IL Postcard

Come on Down: Dental Procedures, Cosmetic Surgery, Internal Medicine, You Name It…

Date: 10/03/2007

October 4, 2007
Panama City, Panama

We all worry about health care. Our concerns range from having adequate insurance to meeting our health care needs as we age to worrying about these same issues for our parents as they age. In the excerpt below, Panama Insider contributor Catherine McCabe introduces you to Panama's latest form of tourism: medical tourism.

Traveling to a different country for a medical procedure may sound scary, but once you do your homework and find out about the experience and competency of potential healthcare providers, and you compare all the costs (adding in airfare and boarding), you may find that it makes a lot of sense.

Panama's New Tourism: Nips, Tucks, and Other Perks of the Medical Kind

by Catherine McCabe for Panama Insider

"The hospitals and clinics that cater to the tourist market often are among the best in the world"
- Futurist Marvin Cetron, University of Delaware UDaily, July 25, 2005.

Medical tourism: sounds like an oxymoron, right? How can you combine any kind of medical procedure with a trip and refer to the whole thing as a vacation? Panama wants you to do just that with Pana-Health, an organization that says it is working hard (hand-in-hand with the Panama Tourism Authority, or IPAT) to provide foreigners with safe, less-expensive medical alternatives…and a holiday to boot.

Why is it that so many must seek healthcare abroad? The rising costs of healthcare in many First World nations are making many kinds of treatments there cost-prohibitive. Consider just a few statistics from the U.S., where the rising cost of healthcare has long been a controversial issue:

1) Between 43 and 46 million U.S. citizens are without insurance-many of these are self-employed.
2) About 120 million U.S. citizens are without dental insurance.

3) Some 250 million insured U.S. citizens have highly restricted coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

And those from the U.S. aren't the only ones facing healthcare-related problems. According to the World Health Tourism Congress: "Countries that operate public health care systems are often so taxed that it can take considerable time to get non-urgent medical care. The time spent waiting for a procedure such as a hip replacement can be a year or more in Britain and Canada."

So what can be done? Some people are seeking medical treatment abroad. Some are undergoing elective procedures (such as cosmetic, wellness or age management treatments) not covered by their insurance plans. Some of these are the "underinsured," whose insurance companies have cut back on coverage while increasing their premiums; some are exploring "alternative" or "experimental" treatments not covered by insurance companies; others are baby boomers who do not yet qualify for Medicare and Medicaid benefits; or those who have lost company/group coverage post-retirement and need procedures not covered by Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

For all these and more, there's Pana-Health

Pana-Health got its start four years ago, thanks to Dr. Richard Ford, a Panamanian-born, U.S.-trained periodontist. Panama offers internationally trained physicians, top-tier hospitals and First-World medical technology that meet U.S. and Canada standards, and Dr. Ford thought: "why not appeal to people seeking lower-cost medical care outside of more expensive nations like the U.S. and Canada?"

All Pana-Health doctors are bilingual-the organization currently has nearly 100 certified physician members, and plans to add many more. Dr. Ford says he wants a larger network because competition is healthy and will help keep costs down. He also supports the right of the patient to review and choose the doctors they're the most comfortable with…the more doctors to choose from, the better. All new potential members must be approved by a special five-member medical board.

Currently, Pana-Health covers, among other specialties: assisted reproduction, cardiology, general dentistry, dental implants, periodontics, prosthodontics (a specialty that encompasses implant, aesthetic and reconstructive dentistry), dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general and oncological surgery, plastic surgery, geriatric care, internal medicine, ophthalmology (the branch of medicine which deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual pathways, including the eye, brain, and areas surrounding the eye), psychology, and urology. If Pana-Health doesn't offer all the services you need, the company will help arrange for you to see local specialists, even if it has to go outside its network (if you wish).

Learn more at the Pana-Health website.

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The excerpt above is from this month's edition ofPanama Insider, a publication for people like you, who are seriously considering a move to Panama. For the full article, including a sample cost-comparison chart for common medical procedures, doctor profiles and much more, check out the September 2007 edition of Panama Insider. Not a subscriber? It's easy…find out more here.

Best regards,

Jessica Ramesch
Editor, Panama Insider
International Living