9000 Needles

If you have experienced a stroke or know someone who has, here’s a must see new film.

9000 Needles, an award winning, new film from Bigfoot Entertainment, One In A Row Films and co-executive producers Stephen Nemeth and John Cusack, recountsthe story of stroke survivor Devin Dearth and what for many is a somewhat unconventional road to recovery.   The film premiered two weeks ago at the Louisville International Film Festival, where it was runner up in the prestigious Audience Award category.   It premiered last week in Los Angeles and appears Sunday, October 17 at The Other Venice Film Festival in Venice, CA.   You can view the trailer through its Facebook fan page at: http://tinyurl.com/yl7zo5s

Stroke affects more than 700,000 people in the US alone each year and is the leading cause of disability in the US.  Stroke recovery and rehab costs can exceed $100,000, so the course of treatment is often limited by health insurance coverage.  Like Devin, many are left to fend for themselves after being told benefits are exhausted or they have gained as much as they need to live somewhat independently for the remainder of their lives.  As Devin and his family learn, there are other options.

In concert with the producers, we can make the film available for private, corporate and community group screenings across the country.  For more information, contact the producers through their Facebook fan page or China Connection Global Healthcare.

Don’t miss this opportunity to share a new hope of recovery for those who can realize it.  Please share this with anyone you know who can benefit.

Destination Healthcare – Part III: If it’s that good, why isn’t everyone doing it?

The first two blogs in this series have generated lots of discussion.  Since Destination HealthCare™, or medical tourism as some call it, remains relatively new to most people, it’s natural for there to be important questions begging to be answered.  A friend recently asked the big picture question, “If destination healthcare is that good, why isn’t everyone doing it?”  The answer surprised him, and it might surprise you too.

In the US, we make destination healthcare decisions all the time, though we rarely call them that.  Destination healthcare is based on the act of traveling outside your home community for accessible, affordable, high quality medical care.  There are excellent medical facilities that attract patients from around the country, including the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and many more.  While living near Florida’s Atlantic coast, I visited a doctor in Orlando, about a 45 minute drive away, because I could schedule an appointment more quickly than with the local specialist.  A colleague, who this week became a father for the first time, moved across town to be nearer his wife’s doctor and preferred hospital.  Each of these are examples of destination healthcare decisions we make regularly.  With average wait times to see a specialist now exceeding three weeks and out of pocket medical costs for families rising to over $3500 annually, we are making these decisions more frequently than ever before.

His next question went to the heart of the matter, what about international destinations?  Here, the answer holds the same principles:  accessible, affordable, premier quality medical care.  The key difference is in the destination.

Estimates are that over 3/4 million Americans received medical care outside the United States last year, a number that continues to rise rapidly.  Medical procedures cover the full gamut from dental care to heart surgery.  China, Germany, and a few other nations are ahead of the US in stem cell research and treatment, and we are seeing increasing numbers of patients going abroad for these treatments.  The Wu Stem Cell Medical Center in Beijing is one of the top treatment facilities in the world today and provides care for international patients daily.  The TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital is recognized for excellence by the World Health Organization.  With a greater emphasis on outcomes over billed procedures, reduced hospital infection rates, access to premier doctors without extended waits, VIP attention to international patients, and the best in hospitals, international destination healthcare has become an integral part of the global marketplace.

Now more curious, my friend then asked, “So, why aren’t businesses covering destination healthcare in their benefit plans?”  More than any other factor, the answer is because destination healthcare is a new concept for many business executives and small business owners.  The American Medical Association and American College of Surgeons issued policy statements earlier this year, a growing recognition of destination healthcare benefits for individuals and businesses.

For business executives and owners, the increasing costs of health insurance place a serious strain on budgets.  A health plan that cost $800 per employee per month in 2001 now exceeds $1500.  Destination HealthCare™ can slow that growth by reducing the underlying cost of medical claims.  In a recent client evaluation, we found that savings could exceed $1.7 million per 100 cases.  Looking at a single process, stroke rehab expenses can easily exceed $90,000 in the US and patients are frequently on a timetable for recovery, after which coverage ends or is significantly limited. China Connection Global Healthcare is able to deliver stroke rehab and therapy for just over $20,000 with a focus on recovery instead of the number of days consumed.  These kinds of savings can go directly to relieving the financial pressures of rising insurance costs.  You can learn more about the savings at www.chinaconnection.cc/procedures.html.

Easily accessible, premier medical care at affordable costs for individuals and businesses; it is that good and more people are discovering it.  We’d love to help you learn more and become one of them. 

Healthcare Reform

In a recent informal poll of health insurance, human resource and other business executives, the question was asked: “Does Washington understand the difference between health insurance and health care?”  Every one of the more than 50 respondents said no…every single one.

A close look at the debate reveals that it isn’t about health care. It is about the accessibility of medical care for the millions of Americans without insurance and the increasing numbers of those for whom medical care is unaffordable even with health insurance.  A recent report published in the American Medical Journal shows that almost 2/3 of personal bankruptcies filed in the US have medical debt as a major component.  More than 70% of those people have health insurance.   

For the medical system and the fiscal infrastructure that supports to find real reform bringing care within the financial reach of patients, the first step is to stop searching for “the” answer to “the” problem as if one of each will bring resolution. The problems are myriad. 

The healthcare debate is, at its core, about three key elements: quality, accessibility and affordability.

Quality

Earlier this year, the Deloitte Center for Health Studies reported that an astounding 80% of Americans give our health care system a grade of C or lower.  The World Health Organization a few years ago ranked US medical care 39th in the world.  The current system, which is procedure rather than outcome oriented, has few incentives for outcome or result.  A 2009 survey conducted by the Miller Chevalier and the American Benefits Council included this comment on the impact of poor quality:  ”Mistakes drive up cost, too much care drives up cost and too little care drives up cost.” A hospital gets more income by delivering 8 marginally necessary procedures than getting a recovering stroke patient out of a wheelchair. One need only ask what the patient would prefer to see how badly mangled the system is. 

Accessibility

 Wait times for specialist appointments have increased to over three weeks, more than a week longer than just two years ago.  A family member recently was told the wait to get an appointment with a thyroid specialist was six weeks.  In many places, the wait for appointments with primary care physicians now approaches five days.  It’s no wonder more people are seeking care at urgent care clinics or showing up at local emergency rooms with relatively simple conditions.

Affordability 

PWC shows cost shifting continues

A health insurance plan that cost $500 in 2000 now costs an average of $1178, a 136% increase.  Employers have been unable to afford those increases without shifting more of the expense to their employees.  PriceWaterhouseCoopers recently reported that almost 80% of employers are responding in 2009 by increasing deductibles and employee share of the premium.  During this same time, direct compensation is growing at an average rate of 3.2% annually since 2000.

 

Destination HealthCare™ offers individuals, employer groups, and insurance carriers an alternative to the quality, accessibility and affordability dilemma.  Our exclusive network of world class hospitals delivers patient-directed, outcome oriented care in more than 30 medical specialities and subspecialties.  Included in the network are hospitals designated as centers of excellence by the World Health Organization, the global leader in non-surgical weight loss, a leader in stem cell research and treatment, and the premier hospital for integrated Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Our exclusive network delivers unparalleled accessibility.  There are no wait times to see a provider.  Appointments are preset, so that you can be seen by the selected provider on your arrival.

At rates that can be as much as 90% less than those in the US, Destination HealthCare™ delivers  the ultimate in affordability.  Because China Connection works with your health insurance company, we can further reduce your out of pocket medical expenses and their claim costs, helping stabilize future premium pricing.  A self-funded employer health plan can experience savings in excess of $1 million per 100 cases with Destination HealthCare™.  We also integrate with your medical reimbursement accounts by making sure that together we maximize the eligibility of benefits and medical expenses.

To learn more about how you can benefit from Destination HealthCare™ visit us at www.chinaconnection.cc or watch our employer group video at http://www.chinaconnection.cc/TV/Clienttv.html.

American Medical Association and American College of Surgeons Comment on Destination Healthcare

In recent months, both the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons have issued new position statements regarding destination healthcare (or its less serious cousin, medical tourism).  What’s interesting about this occurrence is not that it happened, but rather the recognition by both bodies of the important role destination healthcare can play when properly structured and delivered.  The American College of Surgeons described it this way:

“Residents of the US may choose to pursue medical care abroad for a variety of reasons, including a real or perceived lack of services available at home; limits imposed by payors or regulatory agencies on access to certain specialists, treatment protocols, equipment or services; prolonged waiting periods, lower costs of care; and personal reasons.”

ACS goes on to recommend that patients “seek care of the highest quality” and encourages its member physicians to “assist all patients in reaching informed decisions concerning medical care, whether at home or abroad.”

This is a dynamic position from the American College of Surgeons as it recognizes some critical elements of premier quality medical care:

• Certain medical procedures which have only been recently approved for use in the US, like hip resurfacing, or are still in research trials, like some stem cell treatments, have been available for patients outside the US for several years.
• There are certain medical specialties, procedures and equipment that are better delivered in hospitals that lie outside the US.
• Wait times to see medical specialists in the US have risen by more than a week in recent years (American Medical Journal report).
• Personal medical expenses have risen to unsupportable levels.  A health insurance policy that cost $1000 per month in 2001 now costs $1975, and employers are being forced to shift much of that cost to their employees whose wages have not risen fast enough to keep up. Sixty percent of personal bankruptices include medical expenses as a major factor, and 75% of those people have health insurance.

Both groups comment on the need to plan in advance for follow-up care when a patient returns to the US.  This is often cited as a drawback to medical tourism.Many describe it as an unwillingness by physicians to treat a patient that has been treated elsewhere.  However, those commentators miss the point.  

A gastric bypass surgeon recently shared the concern with us succinctly this way: “I have no problem treating a patient from another quality doctor.  I do worry when someone who has a poorly done gastric bypass surgery wants me to do all the subsequent procedures, which starts with correcting the mistakes of the original doctor.”  A primary care doctor added his perspective by saying that almost all his patients are treated somewhere else (a different form of destination healthcare) and return for follow up.  For him, having access to medical records and the treating physician, if needed, are important.  At China Connection Global Healthcare, we agree and have integrated procedures to make sure you have access to elite physicians and that your records and doctors are available for your home doctor on your return.

Both groups also encourage patients to evaluate and understand that legal systems around the world vary, so the nature of legal recourse will be different from those in the US.  This is a positive step from earlier positions taken by the AMA, in particular, and from the uninformed comments of too many writers who suggest that there is no recourse available.  Certainly, distance will be a factor in bringing a legal action in a foreign country; however, it is hardly an insurmountable obstacle.  Among other concerns that arise are the relatively small size of damage awards, based on a combination of differing concept of awards or currency conversion (e.g., a 2,000,000 Rupee award in India is about $41,600); a legal requirement that the lose of a lawsuit pays all costs; and differing laws defining medical malpractice. 

The AMA and ACS agree as well on the importance of understanding the risks of post-surgical travel.  We share that position at China Connection.  The physicians at our Destination HealthCare Network™ do too.  As I’ve noted before, once a scalpel is involved, I’m not on vacation, and I suspect the same is true for you.  Before starting return travel an appropriate period of rest and recovery is crucial, and the doctors with which we work understand the implications of air and ground travel for you as a patient.  This is an important difference from many providers and one we hope you consider carefully.

It’s clear that American medicine recognizes the value Destination HealthCare™ offers.  For more information on how you can benefit, we encourage you to contact China Connection Global Healthcare at www.chinaconnection.cc.

Air France Flight 447

At this hour, Air France Flight 447 from Rio to Paris is missing and presumed lost in the Atlantic.  On board were 228 souls, each of whom leave behind families, friends, neighbors and colleagues.  Not all of us will know someone on the flight, or perhaps even someone who knows someone on the flight.  We will all, however, be reminded that life is transient and that it can disappear in the blink of an eye.

The leaders of China Connection Global Healthcare are people of faith, and we know there there is life eternal that follows this life.  Our prayers and sympathy go out to the families who are touched today by this loss.  May God provide them with comfort and strength in this time of great loss and hold close those who perished who know Him.

Destination Healthcare – Part II: What is It?

In part I of this series on Destination HealthCare™, we outlined the need to separate the wheat from the chaff.  

For Destination HealthCare™, the chaff is the infobabble of outdated information, an association with leisure travel (Ed. note:  Once there’s been a scalpel involved, I’m no longer a tourist.), and the confusing array of commentary by people who understand far too little about international healthcare.  

In Destination HealthCare™ Differences (4/6/2009), we addressed some of what makes up the destination healthcare decision.  It’s been a surprise to most people with whom I’ve shared this business as they come to realize they make destination healthcare choices routinely.  have been surprised to learn how routinely they make destination healthcare decisions.  The part of the choice that’s new comes with introducing an international destination.  

Destination HealthCare™ is a serious approach to premier quality, accessible, and affordable medical care.  Let’s face it, we’re in a mess.  A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report earlier this year has over 60% of American giving US medical care a C or lower.  President Obama talked in a May 11 press conference about the financial worries people have related to medical care.  Over 50% of Americans are worried that a major medical incident could bankrupt them. 

International medical staff

China Connection Global Healthcare has chosen to work with the Chinese health care market, because we have been able to find and contract with world-class hospitals that are familiar with the needs of international patients and that deliver exceptional care.  Beijing and Tianjin, the cities our network hospitals are located in, are each first-world, metropolitan cities that afford personal safety and security, in contrast to others that promote themselves as medical tourism locations but have experienced issues with political instability or terrorism.  The hospitals themselves are well-known for the exceptional quality of medical attention and care delivered within their walls.

Destination HealthCare™ integrates all the benefit opportunities available to you.  We research your insurance coverage to see what is or can be covered, and we try to get the insurer to pay directly rather than requiring that you pay in advance and be reimbursed.  Beyond that, we also look out for medical reimbursement and tax deduction options for you, and we provide you with records to use to get the funds you deserve.  By definition, medical tourism with a vacation element cannot legally do that.

What then is Destination HealthCare™ not?  It’s not a replacement for a healthy lifestyle or a wellness plan.  It doesn’t take the place of routine doctor visits or the critical call to 911 for emergency care.  It shouldn’t be an alternative for filling prescriptions or less expensive over-the-counter medications.  It’s not the final answer to the medical care dilemma, but it is an alternative to many of its problems.

What is it?  Destination HealthCare™ is a way to get the best in medical care, when you need it, and at costs you can afford.  Here’s an example:

John K. lives in rural Colorado, about three hours from Denver.  He has a medical condition that cannot be adequately treated at his community hospital, so his doctor suggests a specialist in Denver.  The specialist agrees to see John in four weeks, which is the next available appointment.

John’s health insurance has a $1000 deductible after which it pays 80% of the next $5000.  His total out-of-pocket cost, therefore, could be $5000 ($1000 + $4000).  The medical procedure itself will cost $60,000.  However,

A) the procedure is not covered by John’s insurance plan.  John cannot afford the cost and decides not to have this crucial surgery.

B) the procedure is covered by insurance, and the hospital wants the full $5000 John will owe when he is admitted.

C) the procedure is available through Destination HealthCare™ in Tianjin designated by the World Health Organization as a center of excellence at a total cost of $4,000, and John’s insurance will cover it.  Now, John’s out of pocket cost is only $3400.  His wife is able to stay in his hospital room with him, rather than being booted to a hotel after visiting hours end.  Even better, because John’s insurer has come to know the benefits of Destination HealthCare™, they waive his deductible in favor of the savings they achieve.

Want to know more?  Contact us at www.chinaconnection.cc

Separating Wheat from Chaff in Destination Healthcare – Part I

A recent Google search for “medical tourism” returned over 18 million results. Some were informative, some were advertisements for facilitators, countries or hospitals, some were overviews of medical tourism, and yet others were news stories about companies or individuals who were conducting pilot tests for destination healthcare projects.  Unfortunately, too many of the hits consisted of outdated or inaccurate information, misconceptions, or represented the work of people with too little familiarity with destination healthcare. 

With 18 million Internet references, how does anyone sort the wheat from the chaff and make the right decisions about destination healthcare?

It’s fair to observe that some of the infobabble is because serious destination healthcare remains a relatively new idea for most Americans.  It’s also related to the fact that too many of the commentators are writing high school quality research papers on a subject, our health care, that merits far more serious consideration.  As an example, one recent web content provider posted an article from a company whose sole experience in destination healthcare was the writing of the article.  The article was heartbreakingly bad.  

In this upcoming series, we’ll look at the fundamentals of Destination HealthCare™.  We’ll take a looking into: (a) what Destination HealthCare™ is and isn’t, (b) how to select a destination healthcare provider, (c) how to determine whether you are a good candidate, (d) how a Destination HealthCare™ provider should work with you and your insurer, (e) what continuing care arrangements should be made when you return home, and (f) how the benefits of Destination HealthCare™ work together for you.   We’ll also talk about some of the myths that exist and why they aren’t what they seem.

Finally, I want to finish today’s post with two thoughts.  The first “medical tourist” I knew personally was my late friend Ron, who traveled three continents in 1987 seeking a cure for the brain tumor that eventually killed him.  Not coincidentally, Ron was a doctor and knew there were advances in medicine beyond what was available in the US.  Regrettably, the treatment he needed was realized about 8 years after his passing.  Ron never considered himself a tourist, however.  He was and never stopped being someone committed to finding the best available medical care for his particular need. 

China Connection Global Healthcare is involved in a serious field, destination healthcare.  It isn’t about tourism, recuperation resorts, surgical safaris, nursing cabanas, or other terms that trivialize an individual’s need for premier quality medicine from world-class providers at rates that are affordable for both individual and corporate payors.  We’re committed to changing the conversation, so that each of our readers, friends, and members find hope, help and healing…and there’s where the wheat begins to separate from the chaff.

For more contact me at www.chinaconnection.cc

Destination HealthCare™ Differences

Destination healthcare is, for many, a very new concept. The idea that someone would leave his or her home and travel to a distant part of the world for medical attention just isn’t a common part of the American experience, yet Americans are doing it in increasing numbers each year.

Let’s face it, medical care in the US needs a doctor. According to the 2009 Survey of Health Care Consumers, conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions:
• Ninety-four percent of participants believe that health care costs are a threat to their personal financial security.
• Over half believe that 50% or more of the dollars spent on health care in the U.S. are wasted, and
• Thirty-eight percent gave the US health care system a letter grade of D or F. Only 20% gave it an A or B.

In spite of this, most of us think the quality of the US system is far and away the best in the world. The Business Roundtable, a group comprised of successful US businesses, disagrees, citing in its recently released report that the US trails in health quality and value by as much as 43% when compared to other developed nations.

At least we have health insurance. Oh, that doesn’t count the almost 47 million Americans who don’t have insurance, the almost 20 million more who are underinsured, and those who are facing the loss of employer health insurance during the current economic upheaval. For those who do have insurance, it continues to take a bigger bite out of our paychecks every year.

That may explain, at least in part, why more and more people are traveling outside the US for medical care. It just makes sense.

A quick confession, until January I was only peripherally aware of destination healthcare as a serious alternative. Three months later, I’m a convert (and for reasons other than it pays the bills). I recognize, though, that destination healthcare isn’t for everyone or every medical need. Let’s start with what it isn’t.

Destination healthcare isn’t a replacement for routine medical visits or for an urgent visit to the emergency room. If it’s inexpensive or can’t be planned, a local doctor and hospital remain the best option. Destination healthcare also isn’t a replacement for wellness programs, with some limited exceptions, or the pharmacy.

Destination HealthCare™, China Connection Global Healthcare’s approach to destination medical care, recognizes that your health is among your most important possessions. Consequently, we focus on ensuring you receive the highest quality care at an affordable price. We also work with you to integrate your health insurance benefits, an aspect too often passed over by others.

Destination HealthCare™ focuses on world class hospitals and physicians. We’ve chosen to work exclusively in the Chinese health care market, using hospitals that are world-renowned for excellence. This dedicated market means we don’t compete with other firms for hospital access. Three of China Connection’s hospitals are designated as centers of excellence by the World Health Organization.

Destination HealthCare™ delivers premier quality at significant cost savings over the same procedure in the US and Europe. A hip replacement in the US which costs over $60,000 can be delivered for less than $7,000 in China. Stroke recovery, a $100,000 process in the US, is just over $20,000 in China and offers greater therapeutic attention. When you include insurance benefits, you can save thousands of dollars more. Where insurance benefits aren’t available, our medically focused program ensures you have the maximum tax and medical reimbursement program advantages available. In one recent case, the US cost for our member, after insurance, was going to be $7,500. In China, the cost is less than $1,500.

Destination HealthCare™ is patient-directed and outcome oriented. The procedures that are delivered are those expected to provide the most productive result. Tests aren’t conducted for the sake of testing. Doctors and nurses are highly trained and readily available. Where you might see your doctor in a US hospital every other day, your Chinese physician is likely to see you several times each day. We recently compared a treatment plan for a member in the US with her scheduled plan in China. The US plan called for therapy once a day, five days a week. The Destination HealthCare™ plan included five different therapy procedures daily seven days each week. The combined therapy difference over a 4 week period: 5 in the US compared to 35 in China. The more important distinction, however, is that the frequency was driven not by need but by the availability of therapists in the US hospital.

Many of us have been closer to a destination healthcare decision than we realize. However, it may only have been for a specialist in the United States, like the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, the Cleveland Clinic, MD Anderson or another. Now we’ve extended that range of specialty providers to include equally excellent hospitals and physicians at far more affordable costs.

Quality, price, attention to your needs – we can help.

www.chinaconnection.cc

Destination HealthCare™

I joined China Connection Global Healthcare as COO in January 2009.  With that change came the need to catch others up on my latest move and part of the conversation inevitably involved questions about Destination HealthCare™. 

Destination HealthCare™ is distinctly different from what the media often refer to as “medical tourism”.   Last week, I even saw medical travel to South Africa referred to as a “surgical safari.”  That one conjured the rather unwelcome image of the late Steve Irwin navigating my colon in a dugout canoe searching for some elusive creature.  (See a Mini-Rant About Medical Tourism) 

The idea of destination-based medical care wasn’t completely foreign to me.  My prior position with a travel assistance company provided a perspective on the quality of medical care abroad.  Admittedly, there are some places where I wouldn’t want a loved one hospitalized; however, there are others that offer exceptional care.  What I hadn’t fully considered were the benefits of traveling from the US to an international destination.

First, Destination HealthCare™ is about premier medical outcome.  While it may surprise you, each of us has considered at some point the core principle of Destination HealthCare™.   If you’ve ever made a choice between doctors based on skill, reputation or available appointment dates, told someone you wanted to go to one hospital over another, or thought about whether to visit a specialist in another city, you’ve made one of the first Destination HealthCare™ decisions; where to go to get the best possible medical care when you need it.  CCGH’s Destination HealthCare™ approach simply adds more world-class medical providers available to you in making some of those decisions.

Destination HealthCare™ is about helping you manage your financial resources.  We understand how important it is to use our money wisely, especially today, along with health insurance other company or tax benefits that might be available to pay for medical care.  CCGH’s Destination HealthCare™ approach engages world-class international hospitals in China that can deliver medical care at fractions of the costs in the US and much of the rest of the world.  We then work with your health insurance provider on your behalf to coordinate benefits.  With more insurers recognizing the value of Destination HealthCare™, this is increasingly easier.  Finally, because we focus on the medical aspects of your travel and care, our Destination HealthCare™ programs preserve the tax and health reimbursement plan benefits medical tourism companies too often dismiss.

Destination-based medical care is not for everyone or everything.  It can’t replace either the routine doctor visit or a critical trip to the Emergency Room.  Destination HealthCare™ is, however, an effective alternative to US care when you want premier medical outcomes at more manageable costs for major medical care.

Learn more at www.chinaconnection.cc

A Turkish Word for the US Healthcare System

Bozuk:  A turkish word generally meaning  “damaged beyond any reasonable hope of repair”.

A great friend and mentor lived for a time in Turkey while serving in the US Air Force and regularly tried to teach me some useful words and phrases in Turkish.  Over the course of time, only one of those words has remained with me, and a good one it is: bozuk.

Bozuk is a great word to describe the current state of the US health care system.  Regardless of the reasons, and they are myriad, it’s a mess.  We have 46 million uninsured people and another 20 or so million underinsured.  According to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, health insurance premium costs continue to rise far faster than salaries and wages, even with the major cost shifting to employees of deductibles and co-payments during the last several years.  We’re facing a national shortage of quality nurses, and medical reimbursement rates necessitate that our doctors take on far too many patients.  It’s bozuk.

President Obama in tonight’s televised press conference reiterated his commitment to improving healthcare.  I agree with his goal of implementing a national scheme of electronic medical records.  It’s admirable and it will offer some quality improvement.  However, it’s also tantamount to cooling the ocean with a single ice cube.  Regrettably, the President seems to have fallen into the Washington trap of believing that healthcare and health insurance are the same item.  Any successes in reducing the costs of medical care and increasing quality alongside it will be expensive and require a very long time to get done.  In the meantime, we’re left with bozuk.

The goal for employer groups, insurance companies and individuals can only be accomplished by reducing the paid costs for medical care.  One option that has begun to open up is destination healthcare, what the media has misnamed medical tourism.  (Note:  If there’s a scalpel involved, I’m not a tourist.)  An effective destination healthcare benefit can provide immediate cost benefits for health plans and those who participate in them.  Further, a good program can utilize all the tax advantages of Health Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts and markedly improve financial results for the individual and the health plan.

Cost savings and premier medical care with positive outcomes?  That’s not bozuk.