Change in Plans: Partnership Connects HR Pros with Cost-Saving Options at Medical Tourism Congress

WASHINGTON - Aug. 25, 2014 - PRLog -- Against the backdrop of a predicted 4.4 percent increase this year in expenditures for employer-sponsored healthcare, U.S. companies and the human resource managers who direct the benefit plans they offer can directly access education and the connections that engender worldwide medical tourism opportunities – from Costa Rica and France to Thailand and India -- through a new partnership with the Human Resource Professionals Association, the Medical Tourism Association® announced today.

“Despite another wave of cost increases on the horizon, most employers remain committed to offering healthcare benefits to their employees,” said Renee-Marie Stephano, President of the Medical Tourism Association®. “With one eye on keeping employees healthy and productive and the other on the bottom line, self-funding employers are adjusting strategies to integrate medical tourism options into their health benefit coverage plans. What they see is immediate cost dividends.”

The Human Resource Professional Association, a nonprofit U.S.-based organization which boasts some 200,000 members on its LinkedIn groups, provides the benefits community with education and resources related to compensation and benefits, recruitment, account management and technology among others. Visit http://www.hrprofessionalsassociation.com

The new partnership with the Medical Tourism Association® will enable members of the Human Resource Professionals Association to explore health travel opportunities by gaining a free pass to the 7^th World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress, Sept. 20-24, 2014, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, in Washington, D.C.

From international ambassadors and U.S. lawmakers who build healthcare infrastructure consensus to doctors and researchers who link the latest technologies with sound medical practice, buyers of healthcare who attend the World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress can rub elbows with some 3,000 key stakeholders and exhibitors from across the globe who will share their experiences in an effort to identify and solve issues that have significant bearing on the industry. For a preliminary list of speakers, go to: http://www.medicaltourismcongress.com/speakers_year/2014-speakers/

Stephano said despite the best intentions of the Affordable Care Act, the United States spends 18 percent of the gross domestic product on healthcare, more than any other peer nation. Those cost burdens trickle down to the average household in terms of lost wages, insurance premiums, out-of-pocket care and other expenses.

“U.S. employers and the insurers that provide benefit plans to them, don’t foresee a dip in healthcare costs anytime soon,” she said. “At the same time, these employers, many of whom self-fund their health insurance benefits, don’t want to disrupt their coverage plans. What they may not know is that Americans who have been exposed to medical tourism have taken advantage of bargain prices – up to 70 percent less abroad – for comparable elective procedures and treatments offered in the United States. That’s a consumer-driven difference for everyone – that counts.”

About the Medical Tourism Association®
The Medical Tourism Association® is the first membership-based international nonprofit trade organization 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