Indian Government Restrictions on Medical Tourism Visas

IndianExpress.com :: Ailments, attendants: Govt readies health tourist norms

The Indian government has woken up to the need for having a mechanism to monitor the growing inflow of tourists arriving here for medical treatment, the Government has notified a set of guidelines for issuing visas in medical category.

India, which is one of the most sought after medical tourism destinations in the world, has patients from over 60 counties getting treated in various hospitals across the country. Reasons varying from lower treatment cost to shorter waiting period for surgeries are cited as reasons for India becoming a hot destination for the health tourists, mainly from the West and Gulf.



The guidelines, which has made medical visas more stringent, has touched upon all aspects of visa issuance, including the conditions for applying for a medical visa, nature of the illness that could be treated in the country, mode of the treatment, validity and extension of visa and visa to family members.

As per the new regulations, Indian Posts abroad will have to scrutinise the medical documents “very carefully’’ and “satisfy themselves’’ about the purpose for which a medical visa is being sought. It also insists that an applicant seeks preliminary medical advice from his country of origin/residence for specialised medical treatment.

Regarding the treatment to be availed by the tourists in the country, the guidelines insist that the visa should be issued only for those seeking medical assistance in reputed/recognised specialised hospitals in the country.

The regulations have also put forward a list of ailments, which should be given priority while granting the visa. It includes serious ailments like neuro surgery, ophthalmic disorders, heart related problems, renal disorders, organ transplantation, congenital disorders, gene therapy, radio therapy, plastic surgery, joint replacement, etc.



On the validity of visa, the guidelines says that the initial period of visa may be up to a period of one year or the period of treatment, whichever is less. It can be extended up to one year by state governments on production of medical certificate or on advice from the reputed specialised hospitals in the country.

Regarding granting visas to attendant or family members, the new regulations insist that visa may be allowed only to the spouse, children or those with blood relations with the patients.

“Not more than two attendants may be allowed at a time and the foreigners will have to get themselves registered with the local authorities well within 14 days of their arrival.”

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500,000 Americans travel for medical tourism in 2005

Employers increasingly tapping medical tourism for cost savings

About 500,000 Americans traveled overseas last year to undergo surgeries that cost two to three times more in the United States, according to the National Coalition on Health Care.

Medical tourism has taken off in the last few years, with American employer-sponsored health insurance premiums skyrocketing 87 percent over the last six years. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that American family health coverage currently costs about $11,500 a year, with workers spending nearly $3,000 out of their own pockets annually.

Recently, 60-year-old Oklahoma resident Dodie Gilmore became one of the first Americans to be sent overseas for surgery by her employer. Gilmore needed hip surgery, but found that the procedure would cost up to $40,000 if performed in the United States, which her privately purchased health plan would likely not cover.

Gilmore researched overseas hospitals, and found that the Max Super Specialty Hospital in India would charge just $7,000 for the procedure. Gilmore's boss offered to foot the bill, which totaled $12,000, including hotel and airfare.

According to Arnold Milstein, chief physician at New York's Mercer Health & Benefits, medical tourism is "just one of the many ways in which our world is flattening. Many companies see it as a natural extension of the competition they've faced in other aspects of their business," he said.

Though some companies have shied away from medical tourism for employees -- such as Blue Ridge Paper Products in North Carolina, which recently abandoned plans to send workers overseas for cost-saving surgeries after United Steelworkers union objected, citing possible risks -- others are embracing the idea.

United Group Programs of Boca Raton, Fla., which sells self-insurance policies to small businesses, recently began offering a plan that sends patients to Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok for expensive procedures. Blue Shield and Health Net of California also both offer low-cost policies that allow members to receive medical treatments in Mexico.

The Chicago-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which accredits American hospitals, has accredited roughly 100 foreign hospitals, including Bumrungrad in Thailand, five in India and 11 in Singapore.

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