Insure.com: The doctor is in ... 9,000 miles away. Insurance in the age of medical tourism.
21 Ottobre 2008 - 1:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
DARIEN, Ill., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Insure.com, Inc.
(NASDAQ:NSUR) examines a growing health care trend in its new
report on medical tourism. For some patients, traveling abroad is
the only option for obtaining health care, and it's not just for
the uninsured. Even for Americans with health insurance, the rising
out-of-pocket costs for insurance deductibles, co-payments and
co-insurance can put medical treatment out of reach at home. The
most common surgeries sought by Americans overseas include heart
procedures (coronary artery bypass surgery), orthopedic procedures
(spinal fusion, hip and knee replacement and resurfacing),
laparoscopic surgeries, transplants and elective treatments such as
cosmetic surgeries and dental work. A trip abroad for surgery can
be purchased much like a vacation plan. Most medical tourism
packages include 24-hour assistance with scheduling appointments
and travel arrangements. In many ways, medical tourism combines
health care with vacations: cost effective surgeries and
recuperation arranged much like an exotic vacation. It is common
for recovery centers and aftercare facilities to resemble five-star
resorts. Even with the cost of air travel, lodging and food
factored in, foreign medical treatment can come cheaper than
American medical care. In California, Texas and Arizona, retirement
communities organize regular bus tours to Mexico for seniors
seeking affordable dental work and inexpensive pharmaceuticals.
Since 45 percent of Americans do not have dental insurance, dental
care is a top reason to travel. Americans can travel to Costa Rica
to have a crown done for under $500. With dental insurance,
patients pay $10 to $50 for a gold crown, while porcelain crowns
typically cost from $40 to $100 each. Without insurance, the
average cost is between $650 and $1,200 per tooth. Mexican dentists
charge one-fifth to one-fourth of U.S. prices. Most medical tourism
packages can save patients 20 to 80 percent of the cost of a
medical or dental procedure in the U.S. Insure.com Senior Writer
Michelle Matlock says it's important to do your homework before
booking a medical tourism trip. Based on her research, she advises
these steps: -- Find a reputable medical tourism company that will
facilitate your appointments, recuperation and return trip. --
Research the medical "track record" of the country to which you're
going. -- Coordinate your treatment with your doctor back home for
follow-up care. -- Be aware that you may have little legal recourse
if something goes wrong in your treatment abroad, due to sometimes
sparse legal liability systems in other countries. -- Plan some
recuperation time at your destination, as plane flights can
exacerbate complications and delay recovery. -- Know that your
American health plan will likely cover any complications you
experience when you're back home, such as treatment for infections,
even if the insurance didn't pay for the treatment abroad. "You
have to be thorough when you plan out a medical tourism trip,"
Matlock says. "There are a number of things that can go wrong, so
use a medical tourism operator you can trust and who understands
the ins and outs of the country you're visiting." A few American
health insurance companies offer insurance coverage for medical
tourism, generally within group health insurance plans where the
employer has opted to include it. The full article is available at:
http://www.insure.com/articles/healthinsurance/medical-tourism.html
About Insure.com Originally founded in 1984 as Quotesmith
Corporation, Insure.com owns and operates a comprehensive consumer
information service and companion insurance brokerage service that
caters to the needs of self-directed insurance shoppers. Visitors
to the Company's flagship Web site, http://www.insure.com/, are
able to obtain free, instant car insurance quotes, instant life
insurance quotes, home, business and health insurance quotes from
leading insurers and have the freedom to buy online or by phone
from any company shown. Insure.com also plays home to over 2,000
originally authored articles on various insurance topics and also
provides free insurance decision-making tools that are not
available from any other single source. Insure.com generates
revenues from receipt of industry-standard commissions, including
back-end bonus commissions and volume-based contingent bonus
commissions that are paid by participating insurance companies. We
also generate advertising revenues from the sale of Web site
traffic to various third parties. Shares of the Company's common
stock trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol NSUR.
DATASOURCE: Insure.com, Inc. CONTACT: Amy Danise, Editor of
Insure.com, Inc., +1-860-386-6446, Web site: http://www.insure.com/
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