Australian health insurer NIB has launched a national campaign to promote cheap dental treatment in Thailand. NIB is acting as a medical tourism agent.
NIB is offering offshore cosmetic surgery and dental packages that give patients a 12-month guarantee on overseas surgery, provided they use approved hospitals with luxury accommodation in Thailand under a new business that is not restricted to its health fund members and does not involve health insurance.
The NIB Options package includes treatment, airfare and accommodation, covering both dental and medical procedures. It also offers aftercare in Australia and the option of treatment within Australia.
Since the launch of the pilot in early 2014 NIB has been getting between 30 and 40 inquiries a day for its offshore package, with about half of that for dental work. So far, the most popular procedures have been for crowns and implants, with full or partial mouth reconstructions also in demand.
Australians are being driven overseas by the high costs of local dental treatment and are attracted to fixed price packages as many Australian dentists refuse to tell people or guarantee what costs will be for any treatment. Dental care is excluded from the Medicare health plan.