From BusinessWeek:
Yes, just like manufacturing facilities and call centers, health care is moving offshore. "All of the largest U.S. insurers are starting to educate themselves or are putting [offshore] programs in place," says Jonathan Edelheit, president of the Medical Tourism Assn., an industry group formed just last year. Companies that self-insure are also bombarding Edelheit's group with requests for information.
Getting covered employees to leave the U.S. won't be that hard, says Edelheit. An insurance company could waive all deductibles and co-pays, offer to cover travel costs for the patient and family members, even throw in a cash incentive, and still save tens of thousands of dollars. After all, a heart procedure that costs $100,000 in the U.S. runs only $10,000 to $20,000 at some of the best private hospitals in Asia. And the quality of care? Foreign hospitals in such arrangements are typically approved by Joint Commission International, part of the same nonprofit organization that accredits American hospitals.
Blue Cross took the lead in medical offshoring when it formed its first partnership, with Bumrungrad Hospital, in February. Since then the insurer has signed similar pacts with the Parkway Group Healthcare, owner of three hospitals in Singapore, and hospitals in Turkey, Ireland, and Costa Rica. Three members of India's Apollo Hospitals Group are also joining the network. And another large Indian chain, Wockhardt Hospitals, is talking with U.S. insurers as well. "Americans haven't come to grips with having their heart surgery in Thailand," says Curtis Schroeder, the American CEO of Bumrungrad. "But that will change."
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