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Medical tourism could save countries millions
Sending patients abroad for surgery will cut wait times for less than local private hospitals
By KARIN BASARABA
While Americans are facing the ridiculously high price of surgery, Commonwealth residents are paying the dangerously high price of the waiting game.
Every year, each country with a surgical wait list crisis comes up with a new plan to slash lists. But the numbers continue to climb as baby boomers continue to age and governments struggle to keep up with the growing demands of the ageing population.
It’s the question of the decade: how do governments cut wait times for elective surgery, without sacrificing their public health care system?
The answer it seems, in some form or another, is the inclusion of for-profit health care, much to the chagrin of those involved.
In Canada, two provinces recently announced health care plans that involve private clinics in some form. Critics immediately squelched the plans, crying an end to universal health care in Canada.
Up until now, both the United Kingdom and Australia have maintained a health care system that involved the private sector to a small degree.
But how successful have they been? Should Canada be following in their footsteps, or begin to look at alternatives? Could the answer lie in the medical tourism industry, where standards are high and prices are low?
The UK’s National Health Service provides the majority of health services to Britons, which are free at the point of delivery. Only a small portion of the population holds their own private health insurance as a guarantee to quicker access to specialists and surgeries.
Meanwhile, regardless of means, every Australian is entitled to attend a public hospital and receive medical treatment free of charge under their fully subsidized Medicare program. Again, a fraction of Australians hold private insurance policies to ensure shorter waits in private hospitals and coverage of a wider range of services.
However, these countries continue to have wait lists for certain procedures in the public system. And like their Canadian counterparts, they are struggling to reduce the waits, without sacrificing their beloved public health care system.
A few years ago, the NHS toyed with the idea of sending patients to neighboring France and introduced a pilot project whereby several Brits were removed from the queue and sent abroad for surgery.
That plan soon fizzled and not long after they began spending large amounts of money on buying operations from private British hospitals in order to hit their waiting list targets.
But critics say the level of care in the private hospitals is not the same as one would receive in an NHS hospital. British doctors are not allowed to work in the private sector to ensure the private centers provide additional capacity, rather than merely hiring existing NHS staff.
Meanwhile, others contend the current level of additional spending is simply not feasible.
"This level of spending is not sustainable," said Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat health spokesman. "When the brakes go on NHS spending, as the government is planning, there is a real danger that waiting times will start to go up again."
The British government promised last year that by that December, no NHS patient will wait longer than six months for elective surgery. But end-of-the-year figures showed 48 patients still waiting for surgery.
A small step on some accounts, but what will happen when the first of the boomers turn 60 this year? It could be back to square one for the NHS.
In Australia, however, where health care is divided between federal and state governments, several different plans have been tested to reduce wait lists.
In spite of more than $170 million AUD promised in one state to reduce wait lists for elective surgery over three years, times remained the same.
And in another state, the government has turned to private hospitals, where 500 patients will receive non-urgent orthopedic, vascular and plastic surgeries at a total cost of $2 million AUD.
At the same time, the waiting list in Australia for elective surgeries in public hospitals holds a whopping 40,000 patients.
It’s going to take more than a $2 million band-aid to solve Australia’s wait list crisis.
So how could medical tourism help reduce the waiting lists of Commonwealth countries without sacrificing the quality and universality of care?
MedSolution.com currently has partnerships with hospitals in India and France. India offers surgeries at up to 90 per cent less than in the United States, while France boasts the best health care system in the world.
And even after factoring in the flight, it is difficult to ignore the astounding differences in price.
A hip replacement at a private hospital in the UK can cost approximately $16,000 US. Conversely, the same procedure at MedSolution.com’s partner hospital in India, Krishna Heart Institute, is only $5,800. Factor in the $900 flight from London and you still have a savings of $9,300.
The going rate for both hip and knee replacements at a private hospital in Australia is also about $16,000 US. A knee replacement at Krishna costs $6,700. Add in a $1,000 flight from Sydney and you’re still ahead by $8,300.
But the biggest savings would be for Canadians. The Quebec government has suggested sending patients to private clinics in Canada if a wait exceeds six months. The price of a hip replacement at a private clinic in Canada would be about the same as in the US – about $40,000.
Even if a patient were to travel to France, where prices are significantly higher than India, the government could save about $24,000 per patient – and that’s after tacking on an $800 flight to Paris.
Steps are slowly being made in this direction already in Europe. Following a recent ruling in the European courts, it is now allowable for patients to seek treatment in other EU states if there is an excessive wait in their own country.
What has not been determined is how long is considered excessive. Also, it can take up to six weeks to organize the E112 certificate, which is necessary for treatment abroad. However, six weeks is still better than the year that many people are currently waiting.
It is clear that the public health care system in all three Commonwealth countries is currently under an enormous strain. And it is only going to get worse once the onslaught of baby boomers begin to reach their golden years.
MedSolution.com is keeping a watchful eye on these countries, with the hope of potentially working together with these governments to resolve the situation.
And regardless of which option each country takes, MedSolution.com is able to help people around the globe with their health care needs at any time.
While health ministries continue to crunch the numbers, it appears they are fighting a loosing battle, as long as the price of private health care remains high.
It is time for these normally progressive countries to think outside the box and look at alternatives to remedy a potentially fatal epidemic.
With files from The Courier-Mail, The Age, BBC News, Politics.co.uk and The Sunday Times.
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