HealthAbroad.net: Point of View

Good blog by an intrepid German, now residing in Bali, on medical tourism to Asia and the slow decline of medicare in Europe.

…over the years of the last 2 decades - Europe lost its edge as a leading and competitive healthcare market. Too many beneficiaries but too few paying customers. Always make an even balance for everyone. Where is the grounds or basis for competition, or the means of offering the best possible solution for a competitive price? Value for money anyone? Somehow it got lost along the way.

The US have problems as well, although quite a bit different. The healthcare system is state of the art; the main problem is, most people can’t afford it and lot’s don’t even have a health insurance.

The writer also writes about his own experiences with medicare in Asia - Singapore and Thailand. Also watchout for the cost comparison for medical procedures in the US and India. Very useful.

First the candy. According to a latest industry report, India’s medical tourism industry has been growing at the rate of 30 percent compounded. Some 150,000 patients from the West, African and South Asian countries visited India for medical treatment in 2006.

Now the kick. Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, India’s competitors for the crown of top medical destination, combined attract ten times the medical tourist traffic that comes to India.

The cost of treatment in India is about a tenth and a fifth of those available in the UK and US. The country also has an edge in terms of very low waiting periods and an army of Western trained highly qualified medical professionals. However, South East Asian countries continue to score over India due to tourist-friendly infrastructure and a glitzier image which has been cultivated and sustained over a period of time.

It’s time for India to get a move on.  

A growing number of Westerners are traveling to Thailand for low cost cosmetic surgery, sex change operations and other medical procedures. According to Thailand tourism agency figures, 1.28 million international patients visited Thailand in 2005 and this number is expected to go up by 10 % in 2006.

Whereas Thailand’s top hospitals for cosmetic surgery charge about $2200 for breast enlargements and about $5500 for Phalloplasty, the same procedures cost between 5 to 10 times as much in the US.

Thailand has 33 internationally accredited hospitals. Always a tourist hotspot, the country has become one of the top destinations for medical tourism.

India’s efforts at promoting tourism and medical tourism are being hampered by the paucity of hotel rooms and speciality hospitals. The Government’s Tourism Minister has said that the country is facing a shortage of 150,000 hotel rooms and good hospitals to cater to the high-end foreigners.

Low cost medical care at the hands of Western trained medical professionals has made India into a top medical tourism destination. However, the lack of infrastructure continues to be a serious problem and an area where competing nations like Singapore and Thailand easily score over India.

Keen to promote the country as a destination for medical tourism, the Philippine Department of Tourism has unveiled plans to partner with local tour operators to come up with tour packages that would include treatment and check-ups in the itinerary of tourists. The price on offer would be cheaper than what’s offered by Thailand’s leading medical services provider.  

According to the president of the Philippine Hospital Association, Philippines can become a top destination for medical tourism contingent on hospitals improving their facilities.

Is this the spark that set off the chain reaction? 

According to news just coming in, at least 40 American businessess have signed a health plan which allows sending employees abroad to India, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, where they could potentially save upto 80% on medical expenses. Read here.

In the last few months, the industry voice on the urgent need for a policy on outsourcing of employee healthcare to low-cost destinations given the exorbitant costs in the US has reached a crescendo. With the pros clearly outweighing the cons, opposition has been rather muted but most clearly come from the United Steel Workers Union (USW), the largest labour union in North America.

The scale and standing of the businesses participating in this health plan is yet and might remain unknown. But will the bigger names follow?    

With its medical tourism program, The Government of Philippines hopes to earn $300 million by tapping into the lucrative Eurpean market. Contact has already been made with hospitals and patients in Russia, Romania, Poland, Itlay and France. The cost of procedures in Philippines cost 80 percent less than their price in Europe. A coronary artery bypass graft that would cost $50,000 in Europe costs only $10,000 in the Philippines.

However, the market is already cluttered and the Philippines will have to compete with Singapore and India which, along with Thailand, have the most successful medical tourism programs in Asia.

Last year, Thailand earned $1.1 billion, India 800 million dollars and Singapore, $300 million. During the same period, the Philippines earned $125 million.

Business 2.0 magazine says that third-party medical tourism facilitators are raking in the moolah helping Americans go abroad for high quality but cheaper medical treatment. After all, there is little that American consumers wont leave home for if the price is right.   

Americans spend more than $570 billion at US Hospitals annually. Faced with spiralling healthcare costs, individuals and businesses are looking overseas for medical treatment. This year alone, upwards of 500,000 Americans are expected to travel abroad to get their bodies fixed, at prices 30 to 80 percent less than at home. Closer to home, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic have become top destinations. Further away, India, Philippines and Thailand are competing for a piece of the pie. According to David Hancock, author of The Complete Medical Tourist, Americans are expected to help turn global medical tourism into a $40 billion-a-year industry by 2010.

Those who also stand to gain from this phenomenon are not only the hospitals and the patients but also medical tourism agencies. These companies take on the burden of doing the research and finding suitable hospitals, scheduling surgeries, buying airline tickets, reserving hotel rooms and even planning sightseeing tours for the patients, all for a hefty fee. 

These days many top hospitals in tune with medical tourism have created in-house departments responsible for advertising, outreach and securing patients. However, the market being big and varied, many American entrepreneurs are beginning to fill the vaccum by establishing partnerships with foreign hospitals.

According to the article, the top places for surgery are-

Teeth in Hungary- Quality dental care and $35 one-way fares to Budapest have opened up this market to U.K. clients.

Heart in Malaysia- A hot spot for advanced heart care, its doctors open up clogged blood vessels and replace worn valves with robotic assistance.

Nose in Costa Rica- With its abundance of U.S.-trained plastic surgeons, Costa Rica is known as the Beverly Hills of Central America.

Body sculpting in Brazil- The country’s body-sculpting prowess at liposuction and excess skin removal spawned a national magazine on the subject, Plastic & Beauty.

Hips in India- Hospitals here have pioneered hip resurfacing, a less costly alternative to hip replacement.