Question

1. A decade ago, the idea that medical procedures might move offshore was unthinkable. Today it is a reality. What trends have facilitated this process? Is the globalization of health care good or bad for the American economy?

2. Is the globalization of health care good or bad for patients? Who might benefit from the globalization of health care? Who might lose?

3. How might a universal health insurance program change the current trends in the health care industry? In your opinion, are programs like that offered by Aetna to have surgery conducted in another country truly viable?

Answer 1

1) The rise of globalization gave wings to the transfer of many a thing between countries. It even led to the idea of the movement of medical procedures offshores. A decade ago, this concept was unthinkable, but now its nothing more than a normal thing. this normalization was rare in the past world. There happened a radical change in medical care concepts over the course of time. The conventional idea of people approaching developed countries like America or the United Kingdom for medical care is reversed. Now the people of developed countries are steering to developing countries like India or Srilanka for medical care. A lot of foreigners, most of them from developed countries, are maneuvering to India for medical care in indigenous systems like Unani, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga etc, for their effectiveness and efficiency. In this way, even the cultural aspects of countries are also being transferred.

This radical change is brought in by a multiplicity of factors such as:

• Cost advantage

Developing countries have a huge advantage in terms of the cost of providing medical services. countries like India have a huge advantage as far as cost is concerned. Providing better quality medical services at half the cost attracts foreigners from many countries all around the globe. The cost of medical services is increasing day by day in developed countries like America and Europe, the citizens are resorting to less developed countries for meeting medical needs because of their cost-effectiveness. this also paved the way for a new concept called "medical tourism".

• Advantage of effectiveness

Every country has its ingenious medical systems that may be competent to one another. One may be better than the other. People from less effective countries may travel to countries having highly effective medical services. Eg: An American coming to India for Ayurvedic therapy.

• Expansion of globalization

Globalization reduced the distance between countries. Through globalization, people became more aware of the medical services of other countries and ofter get attracted to its quality and reduced cost.

• Advancement in technology

21 st century witnessed a great advancement in telecommunication and transportation technologies which ofter helped in the movement of health services offshores. communication is helpful in communicating with medical practitioners accross the globe for advanced medical services. An American citizen can resort to an Indian doctor for getting quenching his medical needs.

Transportation helped in the movement of people from one place to another easy and effortless. This made the coming of people to countries where they can find the best medical services at less cost and this also helped in the development of medical tourism

Is the globalization of health care good or bad for the American economy?

It is rather a complex question to answer. There are many problems that the American economy faces in this concern. Americans are making their way to neighboring countries for pills and other drugs, and often make sesquipedalian tours to different parts of the world for getting advanced medical services at low cost. America is a country where medical services are much of a worry to people because of increasing cost.

The first and foremost concern they are journeying abroad is to save money. The health inflation in America outpaced its economic growth, making it difficult to have health services there. Cost is not the only concern that people have, countries in Asia and other parts of the globe are having substantial growth in health services without increasing costs. The insurance sector of America was also much of a worry.

Given all these situations, America is working on the health and insurance sector to provide quality services with less cost so as to cope up with the increasing drain of people.

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2) Globalization poses both positive and negative effects on patients but altogether it has a good effect on patients.

Positives

• Better quality medical services at less cost
• It created more choice for the patients.
• It created the concept of global "medical tourism"
• It enabled physicians, doctors, students, and other stakeholders to travel to less capable countries to provide them free healthcare. Eg: Redcross.
• It enabled the flow of patients from one country to the other.
• It forces the domestic country to improvise their medical services.

Even though globalization of healthcare sounds useful it is useful only to the organizations that have the capacity to accommodate foreigners and the foreigners who can afford to travel around the globe. The organizations are reaping the benefits by levying exorbitant rates considered to its actual costs and the foreigners get benefitted by getting health services at a rate lower than their domestic country.

The ones who suffer are the general public of the country. they are deprived of the services which are provided to the foreigners. The pubic health system of that country is seriously affected too. Moreover, the domestic country of the foreigner is heavily affected. The domestic economy of the country will gradually decrease with the rising drain of people from the country to other countries for health services.

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3) There is an urging need for a universal health insurance program that could improve the health care industry and the standard of living of the people as a whole, immensely. The neo effort will fabricate a new movement that will advocate certain measures to seek common ground on the set of goals for a neo health care system. It would create a measuring stick, a barometer to determine which health insurance plans are worthy of support.

The system advocates a full-fledged approach to revolutionize the current health care industry

• There should be equality in accessing health care.
• keeping the cost at an affordable rate without affecting the access.
• Everyone should receive quality services. There should be equality without sacrificing quality.
• There should be equitable and proportionate distribution.

Aetna provides the option of saving money and offering discounts for getting surgeries overseas. Plans like this are viable to employers who are keen on the welfare of their employees. The employees in New York can have surgeries in Singapore or other such countries that have sophisticated yet feasible health services. Institutions such as this should grow which will enable a greater flow of people to other countries having low cost, better quality healthcare and the patients should reape its benefit. It should also enable domestic countries to improvise their health services to cope up with the competition.

but the challenges to it are inevitable. The American Medical Association has raised concerns about patient safety about Aetna in New York. But when it improvise itself it will become highly viable.