The phenomenon of medical tourism (the practice of traveling outside one’s own community for medical care) has been much talked of but also maybe a little overhyped. It’s usually discussed in the context of Americans going abroad — say to Mexico or Singapore — for cheaper surgeries and other care. Hospital operator CHRISTUS Health has tried to capitalize on the trend with its Mexico joint venture hospitals. And companies like Planet Hospital have sprouted up to help patients find and get to foreign health care providers.
According to a McKinsey report released earlier this year, medical tourism hasn’t lived up to expectations just yet, with most medical travelers coming from abroad into the US for more advanced (not cheaper) care. However, the Wall Street Journal reports this week on a less flashy manifestation of the trend: traveling within the US for lower prices on medical care.
In some cases, the competitive threat of international health providers has spurred the growth of domestic medical tourism. The WSJ article profiles supermarket chain Hannaford Bros., for instance, which at first was encouraging employees to go to Singapore for certain procedures but then found US hospitals willing to compete on price.
The practice takes advantage of regional differences in the cost of health care within the US, while eliminating some of the drawbacks of international medical tourism — like the hassles of travel abroad, the discomfort of being ill and far from home, and the difficulties of assessing the quality of care at foreign facilities. It also mitigates some potential trouble with unions, who might not be keen on the idea of outsourcing health care to other countries.
As with international medical tourism, the domestic variety will only take off if insurers and employers decide it’s an effective way to control medical costs. But the comparative ease of domestic travel, and the greater assurance of getting high-quality care, might make it an easier sell for patients and payers alike.
Medical tourism is obviously serving as a catalyst to reform the health care system in the United States. As more and more individuals and self-insured businesses pinch pennies on their health care spendings and turn to overseas providers for cheaper but comparable quality care, local providers are going to feel the pinch, too.
So we have witnessed at Healthbase as we provide medical tourism services to Americans, Canadians and others. Additionally, our partnership with several US-based healthcare providers is a proof that US providers are now willing to match the lower foreign prices so they don’t lose their clients.
Medical Tourism is certainly fast growing, especially in Asia, countries like Malaysia, India and Singapore has gained a lot of ground.