The travel firm Thomas Cook, not known much in the US, but a big player in many European and Asian countries, has announced that it will offer "sun and surgery" package deals to India for patients tired of waiting for operations in Britain's National Health System. The firm says that it is using Britain to test the market.
Thomas Cook will offer deals that include flights, operations, accommodation in a private hospital and even recuperation time on the beach. Many clinics in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, and Europe have already been offering such packages for Americans who want to have plastic surgery overseas, simply because it is so expensive to have surgery in the United States, and if a procedure is not covered by insurance, there is no incentive to stay in the United States. (Related article: India emerges as a healthcare destination for Americans)
In my opinion, the American healthcare system is ready for a big jolt from globalization. It is no secret that or healthcare system is broken. No one is happy. The ones that are insured hate paying the huge premiums (premiums for family coverage in employer-sponsored plans rose 59% between 2001 and 2004, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, compared with a 9.7% growth in consumer prices) and there are 45 million Americans with no insurance whatsoever. A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, published by Health Affairs, predicts that 56 million people in the U.S. - more than one in four American workers - will be uninsured by 2013. Research shows that uninsured people usually put off care for as long as possible, and as a result, it is estimated that nearly 18,000 people in the U.S. probably die each year because they do not have health coverage. High medical bills are the second-leading cause of personal bankruptcy. (Related article: Potential business opportunity in serving the uninsured)
The only reason our inefficient system has survived this long is because of the alliance between everyone in the healthcare value chain and the government. But as globalization makes it possible to serve customers beyond the borders, we will see that there will be a surge in such tours, or even, full-blown healthcare services. While there are horror stories of some patients getting ripped off as part of their lipo-tourism, in general most patients end up saving hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Will this work for healthcare services?
Indeed, that is the big question. For a company based overseas, it is simply impossible to serve Americans with emergency healthcare. They will need to use the existing infrastructure and will need to work in the complex healthcare system that is both inefficient and costly.
However, for elective procedures, regular checkups, and preventive treatments, an overseas health insurance system can work. Alternately, a healthcare company based in the United States could offer some form of emergency coverage in the US, but for everything else, a trip to a cheaper location may be needed. Plus, for minor ailments, some kind of phone based support and tele-medicine may be provided.
What does it mean for you?
- Healthcare offshoring is going to be much bigger than IT offshoring since it has all the elements of a business opportunity perfect for offshoring.
- Since the initial target will be those that are uninsured, there should be no political opposition - hardly any jobs will be lost and millions of Americans without health insurance will be able to get some form of health services.
- The opportunities that are emerging range all the way from those that are ideal for small businesses to those that can only be done by large corporations with tens of millions of dollars in investments. For instance, on a small scale, a company could have an alliance with a hospital overseas (it will require that you verify their credentials and make sure that they can offer high-quality services) and then start to offer packages along the lines of Thomas Cook. For large corporations, the opportunity will come from actually providing health insurance coverage and providing healthcare services.
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