Americans prefer medical procedures abroad

May 14, 2020

Recently, there is an upward trend among Americans towards medical procedures abroad. It seems that more and more Americans looking for international medical travel. Let’s find out the reasons for this movement.

Americans prefer international medical tourism than the domestic one — *Americans prefer medical tourism abroad than the domestic one / Ph: Pexels*

Medical tourism abroad win over domestic medical aid

For a long time, US medical system have been dominated the domestic healthcare market. However, now it seems that it has lost its top position to international medical trips.

American Journal of Medicine had conducted a survey concerning the trend of American citizens going to other medical tourism countries to seek healthcare services instead of doing so in their country. The number of Americans travelling to other nations to receive some forms of healthcare grew from 750,000 to 1.4 million per year in a decade period from 2007 to 2017.

The reasons for the medical tourism abroad trend

The movement of going abroad for medical treatments is due to the expansion of insurance companies who embrace the benefits of medical tourism overseas. This trend emerges not only among individuals but also among US enterprises as more companies choose medical tourism as employee healthcare provision.

US companies are now sending their employees abroad for healthcare issues because they realized that abroad medical trips are much more money-saving than medical treatments in the country. In addition, what makes the international medical trips to replace American medical aid is the cost difference. Cost of medical treatment abroad, for instance, in Caribbean or Central America, is lower than that of America. US companies have been saved “millions and millions” of dollars over the last decade after taking their employees abroad for medical treatments. Each international medical trip can save an average of between $20,000 and $30,000.

Another example for people going abroad for medical treatment is associated with the procedure of a chronic disease, which costs approximately $200,000 in America. However, when this patient receives the same treatment in the Caribbean, the procedure costs less than $30,000.

For all the benefits medical procedures abroad bring, there is no doubt why both American citizens and organizations are showing their great interest in the abroad medical trips.