In a bid to reduce costs, the Health insurer WellPoint Inc. is setting up a pilot program to send patients to India for surgeries.
An estimated 1.5 million Americans are expected to travel abroad for medical treatment this year, attracting the attention of insurance companies like Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealth in medical tourism for non emergency care, such as knee and hip replacements, shoulder surgery and even heart bypasses. Such surgeries in India cost almost a tenth of what they do in the U.S. Typically hip replacement costs $70,000 to $80,000 in the U.S. compared to $8,000 to $10,000 in India.
WellPoint's pilot program is targeted at Serigraph, Inc., a 700 employee printing company based in Wisconsin. The program will allow employees to seek treatment in Bangalore or New Delhi for joint replacements and some back surgeries. | |
