In an effort to contain healthcare rising healthcare costs and improve the quality of care, the face of the healthcare industry is shifting—from providers to insurers.  Laws are being made, various new organizational models are being tested and new partnerships are being formed.

As healthcare reform movement surges ahead, one company seems to have found a new niche in the future of healthcare. Greenwood Village, Colorado-based BridgeHealth Medical originally started as an international medical tourism company back in 2007, but in 2010, the company tried something new.

The term medical tourism came from travel agencies and the media, who used it to describe the quickly growing practice of traveling across international borders to get cheaper or better healthcare. Today, more than 50 countries identify medical tourism as a national industry.

BridgeHealth’s CEO, Vic Lazzaro, who was formerly a United Healthcare executive, said that the company decided to turn to the domestic market last year because employers complained that the company wanted to send their employees on a ten-hour flight to receive their healthcare.  But, Lazzaro said, they were fine with two hour flights.

Although BridgeHealth won’t talk dollars and cents, it acknowledged that its sales are up by a quarter since it began focusing on the domestic market—and, domestic funds now make up more than 80 percent of the company’s business.

"Medical travel is not a panacea, but it does force transparency in terms of quality and costs and should be factored into the proposed programs now on the table to fix the U.S. healthcare system,” Lazarro said. “Medical travel exemplifies the concept of private sector competition, as fostered by global and domestic companies, and can have the same impact on health care delivery as it does on other industries. Today, Americans can readily travel to the optimal provider, whether that site is within the United States or outside our borders."

BridgeHealth, which has a mere 20 employees, partners with approximately 20 insurers that manage health benefits for self-insured employers. And, the company has deals with 30 healthcare facilities and hospitals around the United States and serves more than 200 businesses.

One company saved more $70,000 during its first year with BridgeHealth. Las Vegas-based Stephens Media’s benefits manager, Cindy Meyers, said that the program benefitted both the employees and the employer by reducing costs for all involved.

While the domestic medical tourism market isn’t booming yet, it’s expected to play a major part in the future of healthcare. BridgeHealth has one major competitor at this point, Boca Raton, Florida-based Surgical Trip, which has only 11 employees.

Surgical Trip has contracts with ten employers and three insurance providers. Some experts predict that companies like BridgeHealth and Surgical Trip will become commonplace as healthcare reform moves forward.

How Does It Work?

Using BridgeHealth’s plan as an example, it seems that domestic medical tourism can be a benefit to all parties involved.

Self-Insured Companies save between 20 and 40 percent for surgeries such as bypass surgery or knee replacement surgery.

Patients who are willing to travel for their surgeries benefit too—copays and deductibles are waived by their employers as an incentive to use the lower-cost services.

Hospitals get to fill their empty beds with patients who would not otherwise be their patients.

Patients can choose a clinic from a list, and then companies like BridgeHealth will pay for the surgery, as well as the patient’s hotel room, meals, air fare (often first class) and other costs. Even with all of these expenses, the companies involved can save more than half of the cost that they’d pay to a local hospital for the same surgery.

Then again, some in the industry worry that air travel can be dangerous for sick patients since flying can increase the risk of blood clots, even in the case of otherwise healthy people. And, say opponents, sometimes procedures require post-op care at home—and some doctors won’t see patients who aren’t their own.

Even so, supporters of domestic medical tourism say that it will lead to a better healthcare system, especially since it addresses both quality of care and cost.

“We've brought a whole new meaning to the words 'medical travel', and this should resonate with government decision-makers as they craft health care reform packages," said Lazzaro.

What do you think? Is domestic medical tourism the way of the future? Tell us in the comments!