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Vic Lazzaro, BridgeHealth International Inc.’s CEO, was featured recently on the EBA Raw Bar, which is the regular podcast of Employee Benefit Adviser. The Raw Bar features “daily in-depth interviews and discussions with the leading employee benefits minds of our time,” and I’ve no doubt Vic is a little amused to be described as among such company. But that’s what happens when you’re ahead of the curve.

In the interview, he describes the role a strong network plays in creating confidence in care abroad and sheds light on the provider selection process. You can listen below — just click the arrow to play the sound file.

The decline of the value of the American dollar vs. other major world currencies has prompted more than one prospective medical tourist to ask me if “it is still worth it” to go out of the country for medical care. The very short answer is: “Yes, it is still worth it.” The dollar has not declined nearly enough to offset the enormous gap between prices for medical services in the United States and medical tourism destination countries.

But it is worth a closer look, because currency exchange rates do have an impact on costs of medical travel to and from different countries.

The dollar has declined sharply in the past two years against other major world currencies, which generally has the effect of making foreign goods and services more expensive for people who are spending dollars, whether in the U.S. or when they travel abroad. In a feature article in the New York Times on April 21, “If Only the Dollar Were Stronger,” Americans who are living overseas talked about how the fall of the dollar has eroded their buying power. Healthcare costs, the article said, has hit Americans who have retired overseas hard:

“Americans think that health care anywhere but in the U.S. is cheap,” said Daniel Prescher, publisher of International Living, a monthly magazine focused on living overseas. “Yes, it’s less expensive, but when you need it often as a resident in a foreign country, it’s something you still need to plan for as part of your budget.”

Note that this is rather a general statement, and that living abroad as a retiree who must pay out of pocket for regular health care is not at all the same as traveling abroad for one-time surgery or care. Specifically, much of the consternation about the falling dollar is about how it has fallen vis-à-vis the Euro, to record lows recently, with little prospect for recovery in the near term.

But the value of the dollar has not fallen as drastically vs. the currencies in medical tourism destination countries and, even where it has fallen, prices for medical services, surgery and dental treatment have remained at a drastic discount from those in the United States.

In Costa Rica, a prime destination for medical tourists, the dollar has been relatively steady against the colon. In fact, the dollar has risen in value vs. the colon for most of the last decade, and prices of medical services to tourists have remained quite stable. Real estate prices have ballooned in recent years in Costa Rica, but not the prices of dentistry and plastic surgery.

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Just a few years back, medical travel and tourism was the province of a small and select group of hospitals and medical facilities; and the United States was better known as a destination for international patients, not as a country from which patients went elsewhere for care.

Today, the infrastructure of medical travel and tourism is global. Consumers led the way and the medical and business communities have expanded to cater to the growing demand. In that context, BridgeHealth’s announcement of a global network of providers puts it at the leading edge of providing international care but patients in the U.S. shouldn’t be surprised. Providing for increased choice in destinations, facilities, surgeons, doctors and pricing is part of what medical travel *does*, as a phenomenon, as it grows.

– the moderator

DENVER - Responding to the growing demand among employers, health plans and other stakeholders for a comprehensive, “world-class” network of international healthcare centers of excellence, BridgeHealth International, Inc. (BridgeHealth) today unveiled its initial system of providers comprised of over 25 hospitals and 600 physicians, dentistsand health professionals in ten countries. With a focus on serving businesses and individuals for the delivery of international medical care, BridgeHealth developed its World-Class Provider Network™ to offer an extensive range of medical and dental procedures, a wide choice of hospitals and destinations, and options for accessing providers with experience, expertise and high standards of safety.

“The BridgeHealth network is the first-of-its kind in the industry, bringing to the marketplace a best-of-breed option for delivering high quality care and treatments to medical travelers,” says Victor Lazzaro, Jr., CEO of BridgeHealth. “Backed by decades of executive experience in healthcare delivery, BridgeHealth has assembled a network of breadth and depth, with a focus on promoting provider choice and offering a superior client experience. As the recognized leader and innovator in medical travel, we are committed to growing this international system while always maintaining the highest degrees of integrity and concern for quality.”

The BridgeHealth network represents the widest range of choices now available for medical travel, offering patients a vast array of options.

“Some Americans may choose to travel to exotic locations including Singapore or India while others may prefer to be closer to home and opt for Mexico or Panama,” continues Lazzaro. “We offer a broad menu of medical and dental procedures – meeting needs as varied as orthopedic procedures, cardiac surgeries, and bariatric operations. Our goal is to match patients with their location of choice, meet budget expectations, and arrange for the highest quality care available in a specific country. This is all made possible by assembling the most extensive network in the industry.”

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