Medical Leave - Medical and Health Tourism to Thailand

Robert "Coop" Copper is by all accounts a well-traveled man. Beginning in 1976, the house painter decided to spend the winter months to traveling, visiting Europe, South America, Africa and much of Asia.

"If you put it all together I've spent years traveling," Cooper said. "I've spent at least a month in all the places I've visited. It has been a great experience."

Cooper has found a particular fondness for Southeast Asia, in particular Thailand.

"I've always enjoyed it," Cooper said. "There is a misconception about it in America. It is hard when all you see is movies and things like that. But it isn't the third world place that it is portrayed as. I've always enjoyed myself, the people, the culture; it has always been a good place to visit."

And through his travels, Cooper found that Thailand was more than just a place with relaxing beaches, warm sunshine and good food - he found it also was a place with top-notch medical care.

With the costs of medical care and health insurance mounting in the states, Cooper found himself, like so many Americans, without medical insurance when he was abruptly dropped from his insurance carrier in 1998, after years of paying without filing a claim.
"It is expensive," Cooper said. "
Most the time insurance only covers a small part of procedures and you are left paying the deductible."

With this in mind, Cooper hit on an idea that has become an increasing trend in the U.S. - leaving the country for medical procedures."From traveling other places, I'd seen that medical care at least as good as what we have here was available other places," Cooper said. "And ... ultimately it would be less expensive to get as good, if not better, care."Cooper said during the past few years he has traveled extensively for medical and dental care."I've never received such good care," Cooper said.

"I've traveled to have my teeth worked on, blood work, other procedures that would cost thousands of dollars here, but in Thailand I've been able to receive the same care for a lot less."

In particular, Cooper points to the care he received at Bumrungrad hospital in Thailand when he went in for shoulder surgery after having a bad break in his clavicle.
"My day job is painting houses," Cooper said. "I was worried about losing the use of my arm. After having my surgery I got most my strength back in about nine months and was back to 100 percent in about 10 to 11 months.
"It was a very serious operation, and I got great care and attention."

Cooper estimates that for much of his care he has spent anywhere from 60 to 90 percent less than he would have in the states.

On his recently launched Web site, Cooper has a cost breakdown of some common procedures such as a complete physical, which in the states can cost anywhere from $1,800 to $3,000, where as in Thailand it is around $250 U.S. dollars and root canals, which can cost between $700 and $1,400 in the U.S., where as in Thailand they are closer to $100 to $340 U.S. dollars.

Even with the cost of travel factored in, Cooper said in the long run, traveling is a money saving endeavor."When a procedure can cost $10,000 dollars here, and you can go somewhere else and have the same procedure done for $3,000, that is money in my pocket so far as I'm concerned," Cooper said. "That is the way I look at it, in the long run it is saving money."

From his own personal experience, Cooper thought this might be a service that other Americans could take advantage of if they had the opportunity to be made aware of what was available in other countries.This led Cooper to create Patient Vacation LLC, with the intention to make people more aware of the quality medical care available in the rest of the world, with a particular focus on Thailand.

Part of Cooper's work has been to dispel the third-world myths often associated with Thailand and the difficulties of being an American traveling for medical care. According to Cooper, Bumrungrad and Samitivej hospitals combine the best of both the world of medicine and the world of travel."These are very modern facilities," Cooper said. "You can find anything you need, any kind of care, any kind of specialist. Many of the doctors speak very good English and many of them have been educated in America or in Europe."

Cooper also pointed out that a stay in many of these facilities is much like a four star hotel."There is great care," Cooper said. "These are great places that you can afford to stay. After my shoulder surgery I wouldn't have been able to stay in the hospital. But there I was able to stay for as long as I needed. It costs about $55 a night and there is excellent care and you are always getting checked on and you at the same time you are in a beautiful place with sun and beaches to recuperate. It is a win-win situation."

Through Patient Vacation, Cooper is offering both consultation services and personalized travel."I can help people find out what is available," Cooper said. "And make contacts and arrangements. And I can also travel with them if that makes them more comfortable and be there to answer questions and help them get around and learn about what is going on and what is available, so that there is a familiar face there for them."

Cooper's newly launched venture has already had one client that Cooper said was overwhelmingly impressed by the care that she received as well as the beauty of Thailand."All around I think it is a win-win situation," Cooper said. "You are going to get great medical care and it is going to cost less and at the same time you are going to be able to visit a beautiful place and have a vacation at the same time and relax and get better. To me that is a win-win situation."

By Jason Gabak