Medical Tourism

#2
#2
My father in law went to Taiwan (I think) for some sort of procedure a number of years ago... His insurance wouldn't cover it for whatever reason, so he hopped on a plane to Taiwan. Went well, he saved a few grand.
 
#3
#3
Rasputin_Vol said:
Just found an interesting site. I was just wondering what you guys think. I was searching to see if HSA accounts could be used for some procedures. I'm in good health right now, but I know that the time will come once I get older that I will need some major medical treatment.

Discuss..

Medical Tourism - Medical Travel Company - Affordable Surgery
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A couple who are our friends have been going to Costa Rica for years for her regular pap smears/etc. He had a bunch of dental implants done there at a savings of tens of thousands of $. They have nothing but great reviews for the whole experience.

Too bad we can't get economical health care here in the US.
 
#4
#4
milohimself said:
My father in law went to Taiwan (I think) for some sort of procedure a number of years ago... His insurance wouldn't cover it for whatever reason, so he hopped on a plane to Taiwan. Went well, he saved a few grand.
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I've heard of several people doign this. Either it was a surgery that US doctors wouldn't do even though they've been done with great success overseas, or they went out of country to save money.
 
#6
#6
Danl said:
A couple who are our friends have been going to Costa Rica for years for her regular pap smears/etc. He had a bunch of dental implants done there at a savings of tens of thousands of $. They have nothing but great reviews for the whole experience.

Too bad we can't get economical health care here in the US.
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we could if health care could exist in a free market, but any time the government subsidizes a significant portion of an industry, prices increase for everybody
 
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#7
#7
Rasputin_Vol said:
What about HSA accounts, though?
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I have funded an MSA account from the first day they became available. It is great! We go to any doctor be it medical, dental, chiropractic, mental for my adopted son, get any exam or procedure, negotiate cost and then whip out our MSA Visa card.
MSA/HSA accounts are you being self insured and there is no better way to conduct business in the health care world. I have not looked into over seas care but I do not think it would be a problem, as long as they accept Visa, it is YOUR money in the account.
The money in the account earns interest and you can get it back with no penalty.
Can you tell that I think they are the way to go. My wife is a CPA/Director of Finance/HR director for a multi-million dollar company and she deals with all the insurance companies begging for their business. So she sees what they all have to offer and says that the MSA can not be touched. Hope this helps. Some of the rules have changed since I opened ours years ago, so check on the current rules and restrictions as I am "grandfathered" in on some. Good Luck with your decision.
 
#8
#8
T-TownVol said:
I have funded an MSA account from the first day they became available. It is great! We go to any doctor be it medical, dental, chiropractic, mental for my adopted son, get any exam or procedure, negotiate cost and then whip out our MSA Visa card.
MSA/HSA accounts are you being self insured and there is no better way to conduct business in the health care world. I have not looked into over seas care but I do not think it would be a problem, as long as they accept Visa, it is YOUR money in the account.
The money in the account earns interest and you can get it back with no penalty.
Can you tell that I think they are the way to go. My wife is a CPA/Director of Finance/HR director for a multi-million dollar company and she deals with all the insurance companies begging for their business. So she sees what they all have to offer and says that the MSA can not be touched. Hope this helps. Some of the rules have changed since I opened ours years ago, so check on the current rules and restrictions as I am "grandfathered" in on some. Good Luck with your decision.
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HSA with high deductible insurance plan is the way to go particularly if you are relevantly healthy. Plus, many doctors will negotiate with you for checkups and small procedures once you tell them that you will be paying with an HSA.
 
#9
#9
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought ObamaCare greatly reduced the attractiveness of HSAs - I presume via the tax code. It also limits the high deductible insurance plans.

In effect, it opposes the consumer-driven model that is behind HSAs.
 
#10
#10
MG1968 said:
we could if health care could exist in a free market, but any time the government subsidizes a significant portion of an industry, prices increase for everybody
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True on the second part, but I think there is significant doubt among some in the economics community (aside from Krugman) about the ability of health care to deliver efficient results on its own.

That said, this sort of weird, half-assed approach obviously doesn't work well.

volinbham said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought ObamaCare greatly reduced the attractiveness of HSAs - I presume via the tax code. It also limits the high deductible insurance plans.

In effect, it opposes the consumer-driven model that is behind HSAs.
Click to expand...
The only thing I could find is that the ACA stopped allowing HSAs to be used to pay for over the counter drugs without a prescription. Also, using HSA funds for undocumented expenses were subject to income tax and a 10% penalty prior to the ACA, now the penalty is 20%. Penalties are still waved for those over 65.
 
#11
#11
milohimself said:
My father in law went to Taiwan (I think) for some sort of procedure a number of years ago... His insurance wouldn't cover it for whatever reason, so he hopped on a plane to Taiwan. Went well, he saved a few grand.
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You're married? I remember you talking about a GF, but never a wife.
 
#13
#13
milohimself said:
True on the second part, but I think there is significant doubt among some in the economics community (aside from Krugman) about the ability of health care to deliver efficient results on its own.

That said, this sort of weird, half-assed approach obviously doesn't work well.


The only thing I could find is that the ACA stopped allowing HSAs to be used to pay for over the counter drugs without a prescription. Also, using HSA funds for undocumented expenses were subject to income tax and a 10% penalty prior to the ACA, now the penalty is 20%. Penalties are still waved for those over 65.
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Also reduced max contribution to $2500 annually.

The OTC thing is interesting - HSAs encourage use of OTC but as we are forced to more full-service insurance plans with larger prescription coverage the incentive is to use a prescription drug when an OTC one might address the problem more cheaply.

As stated earlier, also made some changes to requirements for high deductible insurance plans (that will raise their price).

Overall, it is a move away from a consumer driven model where consumers are rewarded for saving and making their own choice on what to use insurance for. Basically, it funnels more of the decision making through mandated plans as opposed to individual choice.
 
#14
#14
In the book 4 hr body. author goes to central america for testing. spends 2 weeks by the ocean & gets something like $10,000 worth of tests for $4,000 including travel expenses. plus he writes it off on his taxes. the details are a little fuzzy and my nook app wont open the book right now.
 
#15
#15
tri_vol said:
In the book 4 hr body. author goes to central america for testing. spends 2 weeks by the ocean & gets something like $10,000 worth of tests for $4,000 including travel expenses. plus he writes it off on his taxes. the details are a little fuzzy and my nook app wont open the book right now.
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Did you like that book? I did 4-hr work week. It was OK.
 
#16
#16
volinbham said:
Also reduced max contribution to $2500 annually.

The OTC thing is interesting - HSAs encourage use of OTC but as we are forced to more full-service insurance plans with larger prescription coverage the incentive is to use a prescription drug when an OTC one might address the problem more cheaply.

As stated earlier, also made some changes to requirements for high deductible insurance plans (that will raise their price).

Overall, it is a move away from a consumer driven model where consumers are rewarded for saving and making their own choice on what to use insurance for. Basically, it funnels more of the decision making through mandated plans as opposed to individual choice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's one of the myriad aspects I don't like.
 
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