Obama Health Care

It is undoubtedly true that “health is wealth”. When religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men consider medicine to do magic. And technology ensures that the benefit of medicinal science reaches the healthcare consumers at their ease. Today, healthcare consumers can go online and purchase virtually any type of prescription medication, with or without a valid prescription from their physician. With numerous Internet pharmacies selling medications through their websites, it is at times, quite confusing for consumers to get their prescriptions filled safely and legally. A pharmacy search engine is an ideal solution to such a situation. It provides the freedom and choice to move the prescription to any pharmacy and get the best available price on your drugs.

Internet pharmacies have been the focus of heightened interest in relation to the issues of selling prescription drugs and other products online at the retail level. The Internet pharmacy industry has shifted rapidly in the short time span. This has undoubtedly improved patient’s access to and choice of pharmacy services, but the consumer is entitled to expect the same quality of pharmaceutical care irrespective of whether the service is provided online or face-to-face on the pharmacy premises. A pharmacy search engine assists the healthcare consumers by providing a secure way to access a network of licensed pharmacies and get their prescription medications affordably and safely.

Prescription drugs have always been the key elements in the prevention and treatment of disease and have improved the lives of millions of patients. In the US, prescription drugs represent about 12% of healthcare spending. Prescription drugs can be a costly medical expense, especially for older people and those who are chronically ill. The rising costs of healthcare, and prescription drugs in particular, have focused attention of people towards generic drugs as a clinically acceptable alternative to reduce costs. Many Internet pharmacies offer generic drugs as an alternative to the expensive prescription drugs. Here lies the risk of purchasing medicines over the Internet that a consumer has to identify and understand. Unfortunately not all of these sites are legitimate. Some illegitimate sites do not provide their physical address and often play on the vulnerable by offering “miracle” cures for serious conditions such as cancer or stroke or other life threatening conditions. Legitimate pharmacy Internet sites will always require customers to forward a valid prescription before prescription-only medicines are supplied.

An Internet pharmacy search engine is dedicated solely to create a worldwide network of licensed and legitimate online pharmacies, helping the healthcare consumers to place their order for prescription medicines with confidence. The pharmacies enlisted in a pharmacy search engine are licensed within their country’s jurisdiction and strict approvals of pharmacies are conducted through certification agencies. All a patient needs is to create a secure account and search for the medicine he or she requires. Then choose the pharmacy best suited to the requirements and fax in their prescriptions to that pharmacy. Many pharmacy search engines even keep an electronic patient record to ensure that the patient and their health care provider know what records are on file and what options they have for affordable and safe medications.

Christine Macguire
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/pharmacy-search-engine-the-future-of-internet-pharmacies-92247.html

Ahmedabad is better known as the capital city of the state of Gujarat. It is the seventh largest metropolis of India. A city more popular for its industrial background, is now growing on the real estate map, slowly and steadily.

Ahmedabad is among the top 10 cities to reside, invest and earn, according to a study ‘The city skyline of India 2006′ conducted by Indicus Analytics. Surat and Ahmedabad are also ranked in the top ten ‘alpha cities’ also classified by the study as the elite club of 10.

Ahmedabad enjoys strategic location advantage of proximity to Mumbai, commercial capital of the country. Western, Middle East and African markets are also accessible. Going by the ever growing construction of skyscrapers, shopping malls and multiplexes, the city is moving on fast. Investors and NRI Gujaratis have been attracted due to its mega city status and the strides it has made in terms of healthcare, cuisines and malls.

Retail and information technology are the upcoming sectors in the state. IT parks are being set up. Projects in the auto parts industry are being planned for the city. An arterial road network of 155 kms has been identified for a Rs 950 crore Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad.

S.G Highway and Ambawadi are the places where IT companies are coming up with their campuses. Prime residential areas are Sabarmati, Vastrauram, Satellite, Ambavadi and Chandkhera. Prime Commercial areas are C.G road, S.G highway Satellite, Vastrapur. Coming of SEZ will further boost real estate residential and commercial values because of increase in number of floating population. Current Ahmedabad real estate market is less expensive as compared to the neighboring localities and this is going to be a crucial factor – as more number of International players will establish their campus here.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport serves both as a domestic and an international airport for the city and neighboring states. It operates direct flights to all other major cities of India. The National Highway 8 which connects Delhi to Mumbai passes though Ahmedabad. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed two separate agreements with IDAA consortium and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for upgrading the highway under a BOT (build, operate and transfer) scheme. The Metro Rail Project is being planned with private sector participation.

Current focus is on infrastructure by privatizing ports and building integrated townships. The government is encouraging in a big way, technology parks, education based townships, medical and healthcare townships, tourism-related townships, Logistics Park and residential townships.

Skilled labour, availability of land in market, quality real estate, low operational costs, good connectivity, supportive government policies and entrepreneurial culture are the city’s strengths. There has been a tremendous demand for low-rise buildings, bungalows and row-houses, say local realty agents. However, social infrastructure has still not matched the desired pace. Hence, self-contained and integrated projects will have better prospects.

George Gonigal
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/growing-prospect-for-investing-in-ahmedabad-real-estate-722953.html

Health or medical tourism is a recently coined phrase that denotes tourists visiting other countries not only for sightseeing but also for medical treatment, taking advantage of the low costs prevailing in those countries. It is gaining in popularity as the medical costs in developed countries are becoming exorbitant. Patients can save as much as 50% and more on medical costs depending on the destination. Moreover many of the low cost countries like Panama also provide quality healthcare services matching with those of developed ones.

Panama has a history of having good healthcare system right from building of the Panama Canal in 1914 when doctors from U.S. helped in eradicating malaria, typhoid and other tropical diseases prevailing in Panama at that time. Since then many citizens of Panama have traveled to U.S. and Europe to get advanced degrees in medicine & technology and returned to Panama to set up a good healthcare system. Hospitals in Panama are provided with latest technology equipment imported from abroad. Latest CAT scanning machines, radiation therapy for cancer, three dimensional computerized reconstructions are all available at the hospitals in Panama.

Doctors and other healthcare professionals in Panama are well versed in English which is another plus point that increases the comfort level of tourists from U.S. Medical tourists can undergo dental implants in Panama by paying less than half the cost prevailing in U.S. taking advantage of the low taxes and wages there. Other popular medical procedures include plastic surgery, cardiology, assisted reproduction, ophthalmology etc. Tourists visiting Panama for medical purpose can not only avail quality healthcare at affordable prices but also enjoy the sunny beaches and other tourist attractions of Panama. Another incentive for tourists from U.S. to undergo medical treatment in Panama is that the tax deductible medical expense includes travel cost.

The popularity of alternate medicine also attracts tourists to travel abroad for treatment. Acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, magnetic therapy, zoo therapy, prolotherapy etc. are some of the alternate medicines available in Panama. With the advent of internet, communication has become cheap and easy worldwide and there are many websites that provide information on the medical facilities available abroad. Pana health is an internet based organization in Panama that provides the service of linking prospective health tourists with doctors and hospitals affiliated to it. Many tourist operators also take care of the needs of foreigners like transportation, lodging etc. visiting Panama for medical purposes. Centro Medico Paitilla and Hospital Nacional are two hospitals in Panama City providing exclusive service to visiting foreign health tourists.

The geo thermal springs in El Valle and Chiriqui mountains serve as tourist cum health spot. Panama grows the None fruit abundantly which is known to aid in boosting the immune system and is popular with health conscious tourists. The doctors in Panama are well trained professionals and have received rave reviews from visiting foreign patients for their dedication and quality of service.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.panamaexpertos.com

http://www.panamaexpertos.com/info.php?page=content/visas_residency_citizenship

http://www.panamaexpertos.com/info.php?page=content/visas_residency_citizenship&pagenumber=2

Jean Bouttet
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/panama-health-tourism-96674.html

The association providing healthcare for thousands of people around the world as well as heart surgery and plastic repair surgery is mainly aimed for that group of patients that hardly succeed to put food on their family’s table but desperately require medical care. The main objective of the program is to provide affordable healthcare and pharmaceutical supplies to persons who cannot afford to pay hundreds of dollars for the necessary medical needs and at an approachable price.

The program is a partnership between internationally known hospitals; its goal is to provide medical and surgical care, plastic surgery and dentistry with virtually no limits in both financial and timing resources. The main idea is to be able to offer medical and surgical care in just a few weeks instead of putting the patients on long interminable waiting lists.

At the same or even lower prices than other medical care providers’ offer, the affordable healthcare in different parts of the world can offer you also the opportunity to travel to a foreign country while doing the required trip for you operation. The agency for most affordable medical care suitable for anyone independently of the financial and social status is able to provide its patients with any kind of required healthcare or surgical intervention. Heart surgery and plastic surgery are only two important options of the program; the world-wide spread affordable healthcare program is able to deal with any kind of medical problems in best conditions.

Implying the affordable heart surgery all over the partnered hospitals, the affordable discounts low costs include the doctor’s fees, nursing, material cost, pre and post procedure consultations, tests and physical examinations as well as room fees, meals and medical or surgical procedure hospital costs. Affordable heart surgery low cost packages also include all required diagnose tests, radiology, laboratory before and after the surgical procedure; medications, medical supplies and drugs used by the patient during the in-patient hospital stay are also included for the benefit of the patient who cannot afford spending a lot of money for his medical needs.

When it comes to affordable plastic surgery the high quality cosmetic procedures are available due to the basis of the program that offers young board certified surgeons to minimize the cost of marketing for their practice. Due to an increasingly large popularity of plastic surgery in television programs more and more persons ask for our affordable plastic surgery offers; the benefit is both to the young practitioners requiring a high volume of patients and to the persons looking for plastic surgery interventions at lower costs.

When it comes for Affordable heart surgery or if you want to find specific information about Affordable plastic surgery please check this website: Affordable health care

Stefan Jechel
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/affordable-health-care-and-heart-surgery-107626.html

Have you heard the news? Infections obtained in hospitals are not simply isolated instances-they are becoming a troubling trend! The situation is particularly a problem, as hospitals are places where patients go to receive treatments for their injuries and illnesses. Obtaining another illness can become not only annoying and dangerous, but also deadly! Here are some facts about the ongoing situation:

1. The problem is about infections in hospitals

The problem with infections in hospitals is very specific. It involves patients who acquire the infections while in a healthcare environment. Also, the cases involve patients who were admitted for reasons unrelated to the infection OR, those in which the patients could have been unaffected when they were admitted. In a nutshell, the patients are acquiring infections, and the source is the healthcare facilities themselves.

2. Some of the infections have resulted in death

The infections that some patients obtain in hospitals can eventually be fatal. “The Chicago Tribune” recently ran a series in its periodical, about infections that originate in hospitals. It uncovered several shocking cases in which people obtained bacterial infections in the hospital-and then died from them. While the deaths represent extreme cases, they nonetheless show how serious the situation is.

3. The CDC’s findings are mind-boggling

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have compiled some staggering numbers, involving hospital-obtained infections:

•    U.S. hospitals annually admit roughly 36 million people
•    About two million patients yearly become infected while getting treatment
•    The infections cost patients nearly $5 BILLION in extra healthcare costs
•    A maximum of one-third of the infections could be avoided

The infections range in their severity. Hospitals can easily treat some of them, while others can become deadly.

4. Hospitals can help to prevent the infections

Hospitals can take various steps to help prevent bacterial infections from appearing in their patients. Of course, patients are already more vulnerable to such infections, due to their weaker immune systems. However, medical personnel can still take several steps to minimize the number of infections from which their patients suffer. They can perform proper hand-washing. They can sterilize all instruments. They can wear proper masks and scrubs, such as cheap urbane scrubs. Scientific studies have revealed that the wearing of scrubs can significantly reduce the transmission of “bad” bacteria, between people.

5. Patients can help to prevent the infections

As a patient, learn about the treatment that you will receive, so you can be aware of situations in which you would be more likely to acquire potentially infectious bacteria (MRSA is the most common one in hospitals). Then closely observe as medical personnel perform their treatment on you. If you have any queries or concerns, then speak out!

How often are patients infected with bacteria, in places where they seek cures? It happens more often than most people realize. However, the situation is not hopeless. Hospitals and patients can take steps to reduce the threat of hospital-obtained infections. The stakes are too high, so never let the hospital bugs bite!

Brent McNutt
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/5-cold-hard-facts-about-hospitalobtained-infections-710296.html

In today’s health insurance marketplace, three primary types of healthcare coverage are available. They are the Indemnity plan, the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). Each approach offers consumers the opportunity to choose between flexibility and control in their healthcare choices vs. the expense of their healthcare coverage. Almost universally, healthcare plans that offer more consumer flexibility and control are also more expensive, while plans allowing the insurance company to control healthcare delivery choices are usually more affordable. Let’s look at each of these plans.

The Indemnity plan approach represents healthcare as it was offered in the days before managed care. In an Indemnity plan, the policyholder is free to go to any doctor, specialist, hospital or laboratory to pursue the medical care they believe they need. These healthcare services are billed to the insurance company at the individual rate set by the healthcare provider. The insurance company pays a fixed proportion of the fees (usually 80%) and the consumer pays the remaining percentage (usually 20%) of the billed medical fees. Each healthcare provider is free to set their fees at a level they choose, and the consumer has little incentive to consider overall medical expenses. While Indemnity plans are still available today, they are not widely utilized since they are too expensive for the average consumer. The monthly premium for an Indemnity plan is generally 50% to 100% higher than premium for a PPO or HMO plan.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Health Maintenance Organizations or HMOs were introduced by insurance companies as a way to combat the rising costs of healthcare being experienced by employers providing health benefits to their employees. In an HMO, the policyholder selects or is assigned to a Primary Care Provider (PCP) such as a family practitioner, internist or pediatrician. The PCP is responsible for coordinating all healthcare services delivered to the policyholder (except for emergency care). The policyholder can only see a specialist, use a lab service or check into a hospital if they are referred for such services by the PCP. Any services that are not referred by the consumer’s PCP are not reimbursable under the health insurance policy. Within the HMO network, healthcare providers agree with the insurance company on negotiated rates for specific services. Once approved, these healthcare providers become part of the network available to the PCP for referring patients when additional care is required. Based on the insurance company’s strict control of the healthcare providers used and the rates they will charge, an HMO is usually the least expensive alternative for a healthcare plan.

In the middle between the wide-open Indemnity plan and the strictly-controlled HMO, insurance companies also offer a third alternative called a Preferred Provider Organization or PPO. In a PPO plan, a policyholder is free to go to almost any healthcare provider they choose, including doctors, specialists, labs and hospitals, and usually without a medical referral. However, the amount reimbursed by the insurance company for the delivered medical services will vary depending on whether the healthcare provider is within their negotiated network or not. As with an HMO, the insurance company negotiates fees in advance with selected healthcare providers and approves them for inclusion in the plan’s preferred provider network. Healthcare services delivered by these in-network providers are generally reimbursed to the consumer at high rates of 70% or more. On the other hand, when the consumer uses a non-network healthcare provider, the reimbursement will be much lower, ranging from 0% to 50% of the incurred medical expenses. Since the vast majority of PPO policyholders use in-network providers to reduce their out-of-pocket expenses, PPOs are very cost-effective for insurance companies. As a result, PPOs are somewhat more expensive than HMOs, but are still very reasonably priced for the average person.

JM Bauer
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/the-abcs-of-health-insurance-plans-56415.html

India has become the preferred choice of many US company’s wanting to assign vendors who can provide low-cost transcription services, that will cut down operational costs at home and marginally benefit shrinking profits.

The healthcare companies, private practice doctors and hospitals have immensely benefited in assigning transcription services to India, which has the third largest scientific manpower in the globe, and combined with low wages that are paid out to this educated class.

Doctors and hospitals are able to provide healthcare at moderate costs, remember the healthcare industry is growing at 3.5% annually, even in these turbulent times in which major financial companies and automobile companies are in the ‘red’.

Even though transcription services can at best be described as secretarial services, but when you consider the level of importance it has on our day-to-day lives, you will realize that a transcriber is as important as a doctor, a solicitor or a television producer.

What would happen if doctors would have to make do without a transcriber, how would their dictations be documented for the benefit of the patient, or how the insurance company would process the claims of numerous patients in need of healthcare?

And how would a solicitor or a legal company manage without the services of a transcriber, what would happen to the hearings, pleadings, depositions, legal examinations etc, if these were not documented or transcribed.

How would the multimedia industry cope without the services of a transcriber? Imagine podcasts, web cast and television programming, every segment of the media industry would be paralyzed if text services or transcripts would not be easily available.

Closed captioning for television programs would not be possible without a transcript, consider the plight of people with hearing impairment if a text caption was not displayed on television, or for that matter webcasts and podcast will not be easily displayed or indexed in search engines without a transcript attached to the video clippings shown on Google video or YouTube, many internet surfers would thus be deprived of viewing them.

All said and done, transcription service providers are as important as professionals hiring them, and India is notably assisting US companies in no small measure.

robert08
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/transcriptions-why-india-is-the-preferred-choice-of-most-us-companies-687286.html

Retirement planning is a tricky process, and one that requires careful planning and patience. But even if you have a retirement plan and a clear set of visions and goals, not just financially, but for your lifestyle, it’s important that you be aware of several common missteps that many, even those with a plan, fall victim to.

1 – Underestimating the Costs of Healthcare

As healthcare costs continue to rise dramatically, employers are also shifting more weight of the costs onto their employees. Many companies are beginning to drop retired workers from their health plans, and on top of that, millions of Americans have no form of coverage at all.

So one of the most common mistakes made in retirement, is a lack of preparation for the financial impact of your health. One of the most overlooked and most expensive costs is long-term healthcare. Long-term health costs can be devastating to a financial plan, so buying long-term care insurance early on can help lower its costs immensely.

2- Misjudging How Long you or your Spouse Will Live

A common assumption is that you should have enough retirement assets to last you until your life expectancy is reached.

But today, the world is an ever-changing place. As medical technology increases along with life expectancy, the odds are good that at least you or your spouse will live past age 90. So it’s vital that you are prepared to live longer.

3- Presuming you’ll Work a Long Time

Your generation is famous for working long, hard and abnormal hours to get ahead. And most baby boomers agree that they’ll be working long into retirement. But that can be one of the biggest retirement mistakes you make.

As of now, the average age of retirement in America, is 62. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute Retirement Confidence Survey of 2004, 40% of retirees had to leave the workforce earlier than planned either because of layoffs, illness, or disability. So even if you want to work as long as you can, it may not always be possible and it’s vital that you plan and save for such a scenario.

Retirement could be the beginning of many great years. Working with a financial professional and having the proper plan in place is a key part of retirement. You should also keep an eye on healthcare costs and stay informed on issues that will effect your retirement. You should always be focused on your plan and be aware of some common pitfalls. That way, you can be prepared to make the best years of your life as good as they can possibly be.

Robert Valentine
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/3-major-retirement-hazards-to-avoid-57207.html

<h1>Purchasing a private health insurance policy</h1>
Buying a private health care coverage can be scary for anyone who has always been covered by their employer’s group insurance plan. I’ve specialized in helping clients acquire affordable healthcare coverage for well over ten years now and have been a Connecticut insurance producer since 1985. I’d like to share with you the process I use when helping my clients find the best health insurance plan to cover themselves and their families.

The three areas we focus on are affordability, quality of coverage and the strength of the insurance carrier.

• Company- Your health insurance carrier should be stable financially and have a history of paying claims.
• Quality of coverage – The medical coverage must meet your needs. It should cover doctors, hospitals, labs plus drugs. It should also have physicians and hospitals in their networks that are convenient to your home and workplace.
• Price- Your healthcare plan must be priced competitively relative to the benefits provided.

The basic process we use is to:

1. Determine which individual medical companies are worthy of being considered.
2. Determine which insurance plans offered by those medical companies offer proper coverage
3. Determine which choices have the lowest overall cost relative to the health insurance benefits provided

Health Insurance Companies

A personal healthcare provider should have good financial ratings and be in good standing with your state’s insurance department. You may also want to do a Yahoo! search for complaints.

For example type in “Mega Life and Health complaints” before submitting an application with the company. Each medical insurance carrier has some unhappy customers just by virtue of the volume of clients they have. That being said, a be warned when there are too many complaints.

One more thing to look at is how much they pay in benefits as a percentage of the premium they take in. A good company will write checks for about 80% of the money they take in to cover their policy holders’ medical claims.

Benefits – What does your plan cover?

There are two important parts of coverage. One is the treatments that are covered. The second is the network’s list of medical professionals that the insurance policy includes.

Covered Medical Procedures

You should read through your insurance plan’s outline of coverage or official brochure to see how doctors, hospitals and prescriptions are covered. A healthcare policy should cover you in both the doctor’s office and the hospital and should have a good lifetime maximum benefit. I suggest at least 5 million dollars of coverage.

Insurance Exclusions and Limitations in Health care Policies

Most if not all health care insurance plans will have a list of procedures and services that they won’t pay for. Most of the excluded or limited items in this section are reasonable and are included in the policies of most carriers as well. Insurance Plans typically are not designed to cover plastic surgery for example. However, there are often limitations that you will find in one carrier’s contract but not in others. Coverage for preexisting conditions is one example of this. Most policies will not cover the costs of a normal pregnancy. The ones that do will be more expensive when compared to otherwise similar plans that don’t cover pregnancy. The exclusions and limitations section of your policy or its out line of coverage should be read carefully before you make your decision about purchase.

Healthcare Insurance Provider Lists

Knowing which medical professionals are in your medical insurance plan’s network is crucial. You might be able to find a list of doctor’s who accept a given insurance plan by doing a Google search or by calling your health insurance broker.

Affordability – Finding the best low cost health policy

It is easy to compare personal health insurance costs, but its much harder to be certain you’re getting good value for your dollars.

Comparing Medical Insurance Policies

After you have ruled out the companies with poor coverage and/or networks, it is time to look at price as a factor.

The Best Healthcare Insurance Coverage for the Money

The best health insurance coverage, may not be the best plan for you. Often the best plan is overpriced and does not offer an extra dollar in medical benefits for each extra dollar it costs. Make sure that any plan you decide to own is:

• Provided by a good medical insurance company
• Will cover your medical needs well
• Is affordable

Alston Ballkcom
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/purchasing-a-private-health-insurance-policy-725447.html

The terribly mis-named “medical tourism” market brings up contrasting images of sick, flower-shirted tourists, wandering into primative, third world hospitals for care. 

However, the high-tech of the overseas medical market now available for orthopedics and other fields often puts medical technology in North America or the UK to shame.  Need the best hip replacements available in the world? Well, you better get on a plane. This is because cautious and slow to adopt government agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and tight-fisted government programs, such as Medicare, drag their feet in approving new treatments and techniques for expensive, high-end procedures. The large national health plans in many countries such as Canada and the UK’s NHS can make things even worse. But, it’s not really their fault. Governments everywhere are struggling to control out of control budgets and spirling costs. However, in the U.S., high labor costs and high technology combine to drive prices into the health care stratasphere.  

Surprisingly, high-tech health care have arrived in force overseas. In many countries, western trained doctors apply the latest in medical technology, such as replacing aging knees with the latest composite materials and ”resurfacing” hips, (like your auto brakes, I guess) using cutting edge techniques not yet approved in the U.S.  In beautiful, modern facilities in Thailand to Turkey, doctors use newly developed tools for heart surgeries and organ transplants, often obtaining outcomes that exceed those of the finest American healthcare institutions.   

Quietly, this is becoming the most rapidly growing area in healthcare. Because of costs, quality and the suprisingly international nature of many healthcare institutions, it may be poised to become a healthcare tidal wave, as healthplans and retiree medical programs strain to cut costs for an aging population.  

How it works:

This entire area of medical “tourism” is one that requires a bit of getting used to and the information available on the Internet can be confusing at best. However, an extended conversation on this topic with an expert helped to bring things into focus for this author.  Basically, it works like this: 

You are sick, but ambulatory, and need expensive care that will cost you at least $6000.   You call an agent or agents and request bids on your medical treatment. The agents all respond with bids, employing a list (or lists) of medical facilities that they have access to, around the world.  You are provided with information on hospitals, quality, doctor training, outcomes and lots of other data. Since you are paying this out of pocket, usually, these agents and the facilities they represent want your business and compete based on medical and service quality.  Travel arrangements and lodging costs for yourself (before and after your care) and a companion are often included in the package price.  Even with travel included, the cost for treatment can be up to 1/3 that of care in the the hyper-expensive U.S market. 

I had one of these medical agents instruct me on this globetrotting, or umm, hobbling, approach to cheap, but high quality healthcare. 

I am told that the technology available varies dramatically based upon the medical facility. Often, particular countries stand out for certain procedures.  The quality is often driven by procedures developed by particular world-class physicians and surgical teams at particular hospitals. These doctors and their teams have developed new techniques and may have earned a planet-wide following of doctors, researchers and now, patients, based upon trusted results which are carefully measured and reported by highly reputable, international healthcare quality organizations.  

I’m told by the agent that the Netherlands has wonderful knees and hips, whereas Mexico is lovely for extensive dental work. Certain facilities in India and Turkey can’t be beat for heart surgury and some hospitals there are world leaders in organ transplants. I am reminded you must bring your donor with you. (Though, I suppose it is optional that you tell them they are the donor before you leave). 

In any case, you medical agent is both your healthcare co-ordinator and travel agent, taking care of all the details, from the moment you and your escort arrive at the airport, through post-op recovery, to the moment you leave for the airport. 

Most folks tap into this service when they don’t have insurance. However, more self-insured employers in the U.S. are experimenting with offering this type of option. TechGhy thinks this means that we could see insurance plans offering this as part of an insurance plan in the near future. If such a plan was competitively priced, this could have a fast and dramatic impact upon the market, especially in overseas medical.

After all, if you were a retiree, wouldn’t you appreciate a “free” trip and other financial incentives to receive superior, technologically superior care overseas?  Now, if you were a retiree plan trustee with a diminishing pile of reserves to cover your members, the answer looks like a win-win option. Overseas care is the preferred option for those who need to stretch both their healthcare quality and their dollars. 

For more information on overseas care, contact a quality agent. World Med Assist, http://www.worldmedassist.com/ is run by fine, detail-oriented and reputable people and provided some of the information for this article. 

John Ghysels

John Ghysels
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/prices-force-westerners-overseas-for-health-care-693069.html