I want this insurance!

Some self-insured companies are using “medical tourism” to save money while providing excellent care at accredited foreign hospitals. Here’s an example: an employee of Ashley Furniture Industries needed a knee replacement. Her company arranged for her to go to Galenia hospital in Cancun for the surgery and to stay at the Sheraton hotel next to the hospital for ten days while she was undergoing post-op physical therapy. A highly trained orthopedic surgeon from the US traveled to Cancun to perform the operation. Here are the highlights:

• The orthopedist stayed less than 24 hours and received $2,700—three times what he would have received from Medicare.
• The surgery in Mexico cost $12,000. The average cost in the US is $30,000 but is often double or triple that amount.
• The standard charge for a night at Galenia hospital is $300. In the US the average cost is $2,000 a night.
• The implanted knee device costs $3,500 at Galenia. The cost for the same device in the US is  $8000.
• The patient paid no co-pay or deductible. In fact, she received $5000 from her employer and all her travel costs were covered.

Ashley furniture has sent about 150 of its employees to Cancun or Costa Rica, saving the firm $3.2 million in health costs since 2016. Even after paying for the medical services plus the incentive payments, the company pays about half the cost it would pay for care in the US.

Following the treatment at Galenia, the patient had this to say: “It’s been a great experience. Even if I had to pay, I would come back here because it’s just a different level of care—they treat you like family.”

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