that the quality of care will live up to expectations. But as the industry gains steam, more attention is being paid to medical tourism — there is even an association tracking the field: the Medical Tourism Association. And that could mean more regulation down the line.
For more information about MedicTrex, visit www.medictrex.com.
Blake Jones, business writer/assistant editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or bjones@kauaipubco.com.
