Special Ops

You’re probably accustomed to pulling out your insurance card when you visit the doctor. Pretty soon, you may be reaching for your passport. At least that’s what PreviMed, a new Silicon Valley start-up aiming to be a kind of Priceline for medical care, is banking on. "Our idea is to give patients, their insurance companies, ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

You're probably accustomed to pulling out your insurance card when you visit the doctor. Pretty soon, you may be reaching for your passport.

You’re probably accustomed to pulling out your insurance card when you visit the doctor. Pretty soon, you may be reaching for your passport.

At least that’s what PreviMed, a new Silicon Valley start-up aiming to be a kind of Priceline for medical care, is banking on. "Our idea is to give patients, their insurance companies, and home doctors a choice," says CEO Atul Salgaonkar. "We want them to be able to say, ‘I can get my procedure done in India for one price or Thailand for another price.’" Beachside Botox clinics this is not: PreviMed will only handle nonelective procedures.

The potential savings from traveling abroad for surgery are huge. An aortic valve replacement that costs $100,000 in the United States would cost $38,000 in Latin America, and only $12,000 in Asia, according to a recent report by consulting firm McKinsey. But because patients find it difficult to learn about foreign hospitals and understand what the risks are, people have been reluctant to travel overseas for medical procedures.

Bridging this information gap is PreviMed’s mission. If you need a particular procedure but can’t afford an insurance payment, the insurance company can submit your medical information to a secure server on PreviMed’s Web site. Prescreened hospitals from around the world can bid for the job by suggesting a course of treatment and price. Ideally, you can then choose from a variety of offers.

Salgaonkar acknowledges the danger that unscrupulous hospitals might try to game the system, or that insurance companies might pressure patients into going overseas for cheaper treatment. For him, the benefits outweigh the risks. "We like to think that by introducing a small level of transparency, we’re making a small change for the better," he says.

So, when hospitals compete, do patients win? We may find out soon enough: PreviMed has already signed agreements with 14 hospitals in Costa Rica, India, Panama, and Thailand.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.