The nation's second largest insurer, Indianapolis' Wellpoint, is looking everywhere to save some cash for it's clients. Now they're outsourcing medicine to india.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wellpoint is willing to drop their deductiible and co-pay and to pick up travel expenses to India for a small set of its beneficiaries who are willing to travel for health care.
Starting in January, Wellpoint will offer employees of Wisconsin-based Serigraph Inc. the option of traveling to India for nonemergency procedures such as joint replacement surgery. Serigraph will waive the insurance deductible and coinsurance for employees who agree to go, paying all medical costs as well as travel expenses for the patient and a companion.
"This is a leap of faith, obviously, to say if you go to India, we'll pay for the whole shebang," said Linda Buntrock, Serigraph's senior vice president of human resources.
"But the cost difference is so monumental."
Joint replacement surgery costs $50,000 to $60,000 less in Bangalore, India than it does in Bangor, Maine, and health insurers want a piece of that discount. Whether or not health travel discounts become a trend is still to be seen. Deep discounts are attractive but some consumers will question the quality of care, not just at the point of service but especially when it comes to follow up care.
Some 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care in 2007, and that's expected to rise to 6 million by 2010, according to the consulting firm Deloitte. Almost all are individuals doing so at their own expense.
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