Gareth+-+Memo+-+30

__MEMO30: Describing Events, To Make an Analytic Point__ Key NGO and private industry players have constructed the medical tourism industry, through key moments of legitimation. For example the Joint commission international, was originally formed in 1994, as an extension of the Joint Commision (the largest US organization for the standardization and accreditation of hospitals, and surgical practice), the group became a meaningful body for international hospital accreditation in 2007, via external accreditation and review of standards from the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). It was the overlapping, and creation of commensurate standards between the largest US, and a key international body, that formed the credibility that was sought. This recognition and expansion of legitimation of the JCI serves to legitimate the whole industry. This parallels a process of formalizing the industry as an economic entity by governments themselves, wherein governments decide to invest the industry with their credibility and declare it important for national interests. For example in 2003 India’s financial minister Jaswat Singh committed to increasing medical tourism trade, to making becoming a “global health destination” a national priority, this was followed by the formation of a new form of visa specific to medical tourism in 2005. This visa allowed streamlined application with a letter from a doctor, and allowed national statistics to be kept tracking industry growth. Over the same period the conversation in the US focused on the appropriateness of coverage of medical tourism by health insurance companies, and after the lawsuit and failure of Blue Ridge paper and their insurer to send a willing employee overseas in 2006 it was a live issue. Following the Blue Ridge case a series of insurance company policies expanded the coverage of medical tourism starting with the decision later in 2006 of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina to offer all members international coverage at select hospitals and treatments; 2006 BlueShield of California and Health Net (private) offer border crossing policies to Mexico; 2007 West Virginia and Colorado State legislatures see bills introduced to add incentive plans for state employees seeking medical tourism to encourage cost savings.