Medical Tourism Bill Fails in Florida to a Great Gasping Yawn

By: World Reach Digital Marketing
 
June 14, 2014 - PRLog -- With an awful lot of hype but as yet no real substance the Florida medical tourism bill failed to pass just before close of session Tuesday and will have to wait until the Florida congress reconvenes next session. The meaning and substance behind the reporting of this matter is relatively un-newsworthy. Medical Tourism is not dead in Florida (although perhaps it should be) this bill only eliminated or temporarily shelved a plan to throw $5 million dollars at a study of medical tourism by none other than the Florida Tourism board.  There is very little medical here that is noteworthy. There are a number of problems besides this non news that readers should be aware of. The main one being that Florida is still a part of a great broken US healthcare system plagued by high costs and inefficiencies that seem to have no end in sight.

Is Medical Tourism the Answer?

Well no but it has become one of the solutions in an increasingly complex landscape of “medical solutions.”  Medical Tourism or as it is more increasingly referred to “medical travel” is a relatively old phenomena that has suddenly exploded to become a $100 billion dollar a year industry. Unsurprisingly this figure has caused a lot of people, countries, and now Florida stand up and demand (worthy or no) a piece of the action. People have long sought alternative treatments abroad for reasons such as unavailability or prohibition in their own country. Eastern medicine has long thought to have comparative advantages over western medicine for some.  It is thought to have more focus on homeopathic remedies that go to the root cause of maladies instead of the conception of western medicine which simply masks the symptoms with pills instead of attacking root causes. More recently certain stem cell therapies not allowed in the United States are being sought in countries that will provide them. El Salvador is one of the many countries engaging in active research that is fairly accessible to the United States.

Not Your Grandfathers’ Medical Tourism…

While the truth of Western vs. Eastern medicine is not self-evident what has become clear is that modern medical tourism has become driven principally by cost and secondly by the fact that many countries are now providing high quality accredited care at substantially lower costs. The third world has been “movin’ on up” just like the Jefferson’s in recent years offering higher standards of healthcare across the board at substantially lower costs. Costa Rica for instance has become the 5th leading medical tourism destination in the world over the last few years. This is noteworthy to this North American audience because the medical care is rated excellent by world bodies and a flight to Costa Rica is almost the same as flying to Fort Lauderdale. Accessibility, high quality care, an excellent tourism infrastructure, and a very friendly stable country here is the key.

Slapping the Word Medical in Front of Tourism doesn’t make it so!

Costa Rica has put in a lot of hard work to make this happen mainly through promoting accreditation, training of medical tourism and ancillary employees, in addition to promotion outside of the country through major conferences and informational outreach programs. This tiny country with the distinction of being the only country in the world without a standing army has built a reputation mainly by having successfully performed thousands of medical and dental procedures at substantially lower costs, up to 70% savings in some cases. But the real case in point here with the idea of Florida as a medical tourism destination and one thing that is not changing soon are malpractice insurance fees and America’s propensity for litigiousness.  Realize that an obstetrician in Florida must pay $200,000.00 in malpractice insurance before he or she can collect a dime for himself. In addition in a sue happy nation with many looking for a quick easy buck the amount of claims frivolous or otherwise has never declined but only grown larger.

Go Directly to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, and Do Not Collect $200 dollars.

In Costa Rica just using one example one thing that keeps costs down is that there are no high payoffs for medical malpractice. What is this you ask doubtfully? That sounds suspicious. Well please understand that it is anything but. In Costa Rica if you are shown to be medically negligent you do not get a fine that your insurance company pays and that is ultimately passed to you. Yes you heard me right, who do you think ultimately pays for these huge settlements and high damage awards. YOU DO! In Costa Rica medical malpractice or negligence is a crime and if you are found guilty you go directly to jail. Directly to jail. This rather small sounding mechanism is all it would take to shape up the American system overnight. I say lets give it a try.

Rodgers H Bestgen Jr is a CEO of World Reach Digital an internet marketing and copywrighting firm based in Miami and Costa Rica. Mr. Bestgen is the force behind many successful medical travel and related businesses. rodgersbestgen@gmail.com

Media Contact
Rodgers H Bestgen Jr
rodgersbestgen@gmail.com
End
Source:World Reach Digital Marketing
Email:***@gmail.com
Tags:Healthcare Marketing
Industry:Business, Real Estate
Location:Florida - United States
Subject:Companies
Account Email Address Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
World Reach SEO PRs
Trending News
Most Viewed
Top Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share