Have You Heard Of Medical Tourism

[geauxtohell]

People do go to Mexico for cheaper services. The thing odd about this thread is far more come to the states then go to Mexico.

more faux outrage,

A lot of people go to foreign countries for treatments that are illegal here. Novel therapies. Ask Steve Jobs who went to India for some holistic herb therapy for pancreatic cancer rather than an operation here. Oh, you can't, he's dead.

I had a friend go to mexico for a sex change operation. He didn't make it through the psychological counseling here. He's dead too, suicide.

Quarterback Peyton Manning traveled to Europe during the summer to receive a stem cell treatment for his injured neck. The particular procedure he received has not been approved in the United States. I suppose he can afford it since the Colts just re-signed him and agreed to pay him an additional $100 or so million.

Probably not the best example to support your OP.

 

[syrenn]

It's the jackass statements that drive me nuts. Instead of having anything useful to say, you just blurt out some stupid shit, and then you think it makes you look intelligent.

Do you realize that some insurance companies are actually starting to promote medical tourism as part of their insurance coverage? Some of these companies are playing with the idea of offering companies lower rates if their employees have certain medical procedures done outside of the US.

Health Insurance Companies Promoting Medical Tourism

'Medical Travel is Going to Be Part of the Solution'

Medical Tourism: The Insurance Debate - BusinessWeek

Why don't you take the time to educate yourself on this issue rather than trying to insult the op, making you look like a real idiot?

Allow to re-phrase in a less than "jackass" way:

I don't give a shit if 'medical tourism' happens or not.
Let the competitive market do it's job.

I'd rather pay an American, better qualified, doctor that has more stringent standards than Sum Yung Kwak in Korea.

Of course an insurance company would rather pay the lower rate for a lower tier doctor. If you enroll in that plan you're an idiot.


And I will insult Cammmpbelll at every opportunity.

Which hospitals, in America, are refusing necessary medical treatment?

Lots of Europeans undertake 'medical tourism'.... so, if their medical care is so shit hot, why are they going abroad for treatment - some even come to the US! WTF is that all about? If their care is so superior.... why are they coming here? I know why, but I suspect the idiot OP does not.

I am a global kind of girl and have friends all over the world. Every single one of them who are in a socialized medical state.... all have one thing to say. They hate it. They have to wait for months for appointments and longer for specialist. They cant get the drugs they need or want...so go to other countries to get them. Every single one of them pay out of pocket for extra insurance becasue what they get sucks and is not what they consider premium care. It is middle of the road care, not the best but not the worst.

So for anyone how has nothing i am very sure its seems great. For the rest its a piss poor system.

 

[geauxtohell]

Quarterback Peyton Manning traveled to Europe during the summer to receive a stem cell treatment for his injured neck. The particular procedure he received has not been approved in the United States. I suppose he can afford it since the Colts just re-signed him and agreed to pay him an additional $100 or so million.

That mean old FDA!

LOL.....it ain't rocket science. Once more it's a case of the haves and the have nots. Do you think for a minute any insurance company in America is about to approve anything resembling an experimental procedure............NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

If this country had waited for a Republican administration to approve funds to go to the moon....we would still be shitting in one holers.

"Experimental procedures and treatments" are approved all the time in this country.

Google "Stage IV Drug Trials" and educate yourself.

The threshold for "experimental" is greater in this country. It's usually reserved for issues that could possibly prolong life (and not career) and it's driven by the FDA. Once the FDA approves it, insurance has no problem paying for it, as FDA approval equates to credibility.

 

[geauxtohell]

And no government agency is obligated to approve a risky procedure or toxic medicine. I have worked in psychiatry for 22 years. In the early 90s we got a 'new' medicine here called Clozaril for schizophrenia. It had been on the market for 10 years already in Europe. But Clozaril can cause blood a fatal blood dyscrasia. It was not until systems were put in place, here, to be able to monitor and prevent deaths from occurring due to the treatment.

Yeah well......every week or two I see a legal team commerical telling the history of drugs gone astray in this country. Don't shit me....all drugs have side effects and even flu shots kill a percentage of those who agree to have one. Even the little blue pill which causes an erection kills some heart patients who don't get enough warning. If it is something which 20% of the population needs to be treated for they approve it. If it's expensive for insurance companies and only a few people are affected by it...........THEY WILL NEVER APPROVE IT

ONE of my medications costs 100K/year. It is a 'specialty medicine.' My insurance pays and all it costs me out of pocket. is $70 every 3 months. I pretty much have to keep working because if I retire and go on Medicare alone, I will be holding the bag for about $25K/year. So obviously I plan to work as long as I possibly can.

Viagra was first tested for the disease that I have, pulmonary hypertension. It was not invented to give men boners. But when they started getting boners during the clinical trials, the company decided to market it for men who needed to get boners. When I was in the hospital in August, I was given Viagra 3 times a day. Now that I'm home, I take Adcirca, a very expensive newer generation drug which is marketed for ED as well as PH. The drug has been very effective for my PH. And I have heart failure from the PH, but it has caused me no problems. I take it at night. Every night. When I get up in the morning, my lips are so red, I look like I have on lipstick. Some signs of aging are also going away from my face as it gives skin all over, and not just in the lungs, or other 'organ' better perfusion. It is a horribly expensive drug as well. Again, my cost $70 every 3 months.

It is not true that insurance never pays for experimental drugs. In psychiatry, we use many drugs 'off label' ...IOW for the side effect of mood stabilization, or reduction of aggression. Off label use is generally considered experimental. But the insurance still pays, we only have to justify the use of an off label drug.

Years ago, I worked on an oncology unit where 75% of all treatments were experimental. I do recall some of them being paid for by insurance. So you are painting with a brush that is much too broad.

That makes sense. Vasodilation = lower preload = lower pulmonary pressure.

I find it hilarious that the vasodilators, originally contrived for heart issues were marketed for ED after big pharma realized that is where the money was at and now a legitimate medical need is "off label".

I think "Depakote" being used as a mood stabilizer is "off label". It's still the mainstay and much safer than lithium.

 

[Sunshine]

Yeah well......every week or two I see a legal team commerical telling the history of drugs gone astray in this country. Don't shit me....all drugs have side effects and even flu shots kill a percentage of those who agree to have one. Even the little blue pill which causes an erection kills some heart patients who don't get enough warning. If it is something which 20% of the population needs to be treated for they approve it. If it's expensive for insurance companies and only a few people are affected by it...........THEY WILL NEVER APPROVE IT

ONE of my medications costs 100K/year. It is a 'specialty medicine.' My insurance pays and all it costs me out of pocket. is $70 every 3 months. I pretty much have to keep working because if I retire and go on Medicare alone, I will be holding the bag for about $25K/year. So obviously I plan to work as long as I possibly can.

Viagra was first tested for the disease that I have, pulmonary hypertension. It was not invented to give men boners. But when they started getting boners during the clinical trials, the company decided to market it for men who needed to get boners. When I was in the hospital in August, I was given Viagra 3 times a day. Now that I'm home, I take Adcirca, a very expensive newer generation drug which is marketed for ED as well as PH. The drug has been very effective for my PH. And I have heart failure from the PH, but it has caused me no problems. I take it at night. Every night. When I get up in the morning, my lips are so red, I look like I have on lipstick. Some signs of aging are also going away from my face as it gives skin all over, and not just in the lungs, or other 'organ' better perfusion. It is a horribly expensive drug as well. Again, my cost $70 every 3 months.

It is not true that insurance never pays for experimental drugs. In psychiatry, we use many drugs 'off label' ...IOW for the side effect of mood stabilization, or reduction of aggression. Off label use is generally considered experimental. But the insurance still pays, we only have to justify the use of an off label drug.

Years ago, I worked on an oncology unit where 75% of all treatments were experimental. I do recall some of them being paid for by insurance. So you are painting with a brush that is much too broad.

There are some new treatment being used to treat some of the deadliest diseases which are very expensive. These treatments combines different drugs to form a cocktail of drugs tailored to the specific patient and the the specific strain of the disease. In one case the drug is tailored to the disease and to the genetic makeup of the patient. In essence we are developing drugs for individual patients. $100k for this type of medication might well be a reasonable price. We may be on the verge of some fantastic medical breakthroughs that very few can afford.

The disease I have is fatal after 6 months of no treatment. I had been 6 months with no treatment when I got to Vanderbilt. The company that makes the drug has told me they have people who have been on it for 10 years. I don't know how to process that as I don't know if they are younger than I, if their hearts are in better shape, if they were diagnosed sooner, etc. If I make it to around 70, I will be OK. But I may have to work without ever getting to retire lest the illness eat up a lot of my assets.

If you want miracle drugs and people who need them to get them, then hard choices have to be made. I have to confess I get really pissed when someone who ruined their liver with alcohol gets a new one, or the smoker gets a lung transplant and taxpayer dollars are involved. Why should we have to pay when the person did it to him/herself? Most of our health care dollars are spent on end of life care for patients who will never be functional and many who don't know even who they are any longer. I've consulted in nursing homes and seen those patients. Some on here would say that I should not get this treatment either because of my age. But I do work in a human service profession and I do perform a valuable service in order to have insurance as a benefit. The drug company assured my death would be quick and likely painless, as most with this disease just die of heart attacks. That would mean it will also be cheap. Last time I went to the hospital they asked me if I wanted to be a full code or DNR. The time will come when I will say 'DNR.'

There will be breakthroughs, and there will be hard decisions to be made. The future in medicine is not for the weak.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Have You Heard Of Medical Tourism

Sadly, yes.

 

[Sunshine]

Yeah well......every week or two I see a legal team commerical telling the history of drugs gone astray in this country. Don't shit me....all drugs have side effects and even flu shots kill a percentage of those who agree to have one. Even the little blue pill which causes an erection kills some heart patients who don't get enough warning. If it is something which 20% of the population needs to be treated for they approve it. If it's expensive for insurance companies and only a few people are affected by it...........THEY WILL NEVER APPROVE IT

ONE of my medications costs 100K/year. It is a 'specialty medicine.' My insurance pays and all it costs me out of pocket. is $70 every 3 months. I pretty much have to keep working because if I retire and go on Medicare alone, I will be holding the bag for about $25K/year. So obviously I plan to work as long as I possibly can.

Viagra was first tested for the disease that I have, pulmonary hypertension. It was not invented to give men boners. But when they started getting boners during the clinical trials, the company decided to market it for men who needed to get boners. When I was in the hospital in August, I was given Viagra 3 times a day. Now that I'm home, I take Adcirca, a very expensive newer generation drug which is marketed for ED as well as PH. The drug has been very effective for my PH. And I have heart failure from the PH, but it has caused me no problems. I take it at night. Every night. When I get up in the morning, my lips are so red, I look like I have on lipstick. Some signs of aging are also going away from my face as it gives skin all over, and not just in the lungs, or other 'organ' better perfusion. It is a horribly expensive drug as well. Again, my cost $70 every 3 months.

It is not true that insurance never pays for experimental drugs. In psychiatry, we use many drugs 'off label' ...IOW for the side effect of mood stabilization, or reduction of aggression. Off label use is generally considered experimental. But the insurance still pays, we only have to justify the use of an off label drug.

Years ago, I worked on an oncology unit where 75% of all treatments were experimental. I do recall some of them being paid for by insurance. So you are painting with a brush that is much too broad.

That makes sense. Vasodilation = lower preload = lower pulmonary pressure.

I find it hilarious that the vasodilators, originally contrived for heart issues were marketed for ED after big pharma realized that is where the money was at and now a legitimate medical need is "off label".

I think "Depakote" being used as a mood stabilizer is "off label". It's still the mainstay and much safer than lithium.

I believe Depakote was approved for mood stabilization a few years back, but Lamictal, and Neurontin are still considered experimental. I do have to agree with your estimation of the 'where the money is' explanation. This is a horrible disease. And it feels like the medication is being held for ransom. Still, I wouldn't trapse off to a third world country in order to get it as once I got home I would have no follow up by a competent medical provider.

The MD doesn't think I am 'jesting.' LOL. Fancy that!

 

[Douger]

Horty. New Avatar ?

Aww...a Christmas present!!
Thanks

Here's yours:

I appreciate that and agree 100%. Problem is I don't see a second option(nor a first). All I see is murkins.Michelle has a good set of lips though. I wonder how she and Palin would look snowballing ? No matter. I left the movie early.

 

[geauxtohell]

ONE of my medications costs 100K/year. It is a 'specialty medicine.' My insurance pays and all it costs me out of pocket. is $70 every 3 months. I pretty much have to keep working because if I retire and go on Medicare alone, I will be holding the bag for about $25K/year. So obviously I plan to work as long as I possibly can.

Viagra was first tested for the disease that I have, pulmonary hypertension. It was not invented to give men boners. But when they started getting boners during the clinical trials, the company decided to market it for men who needed to get boners. When I was in the hospital in August, I was given Viagra 3 times a day. Now that I'm home, I take Adcirca, a very expensive newer generation drug which is marketed for ED as well as PH. The drug has been very effective for my PH. And I have heart failure from the PH, but it has caused me no problems. I take it at night. Every night. When I get up in the morning, my lips are so red, I look like I have on lipstick. Some signs of aging are also going away from my face as it gives skin all over, and not just in the lungs, or other 'organ' better perfusion. It is a horribly expensive drug as well. Again, my cost $70 every 3 months.

It is not true that insurance never pays for experimental drugs. In psychiatry, we use many drugs 'off label' ...IOW for the side effect of mood stabilization, or reduction of aggression. Off label use is generally considered experimental. But the insurance still pays, we only have to justify the use of an off label drug.

Years ago, I worked on an oncology unit where 75% of all treatments were experimental. I do recall some of them being paid for by insurance. So you are painting with a brush that is much too broad.

That makes sense. Vasodilation = lower preload = lower pulmonary pressure.

I find it hilarious that the vasodilators, originally contrived for heart issues were marketed for ED after big pharma realized that is where the money was at and now a legitimate medical need is "off label".

I think "Depakote" being used as a mood stabilizer is "off label". It's still the mainstay and much safer than lithium.

I believe Depakote was approved for mood stabilization a few years back, but Lamictal, and Neurontin are still considered experimental. I do have to agree with your estimation of the 'where the money is' explanation. This is a horrible disease. And it feels like the medication is being held for ransom. Still, I wouldn't trapse off to a third world country in order to get it as once I got home I would have no follow up by a competent medical provider.

The MD doesn't think I am 'jesting.' LOL. Fancy that!

The irony, if they didn't treat ED, you could get themf or $5 a pop.

 

[Sunshine]

That makes sense. Vasodilation = lower preload = lower pulmonary pressure.

I find it hilarious that the vasodilators, originally contrived for heart issues were marketed for ED after big pharma realized that is where the money was at and now a legitimate medical need is "off label".

I think "Depakote" being used as a mood stabilizer is "off label". It's still the mainstay and much safer than lithium.

I believe Depakote was approved for mood stabilization a few years back, but Lamictal, and Neurontin are still considered experimental. I do have to agree with your estimation of the 'where the money is' explanation. This is a horrible disease. And it feels like the medication is being held for ransom. Still, I wouldn't trapse off to a third world country in order to get it as once I got home I would have no follow up by a competent medical provider.

The MD doesn't think I am 'jesting.' LOL. Fancy that!

The irony, if they didn't treat ED, you could get themf or $5 a pop.

Yeah, that's pretty sad.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

LOL.....it ain't rocket science. Once more it's a case of the haves and the have nots. Do you think for a minute any insurance company in America is about to approve anything resembling an experimental procedure............NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Neither do the socialist health care systems.

Thousands of breast cancer patients 'to be denied life-prolonging drug' - Telegraph

You must be a masochist because you really seem to enjoy being proved wrong so often.

 

[Cammmpbell]

Allow to re-phrase in a less than "jackass" way:

I don't give a shit if 'medical tourism' happens or not.
Let the competitive market do it's job.

I'd rather pay an American, better qualified, doctor that has more stringent standards than Sum Yung Kwak in Korea.

Of course an insurance company would rather pay the lower rate for a lower tier doctor. If you enroll in that plan you're an idiot.


And I will insult Cammmpbelll at every opportunity.

Which hospitals, in America, are refusing necessary medical treatment?

Lots of Europeans undertake 'medical tourism'.... so, if their medical care is so shit hot, why are they going abroad for treatment - some even come to the US! WTF is that all about? If their care is so superior.... why are they coming here? I know why, but I suspect the idiot OP does not.

I am a global kind of girl and have friends all over the world. Every single one of them who are in a socialized medical state.... all have one thing to say. They hate it. They have to wait for months for appointments and longer for specialist. They cant get the drugs they need or want...so go to other countries to get them. Every single one of them pay out of pocket for extra insurance becasue what they get sucks and is not what they consider premium care. It is middle of the road care, not the best but not the worst.

So for anyone how has nothing i am very sure its seems great. For the rest its a piss poor system.

But see...as bad as it is, everyone has it.

It's easy for someone who has the insurance to be critical of others as long as they're satisfied with their own. That's really the story now isn't it.

Ask the 50,000,000 Americans who have no medical insurance how they feel about it.

 

[hortysir]

But see...as bad as it is, everyone has it.

It's easy for someone who has the insurance to be critical of others as long as they're satisfied with their own. That's really the story now isn't it.

Ask the 50,000,000 Americans who have no medical insurance how they feel about it.

That is the purest definition of a bad investment as I've ever seen!!



As long as everybody has shit, at least they have shit!!

 

[The T]

Lots of Europeans undertake 'medical tourism'.... so, if their medical care is so shit hot, why are they going abroad for treatment - some even come to the US! WTF is that all about? If their care is so superior.... why are they coming here? I know why, but I suspect the idiot OP does not.

I am a global kind of girl and have friends all over the world. Every single one of them who are in a socialized medical state.... all have one thing to say. They hate it. They have to wait for months for appointments and longer for specialist. They cant get the drugs they need or want...so go to other countries to get them. Every single one of them pay out of pocket for extra insurance becasue what they get sucks and is not what they consider premium care. It is middle of the road care, not the best but not the worst.

So for anyone how has nothing i am very sure its seems great. For the rest its a piss poor system.

But see...as bad as it is, everyone has it.

It's easy for someone who has the insurance to be critical of others as long as they're satisfied with their own. That's really the story now isn't it.

Ask the 50,000,000 Americans who have no medical insurance how they feel about it.

When you educate yourself on individual responsibility...? Come back and see us...OK?

 

[peterson121]

Wow! What happened to the taxes that we pay?

 

[Big Black Dog]

I'd like to take a medical tour of Europe. It would be really neat to see all the gallbladders and tonsils in little glass jars from the famous people of that area.