Healthcare: The New International Market

Implications: There are two key considerations I think are very indicative of the changing times of American healthcare. First of all, the Consumer Driven Model emerging as the primary vehicle of healthcare insurance. And secondly, the effects on domestic medical costs should this trend continue.

Analysis:

The Consumer Driven Model embraces the concept of channeling costs and medical control to the consumer directly. That being the case, it is the consumer's right to shop around for the best medical care at the best price. So, why not expand that to an international level? It makes sense. The emergence of television, the internet, high speed travel, etc.. has already made the globe more accessible to more people than ever before. So why not healthcare? I believe that as our cost conscious consumers continue to be empowered and educated in healthcare, this trend will force our medical institutions, our government, and our health insurance carriers to adjust their own expectations and compete more aggressively for that same business, both domestically and internationally.

My second thought regarding this article has to do with costs. Medical costs have been on a steady rise for several years. Hospitals cite profitability challenges as one of the causes of their rise in costs. Advances in many procedures have turned what once was a lengthy hospital stay to a short stay, or even into an outpatient procedure, leaving empty hospital beds. If we already have more than a comfortable number of empty beds across the country, if more consumers continue to seek high ticket medical care in foreign countries, who will be filling our hospital beds here? How will the medical facilities cope with that?