Medical Tourism & Universal Healthcare

September 20, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Health News
New York, NY – Healthcare costs keep going up, the number of uninsured Americans keep going up (47 million) and the federal government has been working on comprehensive healthcare legislation for the past 15 years. The majority now swings in favor of universal healthcare, but the practical means of implementing this still evades Congress. Simple fact of the matter is, there’s no money to pay the bills for the 47 million uninsured. This is were medical travel, or as it is better known, ‘medical tourism’, can help underwrite the costs of universal healthcare.

New Medical Horizons Inc. ( http://www.newmedicalhorizons.com/ ) has conducted surveys with employers who have sent their employees abroad for non-urgent major surgery to hospitals in India and Thailand. Says CEO Rob Zachariah, “We are medical tourism facilitators with a number of corporate clients who have contacted us to arrange a cost-effective solution to the unmanageable inflation in healthcare overheads. Whether we send members to a JCI accredited hospital group with US trained surgeons or to a small dental clinic in Mexico, the point is that cross-border treatment results in savings of up to 80% for the employer and 100% for the employee, since employers usually waive the 20% co-payment requirement for major surgeries. Consider that a $250,000 heart valve surgery in the US costs about $16,000 in India, and that includes roundtrip airfare, accommodation and other expenses. So the patient ends up saving over $25,000 and the employer cuts his healthcare overheads by massive amounts, unimaginable under the present US healthcare system. The power of medical tourism to provide deep cuts in healthcare premiums is unmatched by any other method, and as of now, the only way that Congress will be able to provide universal healthcare is if they promote medical travel as a viable alternative to expensive local care.”

About New Medical Horizons: New Medical Horizons is a wholly American owned company based in New York, providing medical tourism services and facilitation. New Medical Horizons Inc. offers medical care in hospitals with JCI accreditation, unmatched equipment and experienced medical teams at very affordable prices. All patients are given a no-risk guarantee, and if the patient decides not to go through with the treatment even after reaching the destination, only travel expenses are charged.

For more information regarding New Medical Horizons Inc. and medical tourism, visit http://www.newmedicalhorizons.com/