Consumers turning to medical tourism, retail clinics to save on health care

As health-care costs continue to escalate, more consumers are starting to look for nontraditional means to save on medical bills (Source: “Americans looking near, far to save on health care,” CNN Money/AP, July 29, 2008).

One approach is so-called “medical tourism.” Consultants at the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions predict that in the next decade, 16 million Americans a year will leave the country in order to obtain cheaper medical procedures. At the same time, the number of “retail clinics” operating in big-box retailers, supermarkets and discount stores has increased from 200 in 2006 to almost 1,000 today, according to Deloitte.

"Significant numbers of people are willing to vote with their feet to try something different, whether it's retail clinics or medical tourism," said Paul H. Keckley, the center's executive director. "U.S. providers are having to pay attention."