The Medical Tourism Industry Is Beneficial

Every developed country around the globe is going through a lot of difficulties in providing better healthcare to its citizens. As stated by Norris (2002) the causes are universal and the increase in the percentage of elderly people which require better healthcare, the increasing cost of medical technology, patients' expectations of services and quality, and economic and social changes that reduce the state's ability to fund healthcare while increasing its involvement. All of these factors drive up costs and reduce equity of access (Norris, 2002).

The healthcare system in each country is intended to meet the best possible medical services needs of its citizens. One country’s healthcare system can vary from another. This is according to their administration strategy, training, education, technology, and spending plan. Social, economic, political, and physical parts of the nation also play huge role in defining a country’s healthcare system. There are many similarities in the delivery of medical services between United States and Nepal. For the middle class people, affording a good healthcare system is still an unresolved issue of these two countries. The issue of financing the system of healthcare has been the biggest challenge to the government of Nepal, and it is similar to the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the United States. Although Nepal and the United States have similarities in healthcare system, they also equally share significant differences in providers, spending and the medical professionals. Some people consider that the healthcare system in the U.S. is superior.

Globalization is changing the healthcare sector rapidly and radically through the circulation of medical goods and services. Therefore, the core of globalization is on basis of multilateral agreements between nations. However the very nature of globalization and the agreements between the developed country and developing and underdeveloped country means that the process benefits the former while the latter often loses or gets a meager trickle down from the benefits. For example in the case study it is established that due to the shortage of radiologists in America, radiologists are often expensive and take home a large paycheck of approximately $400,000. Outsourcing to Indian radiologists would not only reduce the workload of the American radiologists but also cut costs. Cost cutting would be achieved through cheaper professional fees for the Indian radiologist who gets approximately a tenth of what their American counterpart receives. This means that globalization in this sense benefits the American population and professionals, while the Indians lose.

One area that has contributed to the rise of healthcare costs are the varieties of healthcare services offered to the patient. Competition between providers has caused physicians and hospitals to offer the most current healthcare technologies and modern, eye-catching settings in order to attract and retain clients (Shi & Singh, 2015). Reimbursements for costly procedures and hospital services have been compensated at a higher rate which has also supported the expansion of hospital and specialty procedure settings (Schroeder & Frist, 2013). Renovations of the physical settings and the acquisition of expensive technologies have elevated healthcare services prices to encompass the additional costs of providing high technical services and attracting clients and cause the over-utilization of expensive treatments.

In America a hip replacement procedure will run the average American $40,384. The next closest country, Australia, will charge only $27,810 for the same surgery. An MRI can cost an American up to $2,871 while in South Africa the same test will only run $1,072, and that is the second highest cost of the procedure in the world behind the United States. One single day in an American hospital can run up an average bill of $4,287 which is more than the next four closest countries (Australia $1,472; New Zealand $979; Chile $964; France $853) combined. Americans spend close to 17.6% of their total GDP on healthcare while the worldwide average is a measly 9.5%. As a modern nation and a leader in healthcare technologies and practices why are

Healthcare spending growth rate trends show astounding estimates. Since 1960, spending has risen from $27 billion ($143 per capita, 5.1% pf GDP) to amazing $1,678.9 billion ($5,670 per capita, 15.3% of GDP, 2003 data) (HHS, 2005). Recent research estimated that by 2013, healthcare spending will be as high as 18.4% of the Growth Domestic Product. It is important to note that the gradual move from hospital to ambulatory setting has resulted in much higher spending on outpatient hospital services and prescription drugs. The spending growth for these two trends is much higher than the overall healthcare cost growth, which, in fact, increases faster than such important economic indicators as GDP growth, inflation growth, and population growth rates.

Even with costs under the current health care system skyrocketing, the system is envied by other countries in several ways. The United States is the world leader in innovation and research of health services (Mango & Riefberg). Another aspect that America has that is enviable is that “health care services and technology are more readily accessible to the insured patients in the United States than anywhere else” (Mango & Riefberg). A Final reason for the envy of the United States health care system is that when medical travelers – those who travel for medical operations or treatments – approximately forty percent travel to the

This is explained in a study by Ramesh Bhat conducted in July 1998 for the International Journal of Health Planning and Management which evaluated regulation in the growing healthcare industry during India’s process of industrialization. The study concluded “The expansion of the private sector in India has forced the passage of a number of regulations to promote quality of care and protect consumers. This has expanded the role of government in developing and enforcing regulations in three areas of the health sector: drugs, medical practice, and health facilities…” Health Care regulation in developing countries is important to ensure the foundations of the country's healthcare system are set up fairly. This prevents one company from having a monopoly over a certain drug and charging unfair prices for it and it ensures quality care for all of a country’s

Despite being one of the best healthcare systems in the world, United States healthcare system lacks the ability to reach the poor of the country. Most of it is attributed to the high costs of healthcare facilities. Also, part of it is contributed to the complex system of healthcare developed over decades. Different stakeholders such as states, government, hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc. look out for individual profits and benefits rather than the primary consumer, the

The cost of care has been a growing problem throughout developed nations during the last 15 years. For example, across 34 nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average per capita health care expenditure increased by more than 70 percent between 2000 and 2010. However, the biggest spenders — such as

An uneven density of health care providers in India further exacerbates the problem. Rural areas easily attract doctors and other medical

However, compared to the cost in India, averaging about $9,000, Ralph still has to pay more than twice as much to have the surgery within his own country (Conley, J). Ralphs situation highlights the largest contributor to medical tourism, cost savings. Consumers live in a global

The healthcare sector is known to be least transparent sectors of the economy. It is not uncommon for someone to get admitted in an hospital for a minor case like a fracture, only to be surprised by their bill ballooning to a quarter of their yearly salaries. U.S. healthcare providers charge vastly different rates for same procedures, even in hospitals proximal to each other. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/hospital-prices-cost-differences_n_3232678.html) The lack of transparency prevents people from choosing between medical providers, in choosing the least expensive

The major problem, they have within the healthcare industry is the lack of government funding and the total expenditure on health per capita is $109, compared to the $7290 per capita in the United States. Healthcare consumes 4.9% of India’s GDP versus the 16% in the United States. The outcomes equal long lines, fewer facilities and inefficient staff. The supply of healthcare in India is on par with that in sub-Saharan African countries. According to the World Bank, 75% of all health expenditures is in the private sector, where 90% of healthcare costs are paid out-of-pocket.

The healthcare system plays a key role in the economic stability of our country, as every year trillions are spent in attempt to combat disease and health issues that plaque humanity. As it makes up a significant amount of the expenditures in the economy, so the costs associated with health care of those in pain from illness and injury, including lost productivity, increased need of assistance in living and also the cost of death in some cases, is important to the economic stability and over all standard of living in our country. The key to economic prosperity is balancing the need for care with the costs of illness to keep as many people healthy and well without breaking the bank of collective society. The costs of healthcare have been increasingly problematic in recent years with so many issues surrounding the current system. With the “total health care spending in the United States expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970, meaning that health care spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2021” (Aetna). With this in mind it is apparent that as we look at the trillion-dollar industry of the medical community it seems that it needs to be a major focus of our nation as a whole and with the many issues come many creative solutions. First let us analyze the reasons behind the current cost and the major problems facing this industry and than discus what