Global Protective Solutions: Insurance for Hospitals
Why Medical Tourism Insurance Matters for Providers
Your international patients chose your hospital for a procedure, often traveling a long way to get it. The procedure goes well. Then a complication appears, while they're still in your country or after they've flown home, and suddenly there are added expenses nobody planned for. Too often, those costs become a dispute or an unpaid bill.
Custom Assurance Placements, Ltd., the administrator of the Global Protective Solutions (GPS) programs, can customize an insurance solution for hospitals, surgery centers, dental clinics, and other providers that receive international patients. Hospitals in nearly any country are eligible.
The cost that follows a complication
Medical tourism is growing, as reasonable pricing and ever-increasing standards of care give more people a reason to travel for treatment. But added expenses that occur after procedures can take a real toll on that growth, for patients and for the hospitals that treat them.
International medical travel needs specialized protection that standard travel insurance policies usually exclude or don't address. Medical tourism insurance is designed specifically to reimburse these additional expenses:
"Won't my patients' travel insurance cover this?"
Usually not. Nearly all standard travel insurance policies exclude travel for the purpose of receiving elective, scheduled medical or dental procedures or treatments, so those policies aren't sufficient for medical travelers. That gap is what the GPS medical travel and complications program was designed to address.
Picture this
A patient has their procedure at your hospital and flies home. Some weeks later, they develop an infection, a separate medical diagnosis resulting from the procedure, which is the kind of complication the coverage is built for.
Under the standard GPS program, eligible costs for treating a covered complication can be claimed even when they occur in the patient's home country, up to 180 days after the procedure date (unless the patient chose to remove home-country coverage at enrollment). The patient can be treated locally or return to your facility.
What offering complication coverage can do for your hospital
Fewer unpaid bills
It reduces the risk of unpaid medical bills due to a complication.
Cost certainty for the patient
It minimizes financial risk to the patient while providing cost certainty.
Fewer complaints, more satisfied patients
It helps reduce complaints and increase patient satisfaction.
Credibility with international patients
It helps your hospital maintain and enhance its credibility.
Time and money saved
It's designed to save your hospital valuable time and money.
What working with GPS looks like
Every hospital's international patients are different, so a hospital program starts with a conversation rather than an off-the-shelf policy:
Custom Assurance Placements takes a consultative approach, working directly with you to understand your needs and budget.
The program is customized specifically for your incoming medical tourists. If you need a solution or insurance product that doesn't exist yet, Custom Assurance Placements can help create one for you.
Hospitals can offer the program to their international patients on either basis:
Blanket (group) basis Voluntary basisCovered patients have access to 24/7/365 medical emergency assistance from an international claims administrator.
Good to know: the benefits in a customized program through your hospital may differ from the standard GPS medical travel and complications program described below.
The requirement your facility needs to meet
To use the benefits and services of GPS, the treating facility must be:
duly qualified by the jurisdiction where it is located,
and / or
holding an international accreditation from an ISQua (International Society for Quality in Health Care) member organization or another recognized international accrediting body.
What your patients can be covered for
Under the standard GPS medical travel and complications program, patients have two kinds of protection:
| Medical complications | Travel accidents and illness |
|---|---|
| Additional medical or surgical expenses due to a medical complication | Emergency medical coverage for a travel accident or illness |
| Additional medical or surgical expenses due to thrombosis | Emergency medical transportation |
| Additional medical or surgical expenses for a failed or unfavourable outcome caused by a covered complication | Accidental Death or Dismemberment |
| Covered for up to 180 days after the procedure | Repatriation of mortal remains |
Patients also have 24/7/365 medical emergency assistance, which can direct them to the nearest facility for treatment and arrange medical evacuation, along with additional expenses for travel, meals, and accommodations, dependent care and family coordination, and baggage, trip cancellation, and delay coverage. Travel companions can be included for travel-related illnesses and accidents.
If a covered complication needs medically necessary treatment, the patient can receive it locally or return to the original treatment facility.
Setting the right expectations with patients
Clear expectations help avoid disputes later. Under the standard program:
- The initial procedure isn't covered. The coverage is for complications of the procedure the patient chose and paid for, not the procedure itself.
- Dissatisfaction isn't a complication. Benefits don't guarantee workmanship or satisfaction with aesthetic results. A covered complication is a separate medical diagnosis resulting from the procedure, such as an infection.
- Routine follow-up care isn't included, and there are no benefits if a patient fails to follow pre- and post-operative medical instructions.
- Pre-approval matters. Patients should seek pre-approval for non-emergent care to avoid a reduction in benefits.
- Other insurance comes first. Benefits are secondary to any and all collectible insurance, and expenses in OFAC-sanctioned countries aren't eligible.
Who administers the programs, and who underwrites them
GPS isn't an insurance company. It's the name of a group of programs, established in 2008 and designed specifically for the international medical travel industry. The programs are created and administered by Custom Assurance Placements, Ltd., a U.S.-based insurance broker in Columbia, South Carolina, whose mission is to provide solutions that fit each international patient's and partner's unique needs.
Coverage is placed with insurance carriers including:
along with other multinational A-rated insurance companies. The specific carrier for a customized placement is provided on request.
From providers working with GPS
Testimonial as published by Global Protective Solutions
"We are extremely impressed with the level of care, communications and support provided each step of the way. And of course our patient is happy with such a successful and stress free outcome. We are proud to partner with GPS and feel confident now all our patients can travel safely and securely knowing they are covered and protected."
Michele of Absolute Bariatrics, Medical Tourism Facilitator from Australia
Questions hospitals ask about GPS
Can a hospital outside the United States offer this coverage?
Yes. Hospitals in nearly any country that receive international patients can offer the program, on a blanket (group) or voluntary basis.
What does our facility need to qualify?
The treating facility must be duly qualified by the jurisdiction where it's located, and/or hold an international accreditation from an ISQua member organization or another recognized international accrediting body.
Will our patients get the same benefits as the standard program?
Not necessarily. A program customized through your hospital may have different benefits from the standard GPS medical travel and complications program.
Does the coverage pay for the procedure we perform?
No. It isn't meant to cover the elective procedure or any medical expenses related to it. It covers unexpected travel accidents and medical complications of the procedure the patient chose and paid for.
If a patient has a complication, where can they be treated?
If a covered complication results in medically necessary treatment, the patient can receive it locally or return to the original treatment facility.
Welcoming international patients?
Connect with Global Protective Solutions to explore complication coverage for the patients you treat.
Connect with GPSInformation on this page is based on materials published by Custom Assurance Placements, Ltd. PlacidCircle partners are independent businesses.
