AUCKLAND, New Zealand – The land of Russell Crowe, Crowded House and kiwis is trying to attract Americans and Canadians seeking less expensive medical care.
Medtral New Zealand, based in that country’s capital of Auckland, is making a push for business on the other side of the Pacific, saying a typical heart bypass surgery that would cost between $110,000 and $125,000 in the United States would bring only a $38,000 bill in New Zealand – including round-trip airfare (a 12-hour flight from the West Coast) and accommodations.
Edward Watson, MD, chairman and founder of Medtral, says his company, launched last September, offers “an option that (Americans and Canadians) haven’t had before – quality medical care not from a third world country, but from a first-world country.” Medtral’s physicians are certified in either the United Kingdom or the United States, and the two hospitals used are private and accredited by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua).
Medtral currently offers a range of procedures, including hip and knee joint replacements, hip resurfacing, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and robotic prostatectomy, to name a few.
The company currently has about 30 patients in the pipeline. The process includes consultations with a patient’s primary care physician to ensure that he or she needs the surgery and can travel safely, the completion of a health exam and passport/visa requirements, orientation sessions prior to the procedure, recovery time in the hospital or another facility, and follow-up services with the patient and primary care physician.
Watson and Managing Director Steve Nichols say the lower price tag for surgical procedures in New Zealand can be attributed to several factors, including the country’s strong economy, higher quality of life and significantly lower liability insurance costs for surgeons.
In addition, the country operates on a two-tiered healthcare system, offering tax-paid healthcare services for all residents and a higher-tiered service for those wishing to pay more out of their own pockets. That system – which Medtral uses – focuses on private hospitals that offer non-acute care services, not chronic care or emergency services that drive up costs.
The program is currently targeted at the uninsured and self-insured groups like large businesses with their own health insurance plans. Watson and Nichols say travel tourism could eventually appeal to the insured as insurers gradually warm up to the idea. Only one insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, has a travel tourism option in place, and Watson said the company is in discussions with other insurers.
Watson and Nichols are selling Medtral and New Zealand as offering comparative medical care to that of the United States or Canada, as opposed to the care found in Third World countries that now offer travel tourism opportunities. The company is seeing competition now from Belgium and Germany, Watson said, while Argentina, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East are all looking to join the industry.
Watson said while the company does sell New Zealand as a travel destination, its focus is on the medical procedure.
“They’re not coming here for cosmetic facelifts and then to sit on the beach,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”
“They’re focused on the procedure,” added Nichols. “They want to get it done and go home.”