Traveling for Care -- in the U.S.

Employers Set Deals For Workers Without Having to Go Abroad
By VICTORIA E. KNIGHT

In a new twist on medical tourism , U.S. employers are encouraging workers to travel domestically for medical care.

Some employers are looking to take advantage of geographical variations in the quality and cost of health care within the U.S., while others are leveraging deals they've struck with foreign hospitals in order to secure better rates with U.S. hospitals that are eager to keep American patients here. Most of the activity is focused on surgical procedures , such as hip and knee replacement , and cardiac bypasses .

"Employers are looking to get the best value for their health-care dollars," says Randall Abbott, senior consultant at Watson Wyatt. That means finding new ways to both manage their medical costs and provide their employees with high-quality care, he says.

Employers are offering financial incentives, such as no out-of-pocket costs -- which can save workers thousands of dollars -- money for travel expenses, and access to concierge services that schedule appointments and organize travel arrangements, as enticements.

Americans have been traveling abroad to receive medical treatment for a while, but only recently have U.S. employers expressed an interest in it. The prospect of losing revenue overseas is prompting some U.S. hospitals to match lower foreign prices.

In January, U.S. supermarket chain Hannaford Bros Co. began offering employees the option of getting hip and knee replacements at a hospital in Singapore.

"After the announcement, I got calls from several [U.S.] hospitals offering to match Singapore on pricing," says Peter Hayes, Hannaford's director of associate health and wellness.

Hannaford, which is self-insured and therefore pays the medical claims of its 9,000 covered employees out of its own funds, tapped Aetna Inc., which manages its health benefits, to vet the U.S. hospitals.

So far, Hannaford, which is based in Scarborough, Maine, has negotiated a deal for hip, knee and spine surgery with a hospital in Boston. Negotiations with a hospital in Maine are ongoing, according to staff member in Hannaford's human-resources department.

Typically, Hannaford's workers must pay for some of the cost of surgery under its health plan. But if employees choose next year to go to the hospital in Boston for a procedure, Hannaford will pick up the entire tab. For knee surgery, that amounts to a savings of about $3,000 for the employee. Hannaford will also provide a travel allowance for the employee and a companion.

Such arrangements could appeal to American workers at a time when soaring gas and food prices are pummeling their pocketbooks, experts say.

And traveling to a U.S. hospital is much less daunting than going overseas, where practical, medical and legal issues pose complex challenges for patients and employers.


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