Prices for a knee
replacement vary between $21,976 in Arizona to $57,504 in California according
to Health
News NPR. So why not shop around? In a new book chapter about domestic
medical tourism just published by Apple Academic Press, Simon Hudson discusses
how a growing number of US patients are traveling for medical care within their
own country, in order to save money or receive better care. To date, the
literature on medical tourism has focused almost exclusively on the international
side of medical tourism – and in many cases Americans who travel to developing
countries for medical services. However, Hudson suggests that the shape of
medical tourism is not confined to customers traveling abroad for their surgery
or wellness treatments. There is a growing number of patients who shop around
for medical care within their own country. Such tourism is expected to grow
significantly in the US, as more employers and insurers are offering financial
incentives to encourage workers to consider domestic medical travel. Hudson
believes that domestic medical tourism could be even more critical for the
health sector now fewer international medical tourists are coming to the
country. Hudson cites a recent article in Time
that discusses how the ‘Trump
Slump” - the anticipated decline in foreign
travelers to the US due to the reality of Donald Trump as president - could cost
the US well over $10 billion per year in lost tourism revenues - including revenues from medical tourism. The
US, with its strong pharmaceutical industry and high-tech hospitals, has
traditionally been a destination for inbound medical tourists. Cutting-edge
research institutions, like the Cleveland and Mayo Clinics and John Hopkins,
have been targeting an international clientele for decades. But they may have
to start looking closer to home for their clients.
Hudson’s book
chapter can be found in the book Medical
Tourism and Wellness edited by Frederick DeMicco.
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