People travelling abroad for medical procedures often face travel insurance exclusions for generic risks such as cancellation, lost baggage or personal accident.
As healthcare systems in many developed countries face the challenges of rising costs and increased waiting times for treatment, patients are increasingly seeking more timely and affordable options in other countries, leading to a rise in what has been dubbed ‘medical tourism’.
Estimates of the size of the medical tourism market vary. For example, US-based medical tourism guide Patients Beyond Borders estimated the 2023 market at USD 63-88 billion, based on around 21-22 million cross-border patients worldwide.
However, an article in Business Wire, citing a report from ResearchandMarkets.com, said the global medical tourism market had reached a value of USD 97.3 billion in 2022, and was projected to grow to USD337 billion by 2028.
Medical Tourism Watch, which references both of the above sources, also cites an estimate from Allied Market Research, which projected that the value of the medical tourism market would rise to USD 273.7 billion from 2023-2027.
Whatever the measure of the size and growth rate of this market, one challenge faced by all patients looking to travel abroad for medical treatment is the ability to secure insurance coverage for the potential risks involved in their journey.
In the UK, the annual meeting of the professional body for doctors, the British Medical Association, heard concerns from healthcare professionals about how this boom in surgical tourism is leading to a rise in “serious post-surgery complications and deaths”.
It is reported that doctors working for the National Health Service are concerned that the NHS is having to “pick up the pieces” of complications arising from Britons going abroad for cheaper medical care.
One of the leading risks arising from medical tourism is the quality of care given, with medical standards and safety protocols varying widely across different countries. This disparity in health and safety standards can lead to complications including post-operative infections and poor surgical outcomes.
Language barriers can also pose a significant risk, as effective communication is a key element of effective healthcare. Misunderstandings between patients and healthcare practitioners can lead to misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment, or failure by patients to follow medical advice.
Health issues can also arise from a lack of post-operative care, which is crucial for patient recovery. Medical tourists may return home too soon after surgery and without adequate medical support, potentially leading to complications that ultimately require emergency treatment.
In addition to the health, financial and regulatory risks medical tourists face, they are also exposed to the normal risks people face when travelling – including lost or stolen personal belongings, personal accident and trip inconvenience. Retail travel insurance policies usually exclude cover for all trips booked with the primary purpose of receiving treatment.
Aside from the health risks, patients can also encounter hidden costs that offset any savings from the lower initial cost of treatment and may even exceed the cost of treatment in their home country. These can include travel and extended accommodation costs, and unforeseen medical costs due to complications.
Patients can also run into legal difficulties if something goes wrong with their procedure, as medical malpractice laws can differ significantly between countries. This could make pursuing a negligence claim difficult and costly and, where medical tourists have unwittingly signed forms waiving their rights to file suit for medical malpractice, make it hard to establish jurisdiction against foreign defendants or difficult or impossible to enforce a judgment and collect financial damages.
Despite the increasing popularity of medical tourism, there are significant gaps in the cover typically afforded by standard travel insurance policies, which often have exclusions for anyone travelling for medical treatment abroad.
Some specialist medical carriers have responded to demand by removing blanket exclusions on coverage for those travelling for medical reasons, enabling insureds to access protection against cancellations, serious illness or accidents.
Other insurance providers have gone further in launching specialist medical tourism policies to cover people travelling abroad for dental, cosmetic and elective procedures and for fertility treatment, filling the insurance gap for post-treatment complications, travel delays and additional medical expenses.
But if the rate of expansion in medical tourism keeps pace with current estimates, insurers will need to continue innovating in this space to ensure that patients travelling abroad for healthcare can not only get the best standards of care wherever they go for treatment, but can access coverage that protects them against the full spectrum of associated risks.
