Medical Tourism?! Let’s Get Serious!

“Outsourcing Health Care May Be a Thrifty Alternative” was the headline in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s business section, April 5, above a column by John Torinus, CEO of Serigraph Inc., a specialty printer based in West Bend, WI.

Evoking exotic fantasies of patients recuperating from surgery in high-class resorts, Torinus reported that Serigraph’s health plan administrator is exploring the “sourcing” of medical services from Indiana and perhaps India. Torinus’ column elicited the following response. –ed.

By David Newby, Wis. AFL-CIO President

“Consumer-driven health care”, “medical tourism” – remember those words. Because this is the future of health care in this country if the conservatives get their way.

Consumer-driven health insurance is high-deductible insurance with incentives to “shop” for the best health care deals we can find, to save money. And now we hear that these health care “plans” will soon want us to shop for health care not in our own communities but in low-wage countries abroad for the best deals!

That’s the ultimate in consumer-driven shopping for health care: fly patients to India or Thailand or some other medical low-cost country in search of surgical procedures that cost less than they do in the U.S.

Perhaps that's the logical extension of shipping the jobs of blue collar manufacturing workers and call-center workers and lower end computer jobs to low wage countries. I suspect that American surgeons and other skilled medical personnel won't be too happy. But then maybe the highly-skilled surgeons can do what millions of middle class blue collar and service sector white collar workers can’t: force our government to adopt a sensible set of rules for international trade. But I digress.

While the drug industry warns us against importing cheaper drugs of supposedly uncertain quality from abroad (and the Bush Administration makes it illegal), health care “reform” leaders now think “medical tourism” will solve our crisis.

Don't import the drugs – but export the patients.

Note the absurdities of trying to save significant costs by flying American patients to other countries: The rigors of long flights complicating medical conditions. Exposure to diseases most Americans have no immunity to. Questions regarding accurate certification of medical facilities abroad (especially in third world countries). Uncertainties in the event of complications. The lack of legal protection in the event of malpractice or medical error.

Why not just fix our own American health care system?

CEO John Torinus regularly uses his weekly column in the Journal-Sentinel to promote these consumer-driven health insurance plans. Last week, Torinus said he might go to Ireland for his next hip replacement (and spend his recovery time in a pleasant Irish pub). He could do this, he says, and still save money.

First of all, note that Irish wages are close to those in the U.S. Second, how instructive that he would choose a country with Universal Health Care, a system that guarantees quality health care to all its citizens at a little over half what we pay in the U.S. Could it be that Ireland has a better and less expensive health care system than we do because they have adopted health care for all? (The World Health Organization ranks Ireland's health care system the 19th best in the world; the U.S. rank is 37th.)

Contrary to Torinus' claims, there in fact is no “stampede” toward consumer-driven plans in this country. According to the authoritative Kaiser Family Foundation, only 5% of workers with health insurance are in such plans. And the numbers are not rising quickly.

By promoting consumer-driven health care Torinus is a cheerleader for a team that's not playing.

We know that we can provide decent health care for all in America, so why be so insistent on avoiding the obvious?

“Healthy Wisconsin”, reintroduced in the Legislature last month, has demonstrated that we could provide quality, comprehensive health care for everyone in Wisconsin – and still pay less than we do now. How? By eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic overhead required by our current fragmented insurance system. By bargaining with the drug companies for discounts on behalf of over five million people in Wisconsin. By simplifying our medical billing system with a standard, comprehensive health care plan. And by promoting preventive care and better quality medical practices.

Let's stop coddling (and paying off) the health care/health insurance special interests and do what's right, what's efficient, and what benefits everyone: provide straightforward, comprehensive, quality health care for all.