Law &. Ethics for Medical Careers 5th Edition by Karen Judson,Carlene Harrison

Exercise 16

Medical tourism is a recent trend in health care. Patients go to a different country for either urgent or elective medical procedures. The procedures are the same procedures being done in United States hospitals and outpatient surgery centers, often by American-trained physicians who have moved back home. Medical tourism is fast becoming a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry. In fact, some insurance companies are paying for the cost of the procedures, as costs are far less than those charged in the United States. Sometimes the insurance company even pays for the plane fare and hotel costs-so a patient gets a vacation in addition to the needed surgical procedure. The reasons patients travel for treatment vary from the lower costs (for Americans) to shorter waiting times (for those in countries where there is national health insurance). There is no regulation by the United States government of medical tourism. Many patients come back enthusiastic about not only the success of their treatment, and the integrity and skill of all the providers, but also the high-class hotel-like accommodations while in the foreign hospital. India is one of the major countries advertising these services.
If other countries are able to do similar procedures as those done in the United States for lower fees, and with the same or better outcomes, why can't the United States offer the same services?
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