August 17, 2006 |
Posted By Diane Pfadenhauer |
Outsourced Healthcare or Medical Tourism
An interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor discusses are cent change to employee benefits at Blue Ridge Paper Products. In an effort to reduce medical costs, the company is permitting (perhaps encouraging?) employees to travel overseas for medical and surgical care where it can be provided often at a fraction of what it costs in the United States. According to the article:
Carl Garrett, a paper-mill technician, is scheduled to travel to New Delhi, where he will undergo two operations. Though American individuals have gone abroad for cheaper operations, Mr. Garrett is a pioneer of sorts. Garrett's medical care alone may save the company $50,000. And instead of winding up $20,000 in debt to have the operations in the US, he may now get up to $10,000 back as a share of the savings. He'll also get to see the Taj Mahal as part of a two-day tour before the surgery. His two operations could cost $100,000 in the US; they'll run about $20,000 in India.
Some others who have gotten on the bandwagon....
• Insurers Health Net of California already contracts with medical clinics on the Mexico side of the US border.
• A West Virginia state legislator introduced a bill this year that would encourage state workers to seek treatment overseas using incentives such as cash bonuses and family travel.
• United Group Programs in Florida, which administers self-insurance programs for small companies, has contracted with a Thailand hospital for its employer clients.
• Inquiries from self-insured employers are brisk at IndUShealth in Raleigh, N.C., which specializes in offshoring serious medical cases such as rotator cuff surgery and gall bladder removal to India
So, can someone please tell my why I can't get my prescriptions from Canada?