Will reforms to the US healthcare “system” impact medical tourism? Of course, no one can predict the future. Potential patients choose medical tourism for 5 reasons (http://www.imtjonline.com/articles/2008/medical-tourism-vs-traditional-international-medical-travel-a-tale-of-two-models/): cost, accessablity, availability, travel and confidentiality.
Perhaps the most likely thing to change as a result of reform efforts would be cost, although that is uncertain. Even if reform bends the curve, however, certain procedures will not be covered, like cosmetic surgery, and copays and deductables are likely to increase. The increase in patients seeking care for obesity , for example, drives patients to look for cheaper alternatives for care as well as other elective procedures. A sudden influx of over 30 million people into the system will tax the supply side of the equation and will take almost a generation to correct. Technologies, like stem cell treatments, are subject to political forces and regulatory pressure unlikely to change in the near future. Medical tourists, by definition, are not adverse to travel for care, sometimes combining it with a vacation or recuperation. Finally, there are people who just don’t want others at home to know they had “something done”.
Bottom line: As Niels Bohr noted, prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. The terms in this equation, however, reform outcomes seem to favor the growth of medical tourism.
