VOA标准英语2010-High Costs Drive Americans Overseas for M

Travelers take a vacation from high prices by having medical procedures performed abroad at a fraction of the price

Jan Sluizer | San Francisco, California 08 April 2010

John Freeman paid $18,000 for a heart procedure in Turkey that he says would have cost him $120,000 in the United States.

Related Links:
Anadolu Medical Center
World Med Assist
John Freeman's Blog

With the passage of America's Health Care Reform bill, more Americans will have access to affordable¹ health insurance. But they have yet to see lower costs for medical treatment. Because of that continuing expense, many Americans choose to go abroad for one-time medical surgeries or procedures.

Grim choice

John Freeman took that gamble a few years ago. The 62-year-old retired² computer analyst³ dropped his health care insurance because the high monthly premiums⁴ and a huge deductible were eating up his retirement⁵ savings⁶. He hoped he would not need major medical care until he turned 65 and qualified⁷ for the government's Medicare insurance program.

But last year, Freeman had a heart attack. He was told surgery in his hometown of Reno, Nevada, would cost close to $120,000. Freeman felt he faced two grim choices: use up all of his savings or die.

"I thought that the American medical system was going to take away my life savings and essentially⁸ ruin any prospects⁹ I had for a pleasant retirement after the operation," he says.

Courtesy: Anadolu Medical Center
Freeman chose Anadolu Medical Center in Turkey, in part, because its website stated an affiliation¹⁰ with Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

Exploring his options

So Freeman did what hundreds of thousands of Americans do each year. He went abroad for the surgery.

After some research, he decided¹¹ to have his operation performed at the Anadolu Medical Center outside of Istanbul, Turkey. The price was just 15 percent of what it would have cost in Reno: $18,000, all-inclusive, except for airfare.

Both the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons have acknowledged that medical tourism is a growing industry because of lower medical costs overseas. They have issued statements encouraging patients to seek out the treatment that best suits their needs. However, both organizations also warn patients to make sure they choose certified¹² doctors and surgeons at health care institutions that have met high standards of accreditation¹³.

John Freeman took that advice seriously when he researched Anadolu Medical Center.

"When I first looked at the website, there's a logo that says 'Affiliated¹⁴ with Johns Hopkins University' and I think that really helped my comfort zone because I knew there was an affiliation with a well-known American hospital," he says. "I knew my doctor was in meetings with American doctors about things like heart surgery techniques."

Medical tourism

Americans first began going abroad for cosmetic¹⁵ surgery such as facelifts, breast implants¹⁶ and reductions, and tummy tucks in the 1980s and 90s. Today, common medical procedures sought overseas include cardiac surgery, knee and hip¹⁷ replacements¹⁸, liver transplants and dental work.

Courtesy: WorldMed Assist
Wouter Hoeberechts, CEO of WorldMedAssist, helps ailing¹⁹ Americans find accredited²⁰ and affordable medical treatment in six countries.

"We have a problem delivering affordable quality health care in this country," says Wouter Hoeberechts, CEO of WorldMedAssist, the medical tourism provider that helped John Freeman find his surgeon in Turkey.

He founded WMA three years ago to offer ailing Americans accredited and affordable medical treatment in six countries.

Hoeberechts, originally from the Netherlands, says all the hospitals affiliated with his company meet high U.S. standards and many of their board-certified doctors and surgeons trained in America.

"What we try to do is - for each hospital that we work with - become the number one or number two provider of U.S. patients, so that we really can build a very good relationship with those hospitals and make sure that patient benefits from that," says Hoeberechts.

Courtesy: John Freeman
Freeman did a little sightseeing while in Turkey for a medical procedure.

Surgery abroad

John Freeman can attest²¹ to that. He says he received professional surgery and excellent care from attentive²² doctors and nurses. 

"If one can say that about such an essentially unpleasant thing, I actually really enjoyed the whole experience and the price was very good," he says. "I got it done and can still have a retirement."

Hoeberechts says WorldMedAssist has successfully sent several hundred patients abroad for medical treatment at a discount. WMA is one of a growing number of companies providing this service.

But medical tourism is not for everyone. Prospective²³ patients must be fit for travel, the cost must make economic sense, the length of stay should be relatively²⁴ short and follow-up care must be predictable and fairly brief.

Aftercare challenges

Aftercare is the challenge John Freeman faces. Now that he's back home, his doctor wants him to take some expensive post-operation tests. But, still without insurance and feeling okay, Freeman says he doesn't want to spend the money.

That attitude concerns neurosurgeon and Harvard educator, Dr. Teo Forcht Dagi. He oversaw²⁵ the writing of the statement on medical tourism for the American College of Surgeons. Dagi stresses that overseas medical treatment is not for routine or on-going health problems. He notes aftercare is of concern to both the ACS and the American Medical Association because follow-up is rare.

"So what you get may be cost, but what you give up may be the on-going relationship, the communication, the follow-up care, and things, traditionally, American patients have held very dear," says Dagi.

Seeing growth potential in medical tourism, many major American health care insurance providers have started pilot programs that offer overseas coverage²⁶. If a subscriber²⁷ can get quality care for less overseas, the companies calculate they will have to pay out less money in reimbursement²⁸.

Medical industry observers expect to see an increase in medical travelers, as continuing costly²⁹ health care at home drives more Americans to seek medical services overseas.

 

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

13 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

14 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

15 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

16 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

17 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

18 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

19 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

20 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

21 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

22 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

23 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

24 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

25 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

26 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

27 subscriber   

n.用户，订户；（慈善机关等的）定期捐款者；预约者；签署者

参考例句：

• The subscriber to a government loan has got higher interest than savings. 公债认购者获得高于储蓄的利息。 来自辞典例句
• Who is the subscriber of that motto? 谁是那条座右铭的签字者？ 来自辞典例句

28 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

29 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。