Insurers putting medical tourism plans to the test - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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Now it includes doctor. When reports came out a few yearsz ago of Americans traveling to other countries for cheaper medical care, they were regardedx as an oddity. Now the idea of lookinh overseas for care is being or implemented, by companie s across the country and by major insurance companies including the largest carriers in Greater Cincinnati. Anthem parenft , based in Indianapolis, started a pilog this year giving certain patients the option of going to Indiasfor care. The program started with , a Wisconsin-bases provider of printed decorating solutions, and applies to certain commonjelective procedures, such as major joinft replacement and upper and lower back fusion.
Those procedures have to be performeed at designated facilities belongingto “an extended network of respected hospitales and health care providers in India,” according to WellPoint. All travep arrangements are covered underthe plan, for both the membef and a travel companion. “Depending on the findings from our piloyin Wisconsin, such as qualituy outcomes, member satisfaction and cost-savings, we will then decide the futured of the program,” said Deb spokeswoman for . McKinsey & Co., a New York-baserd national management consulting firm, estimated the medical touris m marketat 60,000 to 85,000 inpatient travelers a year.
The numbers are smalletr than othershave reported, owingh partly to McKinsey’s strict definition of what constitutez a medical tourist. Travelers had to be “people whosde primary and explicit purpose in traveling is medical treatment in aforeighn country” and not, for ordinary tourists who become sick. And the market is more complexz than the hypewouldf suggest. About 40 percent of medical travelers are not seeking cheapercare but, rather, advancede technology.
Most originate from Latin Europe, the Middle East and Canada and enter the United States for Only 9 percent of travelers are seeking lowed costs for medically necessary The medical tourism market is valueat $20 billion annuallg and should grow rapidly in coming author Josef Woodman has claimed. He wrote the book “Patientds Beyond Borders: Everybody’s Guide to Affordable, World-Clasa Medical Tourism.” Popular destinations for U.S. patients include India, Thailand, Mexico, Costa Rica and Patients are commonly uninsuredor underinsured, Woodma has said, and patients can expect ratezs 25 percent to 75 percent less than those in the U.S.
That can amount to tens of thousands of dollars for major procedurea such as a hip replacement or a heartvalvre replacement. Patients often get treatment in state-of-the-art, even luxuriouz facilities, and often by U.S.-traineds doctors. Some have adde d credibility through accreditation bythe . Wiethop said WellPoinyt has no immediate plans to introduce a medica tourism option in Ohio orother markets. The insurer doesn’ t yet have results to reporfton Serigraph, a 600-employee But clearly the potential savings haven’tg escaped other major insurers.
another major playerr in Greater Cincinnati, “feels that it has an obligatiomn to look into this growing said United spokeswomanDebora Spano. But the carrier has no medica l tourismproduct yet. Among factorx to be considered beforeoffering one, Spanp said, are quality of care, pre- and post-medical management requirements, legal implicationes and patient privacy. “We must take a very prudent, thoughtfup approach,” she said.