Medical tourism sluggish business

Few patients seek health care abroad

The market for medical tourism still is small, but a few South Carolina businesses are ready to send patients abroad.

Columbia-based Companion Global Healthcare formed last year and recently added three hospitals in Singapore to its international network, nearly doubling its overseas facilities.

To date, however, the company has had only three patients, including President and Chief Operating Officer David Boucher.

"While that (number) may sound insignificant, we are having an increasing number of employers calling us saying we need to do something about rising costs each year," Boucher said.

All BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina members have access to care abroad through Companion, which provides help with appointments, travel arrangements and transfer of medical records.

In February, Boucher scheduled a colonoscopy in Bangkok, Thailand, while travelling on business. The procedure cost $642, which he said saved between $1,000 and $2,000 — about equal to the cost of airfare.

The cost of travel can be a hurdle for medical travelers whose insurance covers treatment abroad. A patient with a $250 deductible has little incentive to pay $1,500 to fly halfway around the world.

One South Carolina company, Doctors Care, contracted with Companion in January to allow its employees, who are covered under a BlueCross plan, the option of traveling abroad for five procedures. Doctors Care is a health care company that offers minor emergency services at 40 locations.

"We would waive the deductible and will consider travel expenses on a case-by-case basis," said Dr. Michael Stout, CEO of UCI Medical Affiliates, which is the parent company of Doctors Care. So far, no employees have chosen to travel for treatment.

Doctors Care also agreed to care for patients returning from abroad who might need follow-up care, which some critics say may be hard for medical travelers to find.

"They're just like any other patients," Stout said. "Suppose a traveler had an emergency appendectomy in France and was now having stomach pain. We'd see them."

Charleston physician Dr. Lewis Gregory formed Destinations Medical Tours in March. Although yet to recruit its first patient, the company offers cosmetic procedures in Panama, where prices are about half of what services cost in the U.S.

"We're seeing a globalization of health care," Lewis said. "I noticed there was a need for more options for the American consumer to have affordable and quality health care." He plans to expand the business to offer a full range of services in several countries.

Destinations and Companion both contract with facilities accredited by Joint Commission International, which is affiliated with the U.S. hospital accrediting body.

Internationally, the number of medical travelers is estimated between 60,000 and 85,000, according to a May study by business consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Those numbers are much lower than previous estimates, which some marketers tout are as high as 1 million. The study excluded emergency treatment and "wellness tourists," such as those traveling for spa treatments.

Although most Americans travel in search of better value, the study found that the largest segment of medical travelers across the world, about 40 percent, are not seeking cheaper prices but the most advanced technologies.

Those travelers originate primarily from Latin America and the Middle East and often seek treatment in the U.S. or Europe, although Middle East medical travel to the U.S. plummeted after Sept. 11, 2001, as restrictions tightened.

While the numbers still are low, McKinsey estimated that up to 20 percent of U.S. inpatient admissions could be found for better value abroad.

Experts warn patients to be careful. Malpractice laws are different, if they exist at all, and language and cultural differences can be barriers.

Reach Jill Coley at 937-5719 or jcoley@postandcourier.com.