Medical Tourism

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Background Recently, there has been a large number of Americans flying to India for medical procedures. The practice of traveling abroad to receive both elective and non-elective medical procedures is called medical tourism (Steklof 722). The number of Americans who traveled overseas to receive medical treatment increased from 500,000 in 2005 to 750,000 in 2007 (Steklof 724). Many of these medical tourists are choosing to travel abroad due to rising healthcare costs and the difficulty to retrieve healthcare in a timely manner in his the United States (Maeghani 18). Americans practicing medial tourism are likely uninsured or are considered underinsured. The number of Americans with no health insurance has increased from 31 million in 1987 (Cortez 72) to 46 million in 2008 (Meghani 18). Uninsured Americans are not the only individuals interested in the practice of medical tourism. Many self-insured companies and insurance companies have encouraged their employees and policyholders to practice medial tourism (Meghani 19). Surprisingly, U. S. state and local governments have also shown an interest in offering the option to have non-invasive procedures preformed abroad (Meghani 19). Research estimates revenues will bring in $2 billion by 2012 from medical tourism (Shetty 671). The recent increase in revenues can be attributed to the neoliberal reform that has taken place over the past few years in India. Neoliberalism is “a modern politico-economic theory favoring free trade, privatization, minimal government intervention in business, and reduced public expenditure on social services (Neoliberalsim).” In 2007, the Apollo Hospital Group, a private entity, opened its first international branch for medical tourist in Che... ... middle of paper ... ...f Medical Tourism." Developing World Bioethics ISSN (2011): 1-14. "Neoliberalism." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. . Sengupta, Amit. "Medical Tourism: Reverse Subsiday for the Elite." Chicago Journals 36.2 (2011): 312-319. Shetty, Priya. "Medical tourism booms in India, but at what cost?" World Report (2010): 671-672. Steklof, Cary D. "Medical Tourism And The Legal Impediments To Recovery In Cases Of Medical Malpractice." Washington University Global Studies Law Review (2011): 721-742. United Airlines. United Airlines Inc. Web. . Varman, Rohit and Ram Manohar Vikas. "Rising Markets and Failing Health: An Inquiry into Subaltern Health Care Consumption under Neoliberalism." Journal of Macromarketing (2007): 162-172.

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