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When U.S. Supreme Court justices question lawyers on the constitutionality of President Obama’s 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there is at least one industry that won’t be feeling particularly nervous about the outcome: medical tourism companies.

That’s because, whatever happens, the companies—which arrange foreign surgeries or other medical procedures at top-rated facilities (along with the travel, accommodations and the occasional tourism itinerary) with savings of up to 70 to 80% of what they would cost in the U.S.—already have a strong and ever-growing clientele, most serving several thousand people a year.

“Obamacare is not going to affect us, because it doesn’t say what insurance companies can charge you,” says Geoff Moss of Planet Hospital, a 2002-founded company that sends people abroad for everything from tummy tucks and breast augmentations to hip replacements and kidney transplants.

“Let’s say you work flipping hamburgers and have a preexisting heart condition. Blue Cross can say, sure, that’ll be $1,000 a month.”

At the similarly structured Med Retreat, managing director Patrick Marsek (who also authored The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Medical Tourism) adds that, if Obamacare sticks, the remaining problem won’t even be just a cost issue, but one of access.

“You’re going to have 50 million people minimum coming into the healthcare system,” he says, “and when it comes to getting treatment, you’re going to have to wait in line.”

Enter medical tourism—where the world is your oyster, apparently, when it comes to getting all sorts of affordable, high-quality medical care.

“Cosmetic procedures seem to be what started the whole [medical tourism] industry,” Marsek says. “But, through the years, the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans started to grow, and now it’s orthopedic, cardiac and everything else.”

So where are the top destinations among Americans seeking affordable medical care? We worked with Moss and Marsek—two of the leaders in the field, who help guide thousands of Americans overseas each year for medical treatments—to come up with our list (which is not ranked, but in alphabetical order).

Singapore and Thailand are favorites. “Bumrungrad is the crown jewel of medical tourism,” Marsek says, referring to Bumrungrad International Hospital, just west of Bangkok, known for procedures including coronary artery bypass grafts, hip replacements and spinal fusions. In general, he adds, the best pricing will be found in Southeast Asia, including Singapore.

“They don’t have problems with malpractice, and the prices reflect that.” Costa Rica is a popular choice for being closer to home, as is Mexico—particularly for dental work and surgeries including knee and hip replacements.

Japan and Korea rank high for offering extremely advanced cancer treatments, plus top-notch orthopedic work. And India is always a low-cost, high-quality option—for oncology, cardio, neuro and orthopedic surgeries, as well as for fertility treatments and surrogacy.

The issue there, both Moss and Marsek agree, is that dealing with India is a huge culture shock for most Americans.

But the bottom line, according to Moss, is this: “There are over 52 million Americans without health insurance. So if you are one of those people and need a life-changing procedure, it could cost you $125,000, and you may have to sell everything you own to have surgery.

But if I told you there was a U.S. Board–certified, JCI-accredited hospital in India that could do it for $15,000, you’d probably be on the next flight out.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethgreenfield/2012/03/25/top-spots-for-medical-tourism-no-matter-what-supreme-court-rules-on-obamacare/

Medical Tourism Resource Online

A cheaper healthcare procedure plus a relaxing recovery and vacation in the Philippines is what a Las Vegas-based company promises its clients.

Some six million Americans are expected to benefit from these services offered by Medical Tourism Experts (MTE), which opened its headquarters last April 24.

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Medical Solution
MMedical Solution
www.mmediicalsolution.com

Medical tourism is a cash-rich industry. In Asia alone, studies have shown that some $390 billion are spent annually for health care. Most of this, finds its way into Thailand, India and Singapore, countries which currently lead the way in this field.

Can you imagine if the Philippines can just bite off a 10-percent chunk of this total budget? And that is just for medical tourism, not including the plain pleasure seekers, the bargain hunters, and the sightseers.

Medical tourism consists of medical care, health and wellness, traditional and alternative health care such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, virgin coconut oil, organic food, neutraceuticals and long-term tourism and international retirement health zones where foreign patients can recuperate, rehabilitate and retire. To complete the picture, the components of tourism and shopping have been added to increase the choices of tourists and bring in more.

Among the services that the country offers to foreigners are elective procedures such as cosmetic surgery, liposuction and dental surgery, and life-saving procedures such as coronary bypass surgery, kidney transplants and cancer treatment.

As testimony to the country’s advantages in medical tourism, a general checkup in the United States costs $5,000 while it will cost only the equivalent of $500 in the Philippines. Coronary bypass surgery, which clocks up $50,000 in the United States, will cost only $25,000 locally. And while kidney transplants can reach up to $150,000 abroad, it will only cost $25,000 here.

Even if the plane fare is added, trip to resort and a $100 gift certificate to add to their shopping money after they recover, the Philippine rate will still come out so much cheaper than having the surgeries abroad.

Cost is not only the country’s competitive advantage. The Philippines is also blessed with well-trained and highly skilled medical practitioners that are fluent in English and have received postgraduate training in the developed countries. Nurses and paramedical staff are also one of the best, as attested by the strong demand for their services and skills in foreign countries.

Besides competence, they are also known for their compassion, a key ingredient in caring for patients.

When the patients recuperate from the medical procedures that they came for, the variety of the country’s tourism offerings is also seen as a key advantage to luring medical tourism.

For sure, there will be the staple and indispensable aqua and beach tourism in Cebu, Palawan, Albay, Camiguin, Bohol, Boracay and of course Eastern Visayas. But the country also will offer historical, heritage and cultural tourism in places such as Leyte in Eastern Visayas, Vigan in Ilocos, the Banawe Rice Terraces, Fort Santiago and Intramuros, and the many interesting sites and activities in every province.

And don’t forget the great