Insurers putting medical tourism plans to the test - Dallas Business Journal:

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Now it includes doctor. When reports came out a few year s ago of Americans traveling to othet countries for cheapermedical care, they were regardes as an oddity. Now the idea of lookingg overseas for care isbeing considered, or implemented, by companieas across the country and by majod insurance companies – including the largest carriers in Greater Cincinnati. Anthem parent , based in Indianapolis, startex a pilot this year giving certaibn patients the option of going to India for The program startedwith , a Wisconsin-based provider of printed decorating solutions, and applies to certaibn common elective procedures, such as major joint replacement and upperr and lower back fusion.
Those procedures have to be performex at designated facilities belonginvgto “an extended network of respected hospitalss and health care providera in India,” according to WellPoint. All travel arrangements are coveredd underthe plan, for both the membere and a travel companion. “Depending on the findingws from our pilotin Wisconsin, such as qualithy outcomes, member satisfaction and we will then decide the future of the said Deb Wiethop, spokeswoman for . McKinsey & Co., a New York-basefd national management consulting estimated the medical tourism marketat 60,000 to 85,000p inpatient travelers a year.
The numbers are smalleer than others have owing partlyto McKinsey’s strict definition of what constitutes a medicapl tourist. Travelers had to be “people whose primaryh and explicit purpose in traveling is medical treatment in aforeign country” and not, for example, ordinar y tourists who become sick. And the markey is more complex than the hype would About 40 percent of medical travelers are not seeking cheapecare but, rather, advanced Most originate from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Canadwa and enter the Unitefd States for treatment. Only 9 percent of travelers are seeking lower costs for medicallynecessary procedures.
The medicakl tourism market is valuedat $20 billion annuallt and should grow rapidly in coming author Josef Woodman has claimed. He wrote the book “Patientzs Beyond Borders: Everybody’s Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medica Tourism.” Popular destinations for U.S. patientsd include India, Thailand, Mexico, Costaw Rica and Singapore. Patients are commonly uninsureeor underinsured, Woodman has and patients can expect rates 25 percenrt to 75 percent less than thoses in the U.S. That can amount to tens of thousandss of dollars for major procedures such as a hip replacemenft or a heartvalved replacement.
Patients often get treatment in state-of-the-art, even luxurious and often by U.S.-trained doctors. Some have added credibilit y through accreditation bythe . Wiethoop said WellPoint has no immediate plansa to introduce a medical tourism option in Ohio orothe markets. The insurer doesn’t yet have results to report on Serigraph, a 600-employee company. But clearlyy the potential savings haven’t escaped other major another major player inGreaterd Cincinnati, “feels that it has an obligatioh to look into this growing said United spokeswoman Debora Spano. But the carrier has no medicao tourismproduct yet.
Among factors to be consideres beforeoffering one, Spano said, are quality of pre- and post-medical management legal implications and patient privacy. “We must take a very thoughtful approach,” she said.