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I work in a hospital in Japan which is one of the most prolific refferal thyroid clinics in the world. Not to be inmodest, we perform over 1500 surgeries a year, almost all of them on thyroids and 40% of which are thyroid malignancies. We have one of the best outcomes in the world, which is well documented. Our 30 year post-surgical survival for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid is over 90%. But most of all, we can achieve these results for a very competitive price. Surgery for papillary carcinoma, including anesthesia, all the chemistry tests, all the radiology tests (CT, MRI, sonogram), all the pathologies (pre-op, mid-op, post-op), all the meals and a two week hospital stay averages about 1,037,000yen. (At the exchange rate of 120yen to a dollar, that comes to about $8,641.)

Even at these prices, the Ministry of Health and Labor of Japan is currently cutting our imbursements. We are now researching the possibility of bringing in patients from North America. Even if we had to charge foreign patients a surcharge of 20% (for hiring English speaking nurses and clerks, etc) that would still be $10,370 which we believe would be quite competitive considering that our outcomes are equivalent with the few best hospitals in North America.

It would definately benefit the patients as well as US insurance companies. We believe the option of introducing foreign patients is worth thinking about. But where should I start the research? There must be other things to prepare than just English speaking staff. We need to team up with American insurance companies to find out what we need to do. But who should we contact?

Any information is welcome.

There has been quite a bit written about the use of out-of-country surgical facilities in the past few years. Even a Reader's Digest story on it, as I recall...

I would reccommend starting with the larger health carriers in the States. Maybe Humana, Wellpoint, United HealthCare, Aetna, and some of the Blues like Blue Cross of California. If you can land a referral like one of these biggies (there's more out there), the other carriers will notice the activity and keep an eye on the savings.

I don't necessarily like shipping business overseas, but Health Insurance has become so expensive here that anything that can bring down the operating / claims costs is worth studying. Good luck.

Swymmer

Thank you Swymmer.
Does anyone have any idea how much it would cost in the States if you got the same services from, say, UCSF?