Data from the University of Delaware offers more specific numbers: "A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the U.S., for example, goes for $10,000 in India -- and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth $5,500 in the U.S. costs $500 in India, a knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the States, and Lasik eye surgery worth $3,700 in the U.S. is available in many other countries for only $730. Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa."

Sine insurance doesn't cover cosmetic procedures insurers and employers don't care too much about cheaper facelifts (though patients do, of course). But medical tourism isn't all about vanity. According to the National Business Group on Health, some of the most popular procedures pursued by medical tourists include heart procedures (e.g. coronary artery bypass graft, heart valve replacement, pacemakers, etc), orthopedic procedures (e.g. hip and knee replacement), laparoscopic surgery for gall bladder and hysterectomy, and many kinds of transplants. Given this, the consulting firm McKinsey and Co. aggressively estimates that increased medical tourism over the next few years can save health care purchasers as much as $20 billion in benefit pay-outs.

Catching On

Insurers and employers are quickly catching on to the savings opportunity represented by medical tourism. In June, MSNBC reported that  "CIGNA, Aetna and Blue Cross/Blue Shieldhave begun or are considering pilot programs that provide limited coverage for foreign care." Last month CNN reported on an Albuquerque construction firm that has included a medical tourism component in its health coverage that encourages employees to seek care in countries like Costa Rica, Singapore, and India. In South Carolina, BlueCross BlueShield and BlueChoice recently formed an alliance with one of Thailand's premier hospitals to promote medical tourism to its 1.3 million members. United Group Programs, a smaller insurer in Florida, also has begun to offer a plan that sends patients to Thailand for expensive procedures. Insurers Blue Shield and Health Net of California also both offer low-cost policies that allow members to receive medical treatments in Mexico.

It would be wrong to say that providing coverage for medical tourism is common practice amongst employers. A January survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found that just 11 percent of employers cover medical tourism under their plans. Nevertheless, according to the National Business Group on Health, another 9 percent of large U.S. employers are interested or very interested in sending employees off shore for major surgeries over the next five years.