I see deals for surgery elsewhere in the world that seem like great deals, what is the catch?

Yes there are some incredible deals for quality care around the world. As we train more doctors in the West who want to return home to their birth country, we see medical centers pop up in India, Thailand, Singapore, China, and other places where locals and foreigners are able to go secure quality healthcare services.

One measure of quality recognized in many places is JCAHO accreditation. This accreditation is required by facilities in the USA if they want to get paid by Medicare and even most other insurance companies. The accreditation looks at a considerable variety of factors that help promote quality care and help control spread of disease within a hospital facility.  Thus at this time it is the Gold Standard.

If you are a cash paying patient, these deals are usually going to save you a large chunk of the cost for the care they offer. These facilities tend to offer care for high cost frequently performed services in the USA, and for that matter other developed countries. These are services where the treating physician was able to learn well that skill in the USA or other Western Country before returning home. Many of the physicians even obtain and maintain board certification and sometimes even spend some of their time in the USA every year.

The reason these deals are good for cash paying customers is that few insurance companies pay for any of these foreign programs. The insurance carriers are growing the list of what they will cover and where.  They may or may not cover the associated travel costs though.  Travel costs and time spent away before and after the procedure all have to be added in from both a cost standpoint as well as a time commitment. Often you have to spend a week or two, sometimes more recovering nearby where the services are reserved.

One thing you tend to find with many of these foreign programs is a very high comfort level at the facilities you use for the surgery. Some even have separate hotel style wings for pre-op and recovery time. The room is sometimes also available for the traveling companion when the person getting surgery is in the hospital wing.  Other programs have you stay at a resort pre/post-operatively. In these cases they may or may not have any provisions for the travel companion during the hospital stay.

Pricing may or may not include a travel companion ticket.  Food costs are often on top of the cost (at least pre/post operatively) for the surgery program.  When an insurer agrees to pay for the program they often do include the cost of a traveling companion and air to the international destination. They do not usually cover the cost of passports though so if you don’t have valid ones you may have to add that cost on to your expenses.

Ultimately there is not much of a catch to these deals on surgery other than most are not covered by insurance. If you have Medicare or Medicaid they definitely are not covered.  You can save quite a bit, and enjoy a nice foreign travel experience, and get quality care when you use these programs.