Insurers Outsourcing Health Care Overseas

I'd love to see the look on someone's face that is hoping the Repubs kill health care reform when they get told "Sure we'll cover those knees that need replacement.....as long as you don't mind having it done in Venezuela"...

Insurers aim to save from overseas medical tourism
By Tom Murphy, The Associated Press
Elizabeth Kunz left her dentist's office this spring with a mouth full of problems and no way to pay for them.

The South Carolina resident went out of her way, literally, to find a solution, which turned out to be in Central America. Her trip to the tropics is part of a health insurance experiment for trimming medical costs: overseas care.

As Washington searches for ways to tame the country's escalating health care costs, more insurers are offering networks of surgeons and dentists in places like India and Costa Rica, where costs can be as much as 80% less than in America.

Until recently, most Americans traveling abroad for cheaper non-emergency medical care were either uninsured or wealthy. But the profile of medical tourists is changing. Now, they are more likely to be people covered by private insurers, which are looking to keep costs from spiraling out of control.

The four largest commercial U.S. health insurers — with enrollments totaling nearly 100 million people — have either launched pilot programs offering overseas travel or explored it. Several smaller insurers and brokers also have introduced travel options for hundreds of employers around the country.

Growth has been slow in part because some patients and employers have concerns about care quality and legal responsibility if something goes wrong. Plus, patients who have traditional plans with low deductibles may have little incentive to take a trip.

But a growing number of consumers with high-deductible plans, which make patients pay more out of pocket, could make these trips more inviting.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-22-medical-tourism_N.htm

Artie60438 wrote:

I'd love to see the look on someone's face that is hoping the Repubs kill health care reform when they get told "Sure we'll cover those knees that need replacement.....as long as you don't mind having it done in Venezuela"...

Insurers aim to save from overseas medical tourism
By Tom Murphy, The Associated Press
Elizabeth Kunz left her dentist's office this spring with a mouth full of problems and no way to pay for them.

The South Carolina resident went out of her way, literally, to find a solution, which turned out to be in Central America. Her trip to the tropics is part of a health insurance experiment for trimming medical costs: overseas care.

As Washington searches for ways to tame the country's escalating health care costs, more insurers are offering networks of surgeons and dentists in places like India and Costa Rica, where costs can be as much as 80% less than in America.

Until recently, most Americans traveling abroad for cheaper non-emergency medical care were either uninsured or wealthy. But the profile of medical tourists is changing. Now, they are more likely to be people covered by private insurers, which are looking to keep costs from spiraling out of control.

The four largest commercial U.S. health insurers — with enrollments totaling nearly 100 million people — have either launched pilot programs offering overseas travel or explored it. Several smaller insurers and brokers also have introduced travel options for hundreds of employers around the country.

Growth has been slow in part because some patients and employers have concerns about care quality and legal responsibility if something goes wrong. Plus, patients who have traditional plans with low deductibles may have little incentive to take a trip.

But a growing number of consumers with high-deductible plans, which make patients pay more out of pocket, could make these trips more inviting.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-22-medical-tourism_N.htm

Well, give him time and YOUR president Nobama will tax that into oblivion...

My wife became sick while we were in the Caribbean several years ago and I was not impressed with the care she received at all. They didn't even do the triage that is standard procedure in all American ER's. After seeing that place, all I can say is you will not receive the level of care that you expect if you become ill in a third world country