Do medical-tourism facilitators charge the patient?
Some do and some do not, and a trustworthy facilitator tells you which in writing before you commit. Massvaa Care charges the patient a service fee for coordination. What it covers, when it is due and what happens if you cancel are set out in writing before you proceed. Your treatment is billed separately by the hospital.
A medical-tourism facilitator is a coordinator, not a hospital. It finds suitable hospitals, shares your reports with their specialists, collects written estimates, and helps with the visa, travel and your stay. That work takes staff time in two countries, so it is always paid for by someone.
In practice facilitators are paid in one of three ways: a fee paid by the patient, an administration fee or commission paid by the hospital, or a mix of both. None of these models is wrong in itself. What matters is that you know which one applies to you, and that you can see the hospital’s own price without anything hidden inside it.
If a service is described to you as costing nothing, it is reasonable to ask who is paying for it and whether that payment affects which hospital is recommended or what appears on your bill.
Who pays Massvaa Care?
There are two possible sources. You pay our service fee for coordination, and some partner hospitals also pay us an administration fee for coordinating their international patients. Your coordinator tells you whether the hospital you choose pays us. Any fee a hospital pays us is not added to your bill.
Our service fee covers arranging medical report evaluations with hospital specialists, airport pickup coordination, accommodation recommendations and language interpretation during hospital hours and consultations. Your coordinator explains the fee before you proceed, and we issue a GST invoice for it.
Where a hospital pays us an administration fee, it is for work we do on its behalf: handling documents, translation and on-ground logistics for its international patients. We tell you whether the hospital you are considering pays us, so you can take that into account when you compare options.
A few things cost extra and are explained to you in advance. For example, a full-time private interpreter outside clinical coordination is not part of the standard service.
Does a fee paid by the hospital make my treatment more expensive?
It should not, and with Massvaa Care it does not. The price in your written estimate is set by the hospital, on its own letterhead, and we add no markup to it. You pay the hospital directly for treatment, and the hospital issues its own receipts, so you can see exactly what it charges.
Direct billing is the simplest protection a patient has. All payments for tests, surgery, ward stay, medicines and implants go to the official billing desk or bank account of the treating hospital, never to the facilitator. Deposits and refunds are between you and the hospital.
Paying the hospital directly also keeps the timings in your hands. International bank transfers (SWIFT) usually take 3 to 5 business days to clear, so start any deposit at least 7 to 10 days before you travel. If the final bill is lower than your deposit, the hospital processes the refund, which typically takes 15 to 30 business days to reach your account.
What else will I pay for, and to whom?
Beyond the hospital bill and our service fee, you pay other providers directly: airlines for flights, guest houses or hotels for your stay, the Government of India portal for the visa fee and, only if one is needed, an air-ambulance operator. We do not collect these payments.
Keeping each payment with the provider that delivers the service means every receipt is in your name and every refund rule is the provider’s own. It also means you can check any price yourself.
- Treatment, rooms, medicines and implants: the hospital.
- Coordination: Massvaa Care, under the written terms you receive first.
- Flights: the airline or your travel agent.
- Accommodation: the guest house, serviced apartment or hotel.
- Visa fee: the official Indian visa portal, at the rate for your passport.
What should I ask any facilitator before I share my reports?
Ask how the facilitator is paid, by whom, and whether anything is added to the hospital’s price. Ask to see the hospital’s own estimate on its letterhead, who you will pay for treatment, and what happens if something goes wrong. A good facilitator answers all of these in writing.
These questions work for any facilitator, including us. Write the answers down and compare them side by side.
- Do you charge me a fee? How much, when is it due, and what happens if I cancel?
- Does the hospital pay you anything for my case?
- Is anything added to the hospital’s price?
- Will I receive the hospital’s own estimate on its letterhead?
- Who do I pay for treatment, and into whose bank account?
- Who makes the clinical decisions about my treatment?
- Who do I contact if there is a complication or a billing problem?
On the last two points, our position is published. All clinical evaluations and treatment decisions are made by the specialists at the treating hospital, and we do not give medical advice. Problems during your stay follow a written escalation process.
How can I check that the hospital price is genuine?
Ask for the estimate on the hospital’s own letterhead, check that the bank details belong to the hospital, and compare the inclusions and exclusions line by line. Before discharge, check the final bill against the estimate, with any difference explained by the hospital.
Estimates on hospital letterhead list what is included, such as surgeons’ fees, the standard stay and medicines during the stay, and what is not, such as implants, intensive care beyond the estimated days and extra diagnostics. We go through these with you before you leave home.
Before you are discharged, our team helps you review the hospital bill so that the charges match the pre-travel estimate, any differences are explained by the hospital, and any unused deposit is returned or refunded.
Quick answers
Is Massvaa Care free for patients?
No. Massvaa Care charges a service fee for coordination, which is explained in writing before you proceed. Your treatment is billed separately by the hospital, and you pay the hospital directly, with no markup from us.
Do hospitals pay Massvaa Care?
Some partner hospitals pay Massvaa Care an administration fee for coordinating their international patients. Your coordinator tells you whether the hospital you choose pays us, and any such fee is not added to your bill.
Can I pay my hospital bill through Massvaa Care?
No. You pay the hospital directly, by bank transfer, card or at its billing desk, and the hospital issues its own receipts. We do not collect payments for treatment.
This guide is general information to help you plan. It is not medical advice. Massvaa Care is a non-clinical facilitator: treatment decisions are made by you with the treating hospital’s specialists, and visa decisions by the Indian authorities.
