LAT: U.S. Employers Look Offshore for Healthcare (Surgery)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-outsource30jul30,0,2330630.story?coll=la-home-headlines

After going overseas to outsource everything from manufacturing to customer services, American businesses — pressed by rising healthcare costs — are looking offshore for medical benefits as well.

A growing number of employers that fund their own health insurance plans are looking into sending their ailing employees around the world for surgeries that in the U.S. cost tens of thousands of dollars more.

Carl Garrett of Leicester, N.C., will fly to a state-of-the-art New Delhi hospital in September for surgeries to remove gallstones and to fix an overworn rotator cup. His employer, Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc.of Canton, N.C., will pay for it all, including airfare for Garrett and his fiancee. The company also will give Garrett a share of the expected savings, up to $10,000, when he returns. Garrett chose to go abroad rather than have the operations locally, where he would have paid thousands of dollars in deductibles and co-pays.

"I think it is a great thing," the 60-year-old technician said. "Maybe it will drive down prices here in the U.S."

Blue Ridge, which employs 2,000 and funds its own health plan, began studying the idea out of frustration with rising rates at local hospitals, company officials said. Blue Ridge's healthcare costs have doubled in the last five years, to about $9,500 a year per employee.

[CAG]

1. Geezuz freakin ---- the next frontier, your employer or insurer telling

you what THIRD FREAKIN WORLD COUNTRY you can have your appendix taken out, your brain tumor removed, etc, all because NOTHING constructive is being done to hold down the incredible health care inflation rate.

I was in a conference last December where a pharmacoeconomist forecast a "MODEST" growth of ~8% health care annual inflation over the next few years. Its incredible that this is the mindset; to call an inflation rate of an industry MODEST when its 3-4 times that of general inflation. I guess thats what you get when americans allow health care to grow at an annual clip of 10-15% for the last several years.

[rubberducky]

2. God forbid that anything would be done to

fix the problems with the healthcare system here!! And still, they don`t want us to import medication fromthese same third world countries!Who would have ever guessed that in 6 years our country could change so radically?

[CAG]

3. It will take a comprehensive approach; importing drugs is a temporary

bandaid that we should stop focussing on, IMHO. If importing becomes a norm, the drug companies will just up their prices in the other countries, and even govt's with price caps will succumb: Big pharma will just send their ENDLESS STREAM of lobbyists and lawyers to each of the major player governments (such as Canada), & stuff the pockets of each legislator, judge, and executive until they get those price caps abolished or adjusted enough to maintain their meager :sarcasm: 20% profit margins. Never underestimate the effectiveness of an industry that has more money stored up than 90 countries put together.

[madrchsod]

4. i read the article in time(?)..while i was having a

stress test and this sounded pretty good to me. 0ne over night in an icu room and a stress test-14,000 dollars and no insurance. if i didn`t have insurance when i had my other heart problems and three other surgeries i`d be in debt over 200,000 dollars


this is the list of where my doctors came from

palestine/jordon-heart
iceland-heart
two from afghanistan-heart
england-heart
romania-heart
three from the usa-misc.

[w4rma]

5. Great! Until things are fixed here this sounds like all anyone can do.(nt)

[Wwagsthedog]

6. We need to put everyone on Medicare, period.

This is not my original idea. Paul Krugman wrote the concept in a recent column. Yes, I know I'm dreaming but the thought of a country/society without the rampant corruption that exists today on many fronts is worth imagining. Guess I'll go take another overpriced pill and go to sleep.

[Suich]

7. Check out this site:

I'm a couple of years away from Medicare and bookmarked it, just in case! http://www.onceuponourtime.com/india

[NNguyenMD]

8. not opposed to this but people choose this route at their own risk

What are the risks? I have no idea I have never been hospitalized in India.

But it makes sense, it costs a fortune to train doctors, nurses, ancillary services, physical and occupational therapists in this country. If another country can do the same job cheaper than by all means its a big save.

Maybe it'll inspire the healthcare community to rethink charging someone thousands of dollars for a stay in the ICU.

In my opinion, I think the VA is currently the best model of universal healthcare. Its coverage is solid nationwide, the EMR system allows for better more efficient healthcare, and contrary to perceived thoughts of inferior quality, Veterans have by far better, more streamlined access to drugs, procedures, and mental health services than any other institutions I've worked at.

I think that the VA's of today are a good model of a future American NHS system, thats fair and reasonable. You're not going to get the million dollar work-up, but you'll still get good healthcare.

[Vidar]

9. Hmm where could we find extremely competent doctors that work

for low wages? Cuba comes to mind.

[salin]

10. During his visit to India, Jr hailed the medical industry as the NEXT

area that could be beneficial to outsource to India. Guess this is what he was talking about.

[bleedingheart]

Good Luck if they screw up....cuz you will have no rights

who do you sue if you get sepsis in a Thai hospital or if your doctor screws up?

Who will pay for followup care and what will happen if you are too sick for another trip overseas ???


This is an absolutely stupid idea.

Sorry but I would rather get my treatment nearer my family than overseas.

[bleedingheart]

11. Good Luck if they screw up....cuz you will have no rights

who do you sue if you get sepsis in a Thai hospital or if your doctor screws up?

Who will pay for followup care and what will happen if you are too sick for another trip overseas ???


This is an absolutely stupid idea.

Sorry but I would rather get my treatment nearer my family than overseas.