Jennifer Blankenship needed stem-cell therapy for her multiple sclerosis, medical care that was going to cost more than $100,000 if she received it in the United States.
Blankenship, a Lakewood resident, turned to the Internet to see if she could find less expensive treatment. That led her to BridgeHealth International in Denver, a medical tourism company that put her in touch with a hospital in Costa Rica where she could get the same therapy for $7,000.
Blankenship, who will travel to Costa Rica in August, said the experience so far has been a good one.
"(The BridgeHealth consultant) took care of everything," Blankenship said. "She called the doctor and set up the place. They took care of everything, and I had many, many questions. She was just delightful."
Blankenship is one of a growing number of Americans who are deciding to travel to other countries to get health care in the expanding world of medical tourism. With constantly rising health-care costs in the United States and an increasing number of overseas hospitals now having the latest state-of-the-art medical equipment and fewer restrictions on the services they offer, many Americans are traveling abroad to get cheaper medical care and do a little sightseeing with the money they're saving.
Vic Lazzaro, CEO and co-founder of BridgeHealth International, said his firm last year acquired Medical Tours International - in business since 2002 - and has provided medical care and travel arrangements for "thousands" of patients.
Lazzaro said getting more affordable health care is the main reason medical tourism is becoming more popular, but the tourism part of the experience is also attractive for some.
Big savings
"We find about 30 percent of people going abroad ask about tourism," he said. "It's like, 'I saved $40,000, so what's $3,000 more?'"
And with many health-care destinations in places like Costa Rica, Brazil, China, India, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey, there's an appeal for those who'd like to tuck in an exotic vacation as part of their travel.
Lazzaro notes that many physicians and surgeons in these countries have been trained in the United States and Western countries and have access to the best equipment available.
"These doctors are very well educated and extremely experienced," he said. "In many of these countries there are a handful of truly superior hospitals and the equipment is international class. In fact, in many cases it's even newer than most places in the U.S."
Some destinations are becoming known for particular specialties when it comes to medical care. Costa Rica is a top spot for North American patients wishing to avoid a trans-oceanic flight and has garnered a reputation as a mecca for plastic surgery.
South Africa and Argentina are also popular plastic surgery destinations, while Thailand is the preferred destination for sex-change surgery. Heart-valve replacement surgery in India costs about $10,000 compared to $200,000 or more in the U.S.
Lazzaro said medical travelers can save generally "somewhere between 30 to 80 percent" compared to what the same services would cost in the States, even though they routinely pay entirely out of pocket.
Lazzaro said most American insurance companies are still on the fence when it comes to paying for offshore treatments.
Insurance companies look
"American insurance companies are mostly not offering it, but they're beginning to look at it," he said. "It's not yet widespread among insurers or employers but it is for consumers. Our goal is to get insurers and employers to become interested."
Daryl Richard, vice president of communications for UnitedHealth International, said he believes insurance companies will likely start coming on board.
"The medical travel phenomenon is still more or less in its infancy," he said. "However, as our world becomes increasingly global, the health-care market must adapt. We believe we have an obligation of sorts to explore this trend, both to serve the potential needs of our clients as well as to address the needs of the un- and underinsured."
Richard said some obstacles remain before medical tourism can really take off. He said the "top 20 or so foreign hospitals are at 80 to 90 percent capacity on a given day," which would not permit the treatment of a surge of additional Western patients.
Richard also notes "cultural barriers" regarding health care in foreign nations, a lack of nearby family support in most instances and possible complications when it comes to followup care as reasons why insurance companies are still wary of the concept.
Even so, Richard said a growing demand for more affordable care is prompting his company and others to seriously evaluate foreign coverage.
"UnitedHealth International is currently researching the many issues and challenges related to medical travel and hopes to decide within a few months whether it will design a formal medical travel product for its customers," he said.
Steve Porter covers health-care issues for the Northern Colorado Business Report. He can be reached at 970-221-5400, ext. 225, or at sporter@ncbr.com.
Kees Prenger in Netherlands at [1/7/2009 9:30:35 AM]
Dear Marianne, It is easy to tell horrid stories about any hospital treatment anywhere, but face it: a flight to Europe costs around $1000, a full hospital stay in a first class hospital in The Netherlands for a heart operation between $10,000 (bypass surgery, nine-day hospital stay) to $20,000 (multiple-valve operation, 10 day-hospital stay). In Europe state-of-the-art MODERN devices are the standard, whereas in the U.S., thanks to the FDA, these devices are mostly admitted to the market many years after introduction! So you guys pay a hell of a lot more (too much) for suboptimal treatments! The policy of to go home after three or four days after major surgery is the rule in the U.S., in Europe it is the rule to go home when patients are fit and able to take care of themselves, which is usually after nine to 10 days. I am surprised that not more U.S. patients who travel abroad for treatment are not given the sheer facts. For more information just e-mail me at : k.prenger@hagaziekenhuis.nl
Robbie Neely in Concord, Calif. at [6/26/2008 6:23:49 PM]
Medical tourism is the unfortunate moniker that has attached itself to what is growing into quite a different trend than a “holiday combined with a medical procedure.” Because many North Americans can’t get access to procedures at home, or can’t afford them, their only alternative is to travel long distances for surgery. An example is HipResurfacing which was only recently approved in the U.S., so doctors here don’t have anywhere near the experience as doctors, say in Belgium or India. To learn more about procedures, international hospitals and to read what patients have to say about their experience with medical travel, visit http://www.worldmedassist.com.
Stephanie Sulger RN, MS in Denver at [6/26/2008 3:28:01 PM]
In response to Marianne's comments: Your concerns are valid and you ably represent the growing numbers of responsible health-care consumers who wish to be informed and are not frivolously accepting everything they hear about medical tourism. One of the dangers of accepting that "all is just fine, everywhere" is that we will slip back into the role of being patients dependent upon a health-care system that says it has all the answers and will always take care of us, no matter how responsible or irresponsible we have been with our health – obviously a burden the U.S. health-care system can't afford. As a nurse, I participated in that slide down the slippery slope throughout my career. Now I see medical travel as our second chance; an opportunity to take control of our health care choices, ask questions and require intelligent answers; take responsibility for behaviors that impact our health and to proactively ask questions, such as yours, that demonstrate we are concerned about beyond today. Our company, BridgeHealth International, requires that outcome data be provided by those in our network. In the case of stem cell therapy, the outcome data should have been made available to the patient in the story, above, so that she could have made an informed choice about whether or not he was willing to risk a less than beneficial outcome. Not being informed leaves one feeling used or taken advantage of even with issues that are less critical than how you will feel after a procedure. BHI's clients receive information throughout their decision making process packet that covers many topics including, the risks and benefits of a procedure, the number of procedures performed by a provider, what to do if a problem abroad isn't being resolved, and when applicable, chickens, dogs and roads are very rutted and bumpy after a rainfall. Doing less than any of this is going back to a health care system we had in the 1970s -- just show up and do what the doctor says, don't ask questions and you'll be fine. As the VP of the BHI Consumer Division I am honored to be in a position where I can resist what hasn't worked and implement processes that give the power of choice back to the health care consumer. We try for zero tolerance where client surprises are concerned unless it's a surprise of a pleasant nature. It is imperative that medical travelers be informed by a medical travel company of the good and the bad and all things in-between.
Laura Carabello in Vermont at [6/24/2008 5:16:04 PM]
There are so many positive outcomes with medical care abroad. I've seen these hospitals for myself and have interviewed the doctors. It's time that our health-care system admits that care in the United States is just too expensive.
Atul Salgaonkar in San Jose, Calif. at [6/21/2008 3:41:29 PM]
Medical tourism has established itself as a powerful, unstoppable trend. Still, personal health is a very important issue to all and so, such decisions should be conducted in consultation with patients' home doctors and other stakeholders. Just two days ago, we attended the AHIP conference (for health care Insurance companies) and as mentioned in this article, found a good appreciation of this topic by the major companies that attended.
James C. Roca in New York, USA at [6/20/2008 5:08:40 PM]
I went to Mexico 2+ years ago for stem cell transplantation with very little results. Combining it with a vacation is a great idea if you felt more confident on your treatment. If my country offered stem cell treatment it would make me feel more comfortable going out of the USA. I couldn't enjoy a vacation with stem cell treatment together. Medical tourism sounds great depending on the total cost and your results. You must remember your medical results are primary. Poor vision at times and fatigue is a problem with multiple sclerosis for me. James C. Roca
Marianne in USA at [6/20/2008 2:03:39 PM]
Cultural barriers like not having family in the country they are going to for a procedure? So you are expecting family or some long lost relative to take care of your patient that you shipped off somewhere to Costa Rica or Thailand? No wonder insurance companies are wary! As they should be. If they aren't making sure their patients are going with a fully aware, engaged and medically responsible medical tourism company, then they are incurring a great risk, as is their patient. So you stay in this "JCI" hospital, which, by the way, just means it is at least as good as ours here in the USA and aren't we all complaining about U.S. hospitals? We're ranked what, 38th in the world? Ironic... So you go to a JC hospital and you stay there for a day or two, then what? Where are you? For how long? Is anyone overseeing you? How do you get to the next checkup or do you even have one? Do you go to the hospital or the doctor's office? One of my close friends went to Costa Rica for a pretty intense plastic surgery procedure and was discharged from the clinic/hospital in one day, sent to a recovery retreat (will stay unnamed) up a long curvy very bumpy road clutching her breasts after her breast lift and got there already in a lot of pain. There were animals roaming around, more hills and stairs around the property, bedding and linen changes were not daily, no idea how to care for herself after surgery, when to shower, how to change the bandages on the incisions. Well, turned out she popped open an internal stitch (probably from the bumpy ride up the hill to the retreat), got a seroma, and then an infection. By the time she realized something was wrong after a couple days of more pain, and no one from the medical tourism company bothered contacting her after discharge, she called the doctor herself and they started treating her. To make a long story short, they had to reopen the cut they made, which made her scar ugly, her healing time took longer because of the complication, she had more costs for Rx medicines, had to stay longer, had extra costs and an unpleasant experience after all. Who would absorb this if an insurance company had sent the patient? Just a thought....
