Advisers that are skeptical of medical tourism as a viable health care option may want to rethink their stance. The new offerings from Companion Global Healthcare —  via BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina —  have Americans murmuring about where the trend is going. Meanwhile, those tuning in around the globe can hear the trend loud and clear as countries like Singapore, Thailand, India, Korea and Costa Rica pour money into health care facilities in preparation for medical tourism to take flight.

Employee Benefit Adviser had a chance to talk to a carrier and an adviser who are looking into medical tourism possibilities and determining where they will stand on the cutting edge of this trend.

Jonathan Edelheit, vice president of OptiMed Health/United Group Programs, recently returned from a hospital in Costa Rica where he was able to experience the care first hand. He is considering adding a medical tourism feature to his company's health plan offerings. He described the hospitals as clean and private with excellent professional attention from a conscientious medical staff.

  "The hospitals there are building all new facilities for Americans. The hospitals are also moving for JCIA accreditation, which is about to shortly happen, which is the same accreditation that accredits U.S. hospitals," says Edelheit.   Edelheit believes medical tourism will go mainstream because, while the United States has advanced health care, it is debatable whether or not it has the best service and the best access to care for most people. It will take a while for it to catch on, though, because the industry is just beginning to understand the trend and the implications of sending Americans abroad for care. However, the immense cost savings from going abroad for health care, could give the trend legs. In addition, Costa Rica may be the ideal fit because it's closer to home and a less expensive flight than going to Asia.   Neil Simons, of Rockville, Md.-based Independent Benefit Services, is interested in medical tourism but isn't sure how well these new facilities would be able to handle an influx of Americans seeking medical care. He says if only a few Americans are seeking treatment, it's easy to give great service. But if there was a rapid influx, it may be hard for the hospitals to maintain that level of service this early on in their development.   "They're growing. If all of the sudden the faucet got turned on and everyone in America wanted to go there, they absolutely would not be ready for it. They're preparing for steady and slow growth. So, it's not like it's an answer to the health care crisis in America, it's just a solution for some people," says Edelheit.

Look for the full story from this conversation on medical tourism in the October issue of EBA as well as a podcast of the conversation online in October.