Compare costs
Average cost of treatment in key countries
Include indicative costs for treatment, travel, insurance and accommodation
Get a quote
1. Complete the enquiry form
2. Select countries of interest
3. Providers respond directly
Obesity treatment abroad is becoming more popular and some aspects can be covered by medical tourism insurance, which is a developing and changing area. Most of the new medical travel insurance products that have appeared in recent years are aimed at European and US-based medical travellers.
Before travelling for obesity treatment abroad you need to consider what kind of insurance you need/want:
A standard travel insurance policy does not provide cover for people who are going for obesity surgery abroad, if the surgery is planned as part of the travel. This means you will not be covered if you are travelling specifically to have obesity treatment in another country and you don’t tell your insurer.
When travel insurance is taken out for travel that involves medical tourism or obesity treatment abroad, the travel agent, tour operator, medical tourism agency or medical provider should point out this out. In reality, few will admit that standard travel insurance policies will in general automatically exclude ALL cover, if you are travelling for obesity treatment, even if they arrange or recommend specific insurers.
What does this mean for you? If you take out standard travel insurance (or use your annual multi-trip insurance) and travel abroad for obesity surgery and all goes well with the operation, but your luggage is lost, your travel insurer will refuse your claim because you have contravened their terms and conditions.
You need to take out medical travel insurance, which is simply normal travel insurance designed for medical travellers. This covers you for cancelled flights and lost bags in the normal way and you can claim for these non-medical disasters because your insurer is informed about the purpose of your trip.
Note that medical travel insurance does not cover you if something goes wrong with your medical procedure.
Getting insurance to pay out if you experience a medical problem is not straightforward.
It is impossible for any physician or surgeon to guarantee the outcome of a medical procedure or operation. Obesity surgery, by its nature, is performed on people who are obese and therefore at higher risk of complications. A good surgeon will explain the risks involved and the complications and after effects that you might experience so that your expectations are realistic.
In Belgium, for example, rules are among the strictest. Belgian law says that a cosmetic or bariatric surgeon tells each patient exactly what the risks are and then gives them a 24-hour ‘cooling off’ period before they go ahead with surgery. Rates for complications are low in Belgium – 0.02% of patients experience problems, compared to rates as high as 10% in other EU countries. The difference is that Belgian surgeons only take on very low risk patients, refusing those with a very high body mass index (who arguably need to the procedure more urgently).
Individual patients cannot take out policies against malpractice. All surgeons in Western Europe are legally obliged to carry malpractice insurance that pays out up to 5 million Euro per incident but surgeons in other countries, including those in Eastern Europe may have not malpractice cover.
An overseas surgeon and the obesity clinic may be legally responsible if medical negligence can be demonstrated, but this can be difficult to do. To prove the case the candidate must present themselves before a panel of five doctors who make a decision on whether medical negligence has occurred and whether to pay any compensation/how much compensation to offer.
As a result, the patient may need to meet the cost of corrective treatment from their own pocket. Medical Indemnity Insurance is not compulsory in some countries, and even if it exists, may be limited in amount, or exclude international medical tourists.
Some of the newer policies from some insurers now carry a cost overrun clause on gastric surgery bookings. This provides up to €7,000 to pay out if the patient experiences complications and has to stay a further week. The money is usually enough to cover flight change, extra nights in the hotel and food etc.
No current policy will insure a patient with pre-existing complications (diabetes or heart disease) against complications of weight loss surgery, nor will they cover extra treatment required to correct surgery that goes wrong.
Insurance for medical travellers is a developing area within medical tourism. Our guide to medical travel insurance helps the medical tourist to understand why they need specialist travel insurance if they are travelling abroad for treatment.
DOWNLOAD GUIDE
This guide helps you explore the options for medical treatment abroad
