North Carolina Health Insurance Companies Embrace "Medical Tourism"

With the rising costs of healthcare for both consumers and the insurance companies that provide coverage, insurance companies in North Carolina are embracing the idea of having patients treated for covered conditions and procedures overseas. The practice, which is becoming known as "medical tourism" is increasingly popular. It saves insurance companies money, they in turn can and do pass these savings on to consumers in the way of cheaper health insurance rates, while still providing patients access to top quality healthcare.

Procedures that cost tens of thousands of dollars are considerably cheaper in top hospitals in places like India and Thailand. India and Thailand are among the most popular destinations with patients and providers of medical insurance because of the quality of care, and the fact that most if not all of the doctors and surgeons at the hospitals in these countries are trained in the United States. While these hospitals may be located in poor countries, they are top facilities with highly trained staffs and state of the art procedures, and yet can offer these services at fractions of the cost of the same procedures Stateside.  The pilot program, which was tested last year by insurance companies in North Carolina, goes into effect this year. In one of the pilot cases, an employee of a North Carolina Paper Mill went to New Delhi to have shoulder and gal bladder surgery under his health insurance plan. He not only saved his company and the insurance company tens of thousands of dollars, he says he was treated "royally" and got to see the Taj Mahal.

Insurance companies in North Carolina like those in other parts of the country liked the idea of overseas treatment as a cheaper heath insurance option to their customers for several reasons. Not only due to the evidence of good care being received by patients overseas, but they are also excited by the comparatively cheaper healthcare for American patients at far-off hospitals, which are in many cases up to 80 percent less than here in the US. For example, in New Delhi, a night at the Apollo chain of hospitals where patients receive care in a resort-style setting is less then a stay at Holiday Inn, let alone a US Hospital - under 100.00!

Other states are warming to this idea for cheaper health insurance. A company in Florida called United Group Programs that specializes in insurance products for the self-employed and small business medical insurance has contracted with hospitals in Thailand for their policyholders. Insurance companies in California already contract with hospitals on the Mexican side of the border, and companies in West Virginia offer incentives and bonuses to insured families who will seek treatment for high-ticket procedures overseas.