Will Healthcare Reform Stifle Medical Tourism?

In the ongoing debate over national healthcare reform, one view is that reform will result in fewer Americans traveling abroad for healthcare. I respectfully disagree. Meaningful national healthcare reform is a long ways off in the USA. It may take years to accomplish; may only complicate matters by adding millions more patients to already congested medical channels and make ultimately be compromised by competing political interests.

As an example I cite the prevailing view from Capitol Hill: that no bill with a “public option” will pass the Senate and no bill without a public option will pass the House. I am reminded of the old saying that , “A camel is a horse built by committee.” Even the most optimistic resolution of our national healthcare crisis will end up being a major compromise between the 2 parties. It should end up being an improvement on what we have now.

But there is nothing legislators and the Obama administration can do to bring US medical / healthcare costs in line with those in India, China and many other countries. Our national healthcare crisis is all the more severe because of the millions of ageing Baby Boomers. If they are “added” to the new system en masse, there are many medical providers who will simply “opt out” of both private and any public plans (see editorial in the Wall Street Journal).

This is because of the mounting time and effort required to submit claims and to the diminishing reimbursements. Finally if Americans are to get their healthcare costs under control, they will first have to take responsibility for their own health: lose weight, do more regular exercise and quit smoking. Medical studies have revealed that an overwhelming percentage of diseases afflicting Americans today are self-inflicted; caused by smoking, a sedentary lifestyle and a diet rich in high saturated fats and poor in fresh fruits, vegetables and fish.

Those Americans who are fit and lead healthy lifestyles carry the weight of those who aren’t and don’t in the form of higher premiums and deductibles. This is patently unfair. Finally, until there is meaningful tort reform; until people are penalized for “gaming” the system and medical providers are shielded from the many capricious malpractice lawsuits and the unreasonable malpractice damages our healthcare costs will remain the highest in the developed world and the medical tourism business will flourish.