For medical travel destinations to be effective in targeting international patients, it is vital to understand how the healthcare and health insurance systems of target countries work. This will provide insight into some of the key drivers behind the choice to consider treatment abroad, says medical travel analyst Ian Youngman.
The availability of free healthcare could potentially be used to improve access to healthcare globally. It has become increasingly important as rising healthcare costs can be a major burden for individuals and families.
Free healthcare would provide access to essential medical services to those who may not be able to afford them otherwise. This could include preventative care, vaccinations, treatments, and hospitalisation. Free healthcare could also help to reduce overall healthcare costs by reducing the amount of uninsured patients, who often require more expensive medical care than those who are insured.
For medical tourism, universal healthcare reduces state and insurance paid medical travel. But if medical tourism is redefined as including taking hospitals to other countries, medical travel will increase. The latter has a much longer term potential for profit by professional healthcare providers of good quality, than the ad hoc system of state funded healthcare.
Universal healthcare also often leaves out areas of non-urgent medical care, including dental treatment, IVF, and cosmetic surgery, that are undertaken by the private sector. This offers more opportunity for medical tourism.
Universal healthcare: an unachievable goal?
In an ideal world, healthcare is open to all citizens regardless of income or location. Everyone should have the right to the same quality of healthcare. It also provides financial security to those who do not have access to healthcare.
Instead of paying for expensive treatments that could have been prevented in the first place, preventative care is encouraged as part of the system’s structure. It is advantageous for healthcare costs because treatment for chronic illnesses is costly. This is what a universal healthcare system should look like, and of course it is pure fantasy compared to reality.
Country and system variation
There are a number of countries that provide free or low-cost healthcare. The G20 is an international forum of the world’s largest economies. It is composed of 19 countries and the European Union. Healthcare varies greatly from country to country within this group. Many G20 countries offer free healthcare but the systems of healthcare in these countries vary considerably, including how they are funded, and how much access to healthcare citizens of each country have.
In recent years, most of the world’s rich nations have expanded or achieved universal or nearly universal health coverage for a core group of services, which includes consultations with doctors and specialists, medical examinations, and surgical procedures. In 22 of 31 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international organisation that produces research and promotes global social policies including universal healthcare, 100% of the population is covered.
The OECD works to improve international comparisons and economic analyses of health systems by analysing health data and indicators. This makes it easy to compare systems.
Attempts to provide universal healthcare in the USA, the wealthiest country in the world, have failed but arguments that it is not possible to provide universal healthcare in the country are false. Some countries have had a universal healthcare system in place for a long time.
Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, and South Africa are also among the countries that do not have universal healthcare but several, including Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, have plans for insurance based universal healthcare.
Government funded healthcare is a system in which a government provides health cover for its citizens. This type of system is available in many countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia, China, and Brazil. Government funded healthcare generally includes services such as preventative care, hospital stays, doctor visits, and prescription medications. In some countries, the government may also cover certain types of dental care and long-term care. Government funded healthcare is designed to ensure that all citizens have access to quality healthcare, regardless of their income or background.
There are many countries where healthcare is provided only to those with the financial means to pay for it, while in others only certain services are provided for free or at a reduced cost. These include the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, and China, which all rely on private health insurance and/or out-of-pocket payments to cover medical expenses. In the United States, the Affordable Care Act helps to ensure that some people have access to healthcare.
Luxembourg has prioritised providing universal healthcare to their citizens, allowing them to choose their doctor and hospital as well as receive basic medical cover. In the United States a similar option is not available and millions of people remain uninsured.
For medical travel destinations to be effective in targeting international patients, it is vital to understand how the healthcare and health insurance systems of target countries work. This will provide insight into some of the key drivers behind the choice to consider treatment abroad.
For a detailed, country-level analysis of outbound medical travel, visit the IMTJ Country Profiles.
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