You’ve no doubt seen news reports of Americans seeking medical care abroad.  They’re either uninsured, underinsured, or simply trying to save money by having surgery in Latin America, Thailand, or India.  As you might have guessed this trend hasn’t gone unnoticed by corporate America seeking to save money on their health care or insurance carriers hoping to roll out a new product.

According to a recent report by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 11% of surveyed employers cover medical tourism.  Those surveyed were Certified Employee Benefits Specialists and therefore part of large organizations.  However, don’t be surprised to see this trend extend beyond the very large companies to others seeking to find another way to control costs. 

A couple of other interesting findings from the survey included the increase in coverage (from 1999-2007) in other types of care that haven’t been considered mainstream.  Acupuncture coverage increased from 14% to 34%, massage therapy 8% to 13.5%, and nutrition therapy 5% to 12.8%.