Medical tourism market grows as patients travel to and from US

fiercehealthcare.com — The growing trend of medical tourism is becoming more important for patients traveling both to and from the United States. For example, Indiana University Health’s increasing focus on medical tourism is providing both the healthcare system and the state’s economy with a financial shot in the arm, according to Inside Indiana Business. IU started its International Patient Services program three years ago, and in 2015 served patients from 16 countries, offering everything from cancer treatment to neurosurgery.

Soaring global obesity rates come with hefty price tag

cbsnews.com — New research is offering fresh insight into the global epidemic of obesity, revealing which countries are suffering most, how much it could cost them to treat related illnesses, and giving one glimmer of hope in the battle to beat the bulge.

New maps show big divide between the world’s overweight and underweight children

washingtonpost.com — The weight problems that preoccupy Americans typically are about how to lose weight, not gain it. But a study published in the Lancet on Tuesday night provides a sobering look at how much the relationship children globally have with food and weight depends on where they are growing up.

UnitedHealth could benefit from Trump’s executive order

fiercehealthcare.com — UnitedHealth Group appears to have much to gain and very little to lose when it comes to President Donald Trump’s recent healthcare policy moves. For one, the company “has a great deal of experience” in the types of policies that Trump’s recent executive order aims to expand: short-term policies, association plans and the expanded use of health reimbursement arrangements, CEO David Wichmann said during UnitedHealth’s third-quarter earnings call. “We will be engaging with policymakers as the regulatory frameworks in these areas are developed over the next 60 to 120 days, and hope to elaborate once the process has concluded,” he added.

Nearly 25 million U.S. workers now have high-deductible health plans

medlineplus.gov — The number of American workers with high-deductible health insurance plans rose by 3.2 percent in 2016 — reaching 24.8 million, new research reports. While premium prices rose modestly for people with employer-provided coverage, their deductibles rose 10 percent on average, University of Minnesota researchers found.