Sending sick workers overseas could save millions, officials says
Sending sick workers overseas could save millions, officials says
Delegate Ray Canterbury has an idea he says could save the state millions: send sick workers overseas.
Not on a vacation, but as part of a growing worldwide industry known as health tourism: by taking advantage of lower medical costs in foreign countries, Canterbury, R-Greenbrier, hopes state employees can save large sums on costly medical procedures.
"We're talking deep discounts here,'' he said, pointing to studies that show medical procedures in countries like Singapore and Costa Rica routinely cost 20 to 80 percent less than in the United States.
Depending on how many state employees would use the plan, Canterbury estimates it could save between $1 million and $2 million annually.
Canterbury believes his plan is the first in the country to focus on state employees, but health tourism is already gaining popularity.
About 500,000 Americans traveled outside the country last year for medical care, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. While the vast majority of such health travelers are private individuals paying their own way, the idea is catching on in the private sector and, if Canterbury has his way, in government.
But how can Americans be sure they'll get the same level of care in Kuala Lumpur or Budapest that they would in the U.S.?
"The boundaries around health care are starting to really blur,'' said Anne Mooney, executive director of International Services for Joint Commission International, an Illinois-based group that provides accreditation to overseas hospitals. "You can now get good health care outside the borders of your country.''
JCI is a subsidiary of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which reviews more than 18,000 U.S. hospitals. JCI has accredited about 100 hospitals in foreign countries.
Under Canterbury's plan, the state would assemble a list of JCI-accredited hospitals for procedures ranging from dental implants to knee replacements.
State workers would then be given the option to go overseas for a necessary procedure. In return, they'd be given two plane tickets, additional sick time and a cash bonus worth 20 percent of the savings.
The additional money saved on the procedure would go into a fund to reduce state employees' health care premiums.
"The important thing is that you give consumers choice, you give them options and you put pressure on the health industry here at home to do something about rising costs,'' Canterbury said.
Although his proposal is only being studied now, he plans to introduce it as legislation in the 2007 session.
Health tourism, though, is a two-way street. Besides saving money in the U.S., some countries around the world are making aggressive efforts to boost the number of patients coming to their country.
Dr. Jason Yap is the director of SingaporeMedicine, part of the Singapore Tourism Board. He was in West Virginia this week meeting with lawmakers, trying to sell them on the benefits of health travel.
About 374,000 people came to Singapore last year for medical procedures, Yap said, with most coming from nearby Asian countries. Singapore, with a life expectancy rate higher than the United States, has long been a health tourism destination.
But the nation, with only 4.2 million people, doesn't have the native base it needs to sustain a rapidly evolving, cutting-edge healthcare industry.
"In order to treat our own people, we need to maintain a larger pool of patients,'' Yap said.
So far, the proposal has been met with cautious approval by state employee unions.
Ed Hartman, state director of the West Virginia Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees -- which represents about 4,000 government workers in the state -- said the plan deserves to be looked at.
"We normally oppose contracting out things that should take place in our country,'' he said, noting the union hasn't taken an official position on it. "It's a shame this sort of procedure has to be seriously considered, but it does have to be looked at, with the high cost of health care.''
Delegate Ray Canterbury has an idea he says could save the state millions: send sick workers overseas.
Not on a vacation, but as part of a growing worldwide industry known as health tourism: by taking advantage of lower medical costs in foreign countries, Canterbury, R-Greenbrier, hopes state employees can save large sums on costly medical procedures.
"We're talking deep discounts here,'' he said, pointing to studies that show medical procedures in countries like Singapore and Costa Rica routinely cost 20 to 80 percent less than in the United States.
Depending on how many state employees would use the plan, Canterbury estimates it could save between $1 million and $2 million annually.
Canterbury believes his plan is the first in the country to focus on state employees, but health tourism is already gaining popularity.
About 500,000 Americans traveled outside the country last year for medical care, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. While the vast majority of such health travelers are private individuals paying their own way, the idea is catching on in the private sector and, if Canterbury has his way, in government.
But how can Americans be sure they'll get the same level of care in Kuala Lumpur or Budapest that they would in the U.S.?
"The boundaries around health care are starting to really blur,'' said Anne Mooney, executive director of International Services for Joint Commission International, an Illinois-based group that provides accreditation to overseas hospitals. "You can now get good health care outside the borders of your country.''
JCI is a subsidiary of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which reviews more than 18,000 U.S. hospitals. JCI has accredited about 100 hospitals in foreign countries.
Under Canterbury's plan, the state would assemble a list of JCI-accredited hospitals for procedures ranging from dental implants to knee replacements.
State workers would then be given the option to go overseas for a necessary procedure. In return, they'd be given two plane tickets, additional sick time and a cash bonus worth 20 percent of the savings.
The additional money saved on the procedure would go into a fund to reduce state employees' health care premiums.
"The important thing is that you give consumers choice, you give them options and you put pressure on the health industry here at home to do something about rising costs,'' Canterbury said.
Although his proposal is only being studied now, he plans to introduce it as legislation in the 2007 session.
Health tourism, though, is a two-way street. Besides saving money in the U.S., some countries around the world are making aggressive efforts to boost the number of patients coming to their country.
Dr. Jason Yap is the director of SingaporeMedicine, part of the Singapore Tourism Board. He was in West Virginia this week meeting with lawmakers, trying to sell them on the benefits of health travel.
About 374,000 people came to Singapore last year for medical procedures, Yap said, with most coming from nearby Asian countries. Singapore, with a life expectancy rate higher than the United States, has long been a health tourism destination.
But the nation, with only 4.2 million people, doesn't have the native base it needs to sustain a rapidly evolving, cutting-edge healthcare industry.
"In order to treat our own people, we need to maintain a larger pool of patients,'' Yap said.
So far, the proposal has been met with cautious approval by state employee unions.
Ed Hartman, state director of the West Virginia Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees -- which represents about 4,000 government workers in the state -- said the plan deserves to be looked at.
"We normally oppose contracting out things that should take place in our country,'' he said, noting the union hasn't taken an official position on it. "It's a shame this sort of procedure has to be seriously considered, but it does have to be looked at, with the high cost of health care.''