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Patients — particularly those with high deductibles, limited-benefit plans or no insurance at all — potentially can save a great deal of money by seeking expensive medical care abroad. A procedure that might cost $50,000 in the U.S. could cost a patient just 10% of that figure if performed in India, Turkey, Thailand or Belgium. As a result, Americans increasingly are seeking complex surgeries from angioplasty to knee replacements at hospitals around the world. An estimated 150,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care last year.

Insurers and employers are taking notice, covering some procedures performed abroad, forming medical-tourism subsidiaries and considering policies to cover workers who head to a foreign country for treatment. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina, for example, recently formed a new subsidiary, Companion Global Healthcare, Inc., to manage travel arrangements for enrollees seeking medical care overseas. It also partnered with a Thailand hospital.

But there is an abundance of logistical, quality and legal issues facing insurers and employers that sponsor medical tourism. How is care coordinated, both on the ground in the host country and with providers managing care at home? How are post-operative complications managed? Is care reimbursed on an in-network or out-of-network basis?

Hear two experts in the medical-tourism field answer these and other major questions ... and find out how to prepare your organization for this growing trend. You’ll get timely strategic insights on topics such as:

• Managing the logistics of medical tourism: Which procedures are the best candidates for medical tourism? How are patients managed during the initial recovery period, and how do they receive follow-up care once they return home? How do firms and patients choose countries and providers to use?
• Quality of care: How can insurers, employers and patients ensure that facilities and providers meet U.S. expectations for quality of care? How similar is Joint Commission International certification to the accrediting process that U.S. hospitals follow?
• Legal issues: What do you need to know about privacy concerns, fiduciary liabilities and other legal issues that insurers and employers face in sponsoring medical tourism?
• Reimbursement: How common is it for health insurers and employers to reimburse for medical procedures received abroad? How is reimbursement typically structured? What is usually the patient’s share of costs?
• Cost savings: How much can insurers and patients save through medical tourism? How long might it take for insurers to realize such savings?

Speakers

WOUTER HOEBERECHTS is the CEO of WorldMed Assist, a medical-tourism company based in California. WorldMed Assist provides health care options abroad for self-insured or underinsured patients, self-insured businesses, and insurance companies. Hoeberechts, born and educated in the Netherlands and married to a Turkish woman from a medical family, brings an international problem-solving perspective to U.S. health care needs. Prior to founding WorldMed Assist, Hoeberechts was CEO of an IT management consulting company, where his most recent long-term clients include The Clorox Co., King Pharmaceuticals, General Electric and several other FORTUNE 500 companies. Hoeberechts earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Amsterdam Polytechnic and a master’s degree in industrial engineering and management science from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

DAVID BOUCHER is the assistant vice president for health care services at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina. In this capacity, he is administratively responsible for Companion Global Healthcare, commercial EDI transactions and provider e-commerce, provider education, the inquiry response center, complementary and alternative health programs and medical management services. Prior to joining the South Carolina Blues in 1999, Boucher worked in Quorum Health Resources hospitals for 14 years, the last several as CEO in North Carolina and South Carolina facilities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in community health administration from Slippery Rock State University (Pa.) and a master of public health degree in administration from the University of South Carolina. Boucher is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He sits on the board of directors for the Columbia Free Medical Clinic and is an active Rotarian. In the past few years, Boucher has been quoted in more than 40 national health care publications, as well as on NBC Nightly News.

Moderator: January W. Payne, editor of AIS's industry-leading weekly newsletter Health Plan Week (formerly Managed Care Week).

Designed Especially For

• Health plan and insurance companies
  • CFOs
  • Product developers and managers
  • Business development directors
  • Marketing VPs
  • Provider network and contracting managers
• Medical and clinical services directors
• Hospital and health system business development directors and managed care contracting managers
• Employers’ CFOs and employee benefits directors
• Attorneys and consultants