For a small percentage of the total cost of the trip and medical procedure(s), the Seven Corners’ medical tourism insurance plan safeguards the patient’s financial investment and provides continuity of care throughout the patient’s entire trip—including the pre-trip and post trip stages, and can be custom-designed to meet specific needs.
There have been several obstacles challenging the growth and international acceptance of the medical tourism industry. Changing the worldwide perception of the quality of health care available abroad is an issue that the industry is overcoming as organizations have worked fervently to develop and improve international standards of care for individuals who choose to obtain medical procedures outside their country’s borders.
In fact, due in part to the efforts of these advocate organizations and the growing international application of accrediting and regulatory standards, the medical tourism industry is expected to multiply by 100 percent from 2007 to 2010, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. Procedures originating from the U.S. alone could jump by a factor of ten over the next decade.
Unfortunately, the international media often tunes their coverage of the medical tourism industry to a negative tone by telling stories of patients who’ve returned home from a scheduled medical procedure abroad and developed unfortunate complications or had difficulty gaining access to follow-up care. For example, a physician may be reluctant to tend to another physician’s patient without knowing the patient’s medical history or how a procedure was performed.
Seven Corners, one of the industry’s most experienced travel health insurance providers, recognized this issue related to continuity of care. In an effort to meet the needs of patients and remove this significant barrier from the further acceptance of medical tourism, Seven Corners recently launched a worldwide medical tourism insurance program that not only reduces travel-related risks, but also addresses potential medical risks associated with patients electing to have surgical procedures abroad.
While other insurance companies within the industry offer standard trip cancellation programs, Seven Corners’ developed their medical tourism insurance to provide increased protection by being the first to also offer coverage for complications incurred from treatments and surgeries conducted internationally.
Gaining access to quality care upon a medical tourism patient’s return home has been a significant concern. There are some medical travel insurance programs available today that will cover expenses for a patient to return to the country where the procedure was performed if complications occurred. Seven Corners believes patients should have convenient access to quality follow up care within their own home country.
Coverage of Additional Medical Expenses to Ensure Continuity of Care
In the past, medical tourism patients had few options if they experienced even the most routine complication from their procedure. Common challenges related to a patient’s continuity of care have included:
- A lack of coverage for problems or complications that arise from scheduled surgeries obtained in other countries.
- A lack of access to follow-up care at home.
- A high level of difficultly in finding a doctor who is willing to treat a patient who exhibits complications from a surgery conducted abroad.
- Additional financial burden for corrective surgical procedures.
- A complicated legal battle if patients want to try to recoup costs.
Fortunately, all of these challenges can now be a non-issue. Prior to introducing the Insurance Plan for Medical Tourism Patients, Seven Corners conducted significant research and engaged in strategic partnerships to develop the most relevant and affordable coverage to fit the unique needs of the medical tourist.
For a small percentage of the total cost of the trip and medical procedure(s), the Seven Corners’ medical tourism insurance plan safeguards the patient’s financial investment and provides continuity of care throughout the patient’s entire trip including the pre-trip and post trip stages and can be custom-designed to meet specific needs.
Seven Corners’ Insurance Plan for Medical Tourism Patients
As a company dedicated to excellence in customer service and innovation in insurance products, Seven Corners is uniquely equipped to introduce this innovative and much-needed insurance program to the growing medical tourism industry.
The Seven Corners plan allows patients to no longer have to endure the burden of returning to a foreign place to address complications. Patients now can receive corrective or follow-up treatment at any facility within the Seven Corners network worldwide. In fact, they may select a Seven Corners approved facility closest to their home or physical location at the time, if additional medical treatment is necessary.
The Seven Corners insurance plan for medical tourists gives patients the option to select, at the time of purchase, three different levels of coverage for medical complications derived from their scheduled procedure ($10,000/$20,000/$50,000).
Upon enrolling in the program, which is accessible only through Seven Corner’s and its approved network of medical tourism facilitators, international surgical centers and hospitals, patients immediately receive a policy and virtual ID card. In addition to the following schedule of benefits, insureds receive global access to assistance from Seven Corners 24 hours a day during their travels:
- Worldwide coverage for anyone, ages 18 through 65, who travels outside of their home country for a scheduled medical treatment.
- Trip cancellation and trip interruption: up to $40,000 for non-refundable travel accommodations and the non-refundable cost of the scheduled medical treatment.
- United States and worldwide medical treatment to remedy complications from a scheduled medical treatment: ($10,000/$20,000/$50,000)
- Emergency medical coverage for acute illness and injuries not associated with scheduled medical treatment or pre-existing conditions: $50,000
- Emergency evacuation due to acute illness and injuries: $100,000
- Emergency evacuation due to complications of a scheduled medical treatment: $50,000
- If necessary, repatriation of patient’s remains: $20,000
- Lost baggage, lost personal effects and baggage delay.
- Trip delay or missed transportation connection.
- 24-hour accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D): up to $10,000
- Common carrier accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D): up to $500,000
The Seven Corners plan covers additional medical complications including: cardiopulmonary complications, pulmonary emboli, infection, shock, foreign objects left in patient, hemorrhage, severe hypotension and hypertension, pneumonia or sepsis.
Covered medical expenses include, but are not limited to: services of physicians, anesthesia, labs, blood products, oxygen, radiological procedures, drugs, hospital room and board and ancillary services, for example. In terms of transport, also covered are ambulance service and/or air ambulance to a hospital when such service is ordered by a physician.
Trip cancellation or interruption protection provides coverage for non-refundable prepaid expenses for travel arrangements and accommodations, and non-refundable prepaid deposits for the scheduled medical treatment.
Covered cancellations include: specific sickness; injury or death of the insured person, traveling companion or family member; weather emergencies; industry-related strikes; terrorism; and bankruptcy, among others.
About Seven Corners
Medical tourism insurance is a natural progression of Seven Corners’ core competencies. The support and confidence of the company’s underwriters at Lloyd’s of London and AIG Accident & Health have enabled Seven Corners to make this unique program available. This program will be the first in a suite of the company’s programs that can be embedded into medical tour packages or offered to medical tourism patients for voluntary purchase through medical tourism facilitators.
In addition to its medical tourism insurance program, the company actively serves leisure, student, business, government, missionary and volunteer travelers. Seven Corners offers an extensive selection of international medical and travel insurance policies to U.S. citizens traveling overseas or foreign nationals visiting the U.S.
Seven Corners also offers trip cancellation insurance protecting travelers from the cost and inconvenience of airline delays, cancellations and bankruptcies, as well as lost tickets and luggage. To meet the often urgent and emotional needs of its customers, Seven Corners created and maintains the industry’s most comprehensive network of international health care providers that includes thousands of doctors, pharmacies and hospitals around the globe.
Log on to www.SevenCorners.com/medicaltourism for more information.
Jim Krampen is co-founder, principal and executive officer of Seven Corners, a privately held insurance company headquartered in Carmel, Ind. Mr. Krampen brings nearly 20 years of underwriting and reinsurance experience to his role at Seven Corners. His knowledge and successful track record of underwriting custom group insurance programs, expatriate medical insurance programs and private label expatriate plans has helped Seven Corners become one of the industry’s most experienced travel health insurance providers.
