Prior to the election, much debate was going around regarding which health care reform would be ideal for our nation. The questions arising were whether the government should offer quality care or would it be better to have competition within health care systems.
Judging by the rising medical tourism trends, it may not be either. Medical tourism is when a person travels to a different country to have a medical procedure done less expensively. The reason one might do this, is because of the much cheaper care in another country.
A Businessweek report stated that a surgery costing $50,000 here could cost only $10,000 in India. The health insurance company paid less than half for major medical care in a foreign country including paying for a plane ticket. That could possibly hint at lower premiums as well as more coverage for the patient.
But on the other hand, there's the obvious. If something goes wrong, does the patient have the same rights as in the U.S.? Can the patient be sure the care will actually be high quality? Unfortunately, the answer would be 'no' to both questions. Although, there is an American non-profit organization that accredits hospitals and other health facilities overseas for providing quality care.
Insurance companies also worry about any necessary follow up care that might be needed. They wonder if the patient would be sent back to that country or if their physical therapy or care of that nature would be covered over here. The BusinessWeek articles said that a lot of insurance companies are feeling better about those concerns.
So will medical tourism become regular practice? If so, what does that say about our health care system in the U.S.? Has our health system become so inefficient and expensive that we're doomed and have to travel across the globe to get cheap, quality care?