According to Deloitte estimates, over 1.6 million Americans will travel internationally to receive health care services in 2012, spending over $24 billion. These numbers are expected to grow at double-digit rates for the next several years, fueling a major change in the way Americans get their healthcare. There are several factors underpinning this trend, among the most compelling are:

1) Rapid growth in the quality of healthcare services in international locations 

2) Exorbitant increase in the cost of quality healthcare in the United States

3) Rising proportion of senior citizens as the Baby Boomers retire into the Social Security System

4) Mounting disparity between those who have health insurance and those who cannot afford it

5) The ability of overseas destinations to increase quality while controlling costs

Recent attempts to reform the US Healthcare system leave many concerned that the underlying problem of spiraling costs will remain unresolved, while simultaneously pushing the physician to patient ratio well past the breaking point. The outcome of these pressures is a system where there are two specific tiers of care depending on the level of insurance available – quality and timely care for those who can afford it and long waiting lines and lack of adequate resources for those who cannot.

And we are not talking about the top 1%; estimates put the growth in cost for insurance at 10%-11% annually with an average today of $14,000. This means the family cost for health insurance will rise to $30,000-$40,000 by 2020, representing an ever increasing percentage of overall income.

There is a third option available: Medical Tourism. For the estimated 50 million Americans without health insurance, the opportunity to receive quality care for health and dental procedures for up 90% less cost offers a much more reasonable alternative.

CHCER offers several consulting services to support this growing marketplace, broken into Marketing, Operations and Technology categories.