Medical Tourism to India, All Expenses Paid

Reader Comments
Back to blog

This has long been talked about for a while in India as well. Not sure, why India has not yet capitalized on this opportunity. With soaring health care costs out here & in Europe, I think this makes a lot of sense.
A few issues need to be resolved for this trend to take off:
1) Perception Issue: Clearly the perception of India as 3rd world country needs to be addressed. Ofcourse, Govt. of India needs to invest in Public Health & Sanitation Infrastructure. Else, US patients will end up catching waterborne tropical diseases!
2) Deals with Insurance Companies: If Corporate Hospitals (like Apollo, Fortis, Escorts etc) engage into an alliance with a Health Insurance Company (say UHC, Aetna), and success stories can be weaved out of this arrangement, I think Medical Tourism will really takeoff.
3) Establishment of Health Cities:- India needs to invest in state of the art "Health Cities" or Clusters where every corporate Hospital invests in 1000 Bed facility. Chandrababu Naidu had talked about one such Health City in Hyderabad & there were other cities also explored tapping medical tourism in India.
4) Political Management:- I foresee a situation wherein Leftists will cry hoarse that the Govt. of India on one hand has neglected Public Inbvestment in Healthcare and on other hand is providing sops to private entrepreneurs to take care of "foreign" patients even as the poor & needy in India are dying unattended. This is a valid argument which will need political management by the Govt.

Bharat Sadula of OH 8:09PM November 23, 2008

The ingenuity, procedures, and drugs are all developed in the US at extreme cost. Added to that, American hospitals lose millions after millions delivering care to those who cannot afford it. It is quite natural that these hospitals would then end up having to charge large sums to those that actually pay.
Indian hospitals can easily steal the techniques of surgery from the US (where many of their doctors train as residents). They do not have the costs of research and development, and do not give care to those who cannot pay. No wonder the cost of a procedure is so much less there!
This is not a referendum on the American system; it's more of an exposure of piracy by other countries.

Luke of AL 2:33PM November 22, 2008

Yeah, this makes perfect sense. You pick up a medically fragile person, put him in a "big ole jet airliner" and fly him literally to the other side of the world so somebody can get some instruments and do six hours of hand work on his insides.
Earthlings have gone nuts---so would say a proverbial man from Mars looking on from afar (or for that matter, God, looking down from afar.)
But, there is "financial reality" you say.
Yes, and there is "real reality" I say.
Long distance medical tourism is as nutty as Christmas fruitcakes.

of 10:15AM November 22, 2008

www.worldmedassist.com has facilitated businesses obtain Medical Tourism stop loss coverage through Swiss Re as well. The small to medium size businesses, those that are ethically driven to take care of their employees, should be splitting the cost with their employees or picking up the tab, cause, in the end one would be getting excellent care at fraction of the cost (1/3 - 1/4). India, Turkey, even Belgium are much cheaper then the US care for under-insured.

John Schiller of CA 5:03PM November 21, 2008

If you think about it, this is about as goofy as exporting prescription drugs in bulk to Canada and then re-importing them at retail because they are cheaper for consumers from there BY REGULATION.
There is no logical reason WHY Indians or Mexicans can do surgery cheaper (with travel to boot) than Americans EXCEPT we do not have our regulatory heads on straight.

of 2:15PM November 21, 2008