Healthbase and  WellPoint will collaborate to bring affordable healthcare benefits to Americans through an international medical tourism pilot program. Members will now have more choices regarding where to receive care and a greater involvement in the care they receive.  Healthbase Online Inc., a Boston-based award-winning medical tourism facilitator, has collaborated on a pilot basis with WellPoint, Inc., an Indianapolis-based health benefits company to provide global health care coverage to members of WellPoint’s affiliated health plan in Wisconsin. Healthbase will handle all the medical travel logistics and arrangements for WellPoint members. According to Saroja Mohanasundaram, CEO of Healthbase, “Healthbase is committed to providing high quality medical travel services at affordable cost. Healthbase will assist WellPoint members with coordination of the trip, medical appointment scheduling, digital medical records transfer, and concierge travel service.”  Under this program, effective from January 2009, members who travel for certain non-emergency elective procedures like joint replacement and spinal fusion, will have access to Joint Commission International accredited healthcare providers in India. This will result to lower out-of-pocket costs for members translating into thousands of dollars in total savings. A hip replacement surgery, for example, costing over USD 60,000 in the US, costs less than USD 8,000 at an accredited hospital in India. “We are pleased to work collectively with Healthbase to deliver an international medical tourism pilot product to our clients who are interested in exploring a medical tourism solution,” said Dr. Razia Hashmi, vice president and medical director for WellPoint’s national accounts division. “Medical tourism is a promising option for improving access to affordable, quality health care. Working with Healthbase, our case managers will coordinate all steps of the medical tourism process for members interested in receiving care overseas.”

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