The average premium for healthcare insurance in Tennessee jumped 10% in 2008, according to the 2008 Healthcare eSurvey. Nationally, the average premium increase for all industries was 11.1%, according to the survey. When comparing plans in 2008, 60.6 percent of Tennessee healthcare organizations offering PPO plans saw an average increase of 10 percent, while POS plans had average premium increases of 9 percent. To contain rising costs, Tennessee healthcare organizations used such things as wellness programs, benefit coordination, and/or a network of healthcare professionals.
New Hampshire doctors signed up for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's electronic prescription program now will have access to patient records through their computer or Internet-enabled cell phone. In 2007, Anthem and the New Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative launched a statewide electronic prescribing program for doctors to use regardless of their patients' health plan. The new technology enhances electronic prescribing by delivering clinical information to the doctor.
The Charity Hospital system has taken over operation of a Eastern New Orleans clinic previously operated by Operation Blessing. The clinic will be staffed with two full-time physicians, a nurse practitioner, a medical assistant, a certified wound-care specialist and a hospital admission technician. The clinic will provide preventative care, acute primary care, prenatal care and link patients to mental-healthcare. Staff ought to be able to see more than 70 patients a day, said Charity representatives.
The Medical Defence Union, the UK's largest medical defence organization, has advised its members to be cautious when responding to requests for help from patients who want to travel abroad for medical treatment. The MDU suggests that when patients enquire about overseas treatment, doctors may initially want to talk to them to ensure they understand what this may entail. For example, they may want to discuss the potential for communication difficulties; the possibility there may be problems in claiming compensation if something goes wrong; and the question of follow-up arrangements after their discharge from the overseas clinic.
The fastest growing outbound tourism sector within the Middle East is medical tourism. Middle East countries, such as Jordan and the UAE, have launched initiatives to meet this growing demand as they look to establish themselves as world-class, cost-effective alternative destinations for the booming medical tourism market. However, to achieve a global reputation of medical excellence and affordability, the President of the Medical Tourism Authority believes the region must continue to foster an environment that is increasingly favorable for the healthcare sector's private operators.
Health-related scandals could dampen the Philippine’s bid as a medical tourism destination, a congresswoman leading a legislative investigation into the issue said. Rep. Janette Garin said she also fears that health maintenance organizations considering investments in the Philippines might be turned off by the country’s notoriety for health scams. Garin spoke about the U.S. veteran fund scam where hospitals and medical practitioners are believed to have connived with U.S. veterans to avail of bogus health claims, some of which were allegedly padded by as much as 2,000%.
Although the market for medical tourism still is small, a few South Carolina businesses are ready to send patients abroad. Columbia-based Companion Global Healthcare formed in 2007 and nearly doubled its overseas facilities when it added three hospitals in Singapore to its international network. To date, however, the company has had only three patients, including President and Chief Operating Officer David Boucher. In addition, all BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina members have access to care abroad through Companion.
More Americans are traveling overseas for medical care, with figures as high as 500,000 U.S. patients per year being tossed around. Now, some are suggesting that those that do so are un-patriotic.
Rising healthcare costs are leading more health plans and insurers to warm to the idea of Americans traveling overseas for medical procedures. Proponents of the trend note that surgeries in other countries generally cost 60% less than in the United States. Washington, DC-based Deloitte Center for Health Solutions expects double-digit growth in outbound medical tourism as employers encourage use by workers, and international providers demonstrate that their services are as good as those in the United States.
The spotlight on global healthcare is getting brighter, with two new research reports making headlines last week and popular magazines promoting medical travel to consumers. First, a McKinsey & Company report states that with 60,000 to 85,000 inpatient medical travelers a year, the global healthcare market isn’t as big as individual hospitals and countries have claimed. Then a report came out saying that Deloitte LLP predicts Americans will spend $68 billion annually to non-U.S. healthcare providers by 2010.
Despite the fact that these reports seemingly conflict, medical travel has never had so much attention. In fact, within the past month feature stories about medical travel appeared in Fast Company and U.S. News & World Report—I wonder how long it will be before the weekly news magazine extends its annual “Best Hospitals” ranking beyond the U.S.
With such high interest—and equally high confusion—over the future of global healthcare, there is no shortage of industry insiders forecasting future developments for this in-flux and far-reaching market. Here are three predictions that I heard at last week’s Health Care Globalization Summit:
1. Relationship building: The established global systems are focusing a lot of attention on constructing formal relationships with U.S. health providers. They envision global networks that will provide consumers with the pre- and post-procedure care that is currently a barrier to accessing global hospitals. One might think that U.S. providers would not be receptive to these arrangements, but healthcare executives in Asia and India are optimistic that consumer demand will push these relationships ahead quickly.
2. Payers participation: Consumer and employer demand will also dramatically increase the number of global hospitals in U.S. payer networks, say global hospital executives. While analysts say the success of medical travel hinges on whether Americans access international services—McKinsey & Co. says this is the biggest growth potential—at least one large health plan executive shot down the idea that U.S. payers would greatly expand their international networks. He says there just isn’t enough incentive, but hospital executives disagreed, many expecting to see significant expansion within the next three years.
3. Better quality, lower costs: As global hospitals continually improve quality standards and more and more become JCI accredited, more U.S. consumers who are uninsured, under-insured, or in consumer-directed plans seek out the best value in the global market. At the same time hospitals in developing countries will not see significant price increases because native consumers will keep costs in check. A few industry experts even went so far as to say this will directly influence the cost structures of the U.S. healthcare industry and result in reforms.
I will be sure to explore these topics in detail in upcoming columns. Taken at face value, I remind myself to consider the sources of these predictions, which I suspect might be overly optimistic. At the conference, I had a chance to sit down with Dan Snyder, group executive vice president and group chief operating officer for ParkwayHealth, about his plans for Parkway and thoughts on the direction of the industry. Next week, I will share the highlights from that interview on HealthLeaders Media Global.
