Foothills resident travel abroad for medical care

Steve Slaven had never been to India. But when it came down to his health and a lack of medical insurance, he didn't hesitate to seek medical help there.

The Foothills resident is one more uninsured patient who has used the benefits of medical tourism, the practice of going abroad for medical, dental and cosmetic treatment, with the opportunity to sightsee thrown in.

Through Healthbase, a company that connects patients to leading health care facilities around the world, Slaven got in contact with Escorts Hospital in New Delhi, where he underwent triple bypass surgery performed by then-hospital director Naresh Trehan, a man Slaven calls "India's best cardiologist."

"I just felt really positive about the thing, and maybe the main reason was I had no other option. I could stay here and die, or I could go to India and get fixed," Slaven said.

"By the time I decided to go, I knew that if I didn't do something pretty soon I was going to be in big trouble. So to me it was like a gift from heaven."

The three-week hospital stay, surgery and accommodations for his wife, Jan, cost $14,000, compared to the $130,000 it would have cost to have only the surgery done in the United States, Slaven said.

The primary reason U.S. patients seek medical care elsewhere is the cost, as "46 million people don't have (health) insurance and 120 million people do not have dental insurance," said Saroja Mohanasundaram, chief executive officer of Healthbase Online Inc.

After moving to Yuma, Slaven lost his insurance because it only covered him while he lived in Washington state.

"With diabetes and heart problems, I was unable to get any health insurance," he said.

Although most Healthbase customers are uninsured, the company has served clients who have insurance but whose deductibles for a procedure in the United States exceed the entire cost of a procedure done in another country.

Not only are U.S. patients traveling abroad for care, so are patients from other countries, Mohanasundaram said.

People from around the world resort to medical tourism for various reasons, including gaining access to experienced doctors, technology and medical procedures not available in their own countries.

Healthbase will make arrangements for traveling patients, including booking doctor appointments, securing passports, visas, travel tickets, accommodations, airport pickup and drop-off, and arranging sightseeing, Mohanasundaram said.

It will also help patients find the appropriate hospital for the condition for which they need treatment, he said.

Healthbase is partnered with "only high-quality hospitals" that are internationally accredited and meet international standards, Mohanasundaram said.

Most doctors are trained in the United States or in the United Kingdom, he said. All staff who handle patients speak English, while translators are available for patients speaking other languages, she said.

The staff strives to give the patient personalized service and tries to use routine practices that are familiar for patients, such as serving well-known foods.

"The care over there had a human element to the care that doesn't exist here," Slaven said. "When you come out of recovery, you have your own nurse. They (hold) your hand and ask you how you are doing and look you in the eye."

Slaven is still uninsured and has a few more years to go to qualify for Medicare. Given that, he said, he would "not hesitate in a second" to use medical tourism again if he ever needs it.

"He had turned into an old man and did not look good at all. The improvement is about 150 percent, I would say," his wife said.