Monday, May 24, 2010

Medical Tourism Rising

First, consider this:

"In choosing Berwick, the Obama administration is implicitly admitting that the health care law passed by the Democrats in March will lead to the rationing of health care ... seemed to acknowledge that the new health care law would simply ration care in a transparent way."

[Hat Tip: RWN]

Let's dispose of the silly meme that health insurers "ration" care in any way. They cannot make a person undergo a procedure, nor can they withhold treatment. Insurers can only decide, within the contractual terms of the policy, whether or not they will help to pay for any such care. And let's remember, the most egregious claims denier of all is not Aetna, or Blue Cross or United Healthcare. It's Medicare. It's worth noting that Medicare itself rations care (through, for example, its power over providers).

In the event, once we officially transition to a nationalized health care scheme, folks will still need care, they just won't be able to find it here. So what to do? Well, we've discussed medical tourism many times here, but one question that keeps cropping up is "okay, smart guy, I get it. But how do I find where to go?"

And that's where this handy new tool comes in:

"AllMedicalTourism.com has been founded by veterans in the consumer internet and healthcare fields to provide a trusted source of health information for consumers considering medical treatment abroad."

And so they have; click over to their site for a wealth of information on such things as fertility, heart surgery, even cancer treatment. Regular readers know our obsession with transparency; this site lists not only providers, but how much they charge. Is this the future of health care?

Time will tell.

[Hat Tip: SoIb Gail S]
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