Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Media reports of Americans going abroad in search of affordable medical treatment — they call it medical tourism — have surged in recent years along with debate over federal health care policy. But new empirical evidence about medical tourism from researchers at the University of Iowa finds the practice isn’t very wide-spread.
There are more than 50 companies in the country that specialize in arranging overseas medical care, but among those that responded to a survey, the companies have each only referred an average of about 300 patients to medial facilities outside the U.S.
Companies most frequently refer patients to India. Orthopedic operations are the most common for medical tourists, but two-thirds of the overseas referral companies surveyed say they have sent patients abroad for cosmetic surgery.
But among the relatively small number of patients who travel for medical care, the research shows cost might not be the driving factor. Southern California Public Radio reports:
The researchers found that the costs reported by the medical tourism companies for many common procedures were often not all that much less than what Medicare pays. Coronary bypass surgery, for example, costs on average about $20,000 overseas (including various doctor and hospital fees and travel expenses), while the average Medicare reimbursement is $21,000.
Still, $20,000 overseas could potentially be a steal for someone without insurance.
Though the main pull for overseas care seems to be a perception of lower costs, some patients go for “miracle” treatments that have not been approved for use in the U.S. The most common unapproved treatment among medical tourists, according to the survey, is stem cell therapy.
Experts say the Democrats’ health care reform law from last year will help bring down medical costs in the U.S. However, that legislation is being challenged on multiple fronts. U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said the law’s repeal is one of his priorities this year. And last month a federal judge ruled part of the law is unconstitutional.
Follow Adam B Sullivan on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter