Medical Tourism Association® Webcast to Open International Paths to Self-Funding U.S. Employers

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - July 9, 2014 - PRLog -- Employers in the United States who have chosen a path to transparent healthcare benefit offerings by crafting their self-funded packages with strategies and objectives that emphasize price-savings, quality care and sustainable cost control though medical tourism options – both international and domestic – are the topic of a free webcast sponsored by the Medical Tourism Association®, Thursday, July 10, 2 p.m. (EST).

“Self-funding has become a vital health insurance option for U.S. employers,” said Jonathan, Edelheit, CEO of the Medical Tourism Association®, who will direct the interactive online presentation. “Not only does self-insurance that includes medical tourism options help control healthcare costs, when managed efficiently and effectively, plans can lead to higher wages for workers and more resources for employers to invest in job creation.”

U.S. companies that partially or completely self-fund their healthcare plans increased from 44 percent in 1999 to almost two-thirds in 2012, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Today, self-funding plans provide health insurance to more than 100 million Americans.

“Self-Funding: Trend or Fiction” will highlight stories like that of HSM Solutions, a North Carolina-based manufacturer of components to the transportation, furniture, and bedding markets – and similar medical tourism approaches taken both internationally and domestically – that bear witness to what employers can accomplish when unleashed from the trappings of a system frail with perverse incentives toward reducing the cost, quality and accessibility of medical care.

“The Affordable Care Act certainly has enabled some Americans to afford health insurance for the first time,” said Edelheit. “But, providing fair-priced employee benefits remains a challenging prospect for U.S. employers. Even though the increased cost for insurance has been shifted on the shoulders of working Americans, U.S. employers are identifying self-funding strategies – like medical tourism -- that reconcile healthcare offerings with financial goals of the business – attracting and retaining healthy employees while maintaining the bottom line.”

Medical tourism cases studies – including those involving orthopedic, heart and elective surgeries – will focus on companies as large as Lowe’s and Walmart as well as those with not nearly the number of employees, like Blue Lake Casino and Hotel in Northern California, which, like the retail giants, identify with a similar corporate culture that optimizes wellness, coordinated care, and cost-reducing coverage options.

To register for the free webcast, go to: https://health.webex.com/health/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=662513885

About the Medical Tourism Association®
The Medical Tourism Association® is the first membership-based international nonprofit trade association for the medical tourism and healthcare industry made up of top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliates committed to promoting the highest level of quality healthcare to patients in a global environment. www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com