Those having trouble paying for adequate health care could become a "medical tourist" and seek more affordable services outside of the country, suggested one respondent to my blog on Monday, focusing on our system's shortcomings raised in Michael Moore's "Sicko" documentary. Is this really what we've come to in the United States? Having to offshore our own medical care???
I personally think it's crazy to have to travel elsewhere for cheaper (but hopefully adequate) care, but apparently this is increasingly the norm, rather than the exception, for many unfortunate Americans--with or without health insurance.
I knew the trend was hitting the mainstream when I saw an episode of "Boston Legal" last fall, in which the slightly demented trial attorney, William Shatner's Denny Crane, took on the defense of someone suing an HMO when an insured died after being sent to a Third World country for cheaper surgery.
The deal must sound good to people on paper. We fly you (and perhaps even your spouse) to another country, where you will have your procedure done, and then recover in some luxury resort. It's still substantially cheaper than getting the same work done in a U.S. facility, supporters contend.
If you don't have any insurance at all, and you must pay for some heart transplant or the like out of your own pocket, this option must seem even more attractive--if not your only hope!
This is nothing new. Indeed, there are Web sites devoted to helping people plan their medical retreats (click here to sample just one such service). America's Health Insurance Plans sponsored an audio conference back in February called "Traveling Abroad For Health Care: New Trend In Care Or Creative Opportunity?"
Am I the only one who thinks this is perhaps THE definitive sign that our own patchwork health care system is in desperate need of massive reform? How can you defend a system so screwed up that our people must literally leave the country to get the care they need?
Many are already buying cheaper drugs from Canada, you may shrug. Medical tourism is merely the next logical step...into the abyss!
I personally think it's a disgrace that American citizens have to leave their own country to get medical care. Do you agree? Or do you think more health plans and individuals should adopt this "innovative" solution?
A word of warning for HMOs, traditional health carriers or those firms that self-insure their benefit plans: Don't ignore the lesson of that "Boston Legal" episode.
The madcap series makes a very serious point: Sending people out of the country for an uncertain quality of medical care, and putting sick and recovering people through the stress of long-distance travel outside U.S. borders, no doubt will open up a slew of new exposures and liabilities for clever trial lawyers to exploit. You may save money now on health claims, but you could come to regret your latest cost dodge when angry juries slap you with tens of millions in punitive damages.
I ask you again, is this really what America has come to???
Comments (3)
You cite two sources in support of your statement about people leaving the country to get medical care. "Boston Legal," a television drama (fiction), and "Sicko," a movie drama (fiction).
If you want to make an argument about an issue, you'll have to do better than that.
SAM RESPONDS:
Actually, I am not basing my argument at all on these two lone items. The recent premiere of "Sicko" has sparked a long-overdue national debate about the shortcomings of our health care system.
As for "Boston Legal," when trends begin to permeate the pop culture, you know it's becoming a more prominent concern among the public.
Instead of shooting the messenger, it would healthier to tackle the legitimate concerns Mr. Moore raises.
DANIEL RESPONDS:
The producers of television programs are known to have agendas. I'm not saying the health care system is without flaws, but to suggest that better care or even equal care is available in someplace like India is a bit of a stretch.
Oh, it may be cheaper there to get your hip replaced, but what are the risks? I'd ask everyone who's ever been in a hospital or clinic, anywhere in the world outside the U.S., whether they'd feel like the treatment was a bargain.
If you're in the business of calculating risk, as I am, then going outside the U.S. for healthcare is highly questionable.
I'd rather be in debt and alive.
SAM RESPONDS:
We are in total agreement on the issue!
Posted by Daniel Smith | July 12, 2007 11:42 AM
Posted on July 12, 2007 11:42
There has been sufficient credible evidence for years that the U.S. health care system is critically flawed. The issue now is how to fix it, which will require leadership at the national level, starting with the President of the United States.
Discussions about "doctors opting out" and "health care vacations," for example, simply point to market responses taking advantage of inherent flaws in the U.S. health care system.
I recently was in Thailand on business and witnessed first hand the national effort being made to establish and obtain international certification for medical facilities to treat out-of-country patients for a wide range of procedures.
Countries such as Thailand are counting on these health care initiatives for a rapidly increasing portion of their GDP, with the expectation that many of these future patients will come from the European Union as well as the U.S.
Unfortunately, we have no leadership willing to tackle the difficult task of changing the entrenched bureaucracratic health care system in the U.S., especially when $trillions are being diverted to homeland security.
Meanwhile, solutions will follow the money, which means the wealthy, and those willing to mortgage their assets, will obtain the best care, either in the U.S. or in countries like India or Thailand.
Posted by Edward Kalbaugh | July 12, 2007 1:15 PM
Posted on July 12, 2007 13:15
On medical tourism: I do not agree with your assumption that medical procedures abroad are inferior to those available domestically.
While this is surely true in the aggregate, in many cases it's not true (e.g., knee replacement). As the Mercedes and Toyotas have shown us, high quality does not stop at our border.
Rather, I think medical tourism is the result of the "Law of One Price." This law says, basically, that consumers will look for the cheapest price (controlling for quality).
If that price happens to be lower abroad, like it is for shirts and coffee, then Americans will buy there. Medical tourism is simply a special case of this more general axiom.
The good news: the existence (or even the threat) of medical tourism will put downward pressure on domestic prices and make those procedures cheaper here (again, ask the auto makers about this one).
Posted by Mark Wilson | July 13, 2007 2:51 PM
Posted on July 13, 2007 14:51