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British people guess how much US healthcare costs
- Thread starter Ottaro
- Start date
Thanks for the replies, hopefully bernie, Warren, buttigieg or yang become your next president and hopefully they will be able to implement humane healthcare.
As bernie says "healthcare is a basic human right"
Exactly. I can guarantee if I ever get an X-ray that I have at least a couple of untreated fractures for years.
When I got life insurance I did a stand up bit. "You know I finally got life insurance, it's ironic because now I can't afford to live".
But I couldn't even do that because it was literally 3/4 of my income per month so I couldn't even do it.
Some places have free flu shot clinics, but it's one of those things that we should be able to take for granted
I had a minor issue while on holiday in the USA, small infection, needed a very small incision and some antibiotics. Less than an hour in the building, but the bill was around $1k! Unfortunately because the thing was technically present before I set off on the trip (I'd initially thought it was a bug bite before it burst while there), my travel insurance wouldn't even cover the cost :(
I never want to be in a US hospital again...
I never want to be in a US hospital again...
The UK should get violent and put the fear of the almighty into their politicians if that happens. You'd literally be fighting for your lives so it would be justified.
The healthcare system in the US is a big reason why I'm frugal to the point of being miserly.
Whoa whoa whoa, we're not some lefty extremist board where you can air your dangerous ideas!
The left don't want to lose their broken healthcare system
The right don't want to lose their gun problem
While the CEOs are behind the curtain making money off of this.
I have a hard time believing that there is anyone in the country, barring the ultra rich, who hasn't avoided some kind of health care coverage because of cost. Statistics say somewhere around 25-40% of people make that decision, but that number has always seemed comically low to me
I have a CT scheduled for tomorrow and I'm more worried about what it'll cost instead of what it could possibly find.
If you're lucky a fire department paramedic will help you. Since they're public employees it won't cost you a dime.
This isn't always true either, there are still rural areas where local emergency services are funded by voluntary dues rather than taxes
It is an odd one because the NHS is overwhelmingly popular here and there is no way people would tolerate moving to a US style system yet, much like the US, our electorate insists on voting for politicians that will make life worse for the majority of us. The Tories say they'll invest more in the NHS if re-elected but I'm not sure even most Conservative voters believe them at this point.
I think one of the issues is that the subject of a trade deal with the US involving the NHS is so intrinsically tied to Brexit that a lot of people are just putting it down to Project Fear. The other issue is that privatisation happens slowly and quietly so people won't necessarily see the effects immediately. By the time our NHS is dismantled and controlled by the US it will be too late.
The medical system in the US is such a sham, money grabbing pile of shit and the amount of hate and disdain toward universal healthcare policies blows me away every time I see discussion on it from friends in more rural areas. People truly believe universal healthcare wouldn't work at all in spite of the facts and evidence that it does. They believe the government can only make it worse when honestly it can't honestly get worse than the system we have now. Breaking an ankle nearly 2 years ago ran me around $35,000 in total charges to my insurer. I *only* paid a deductable of $3,600. Guess i'm lucky? lol.
And no joke, the ambulance ride alone was approximately $2350.
And no joke, the ambulance ride alone was approximately $2350.
Ain't gonna be the future of Scotland. We'll leave the UK if it goes Conservative majority and a Boris/Trump shitfest.
I knew someone who needed NICU for a few weeks, and there may have been other issues related to all that, I don't remember. Total bill was well over $2M. Yes, over two million dollars. They were on the hook for just under 1% of that amount, which is still a lot for most people. I guess insurance dealt with the rest, then raised premiums for everyone as needed the following year.
I'm assuming when it comes to thinks like Cancer there is no waiting list. Any scans or surgery is done rapidly?
In a country where most people don't even have $10k in savings for emergency, this would ruin a lot of families.
Also, consider the chances someone needing that sort of treatment keeps their job, or can find another job if needed.
Here in NZ we've been to the hospital about 10 times for my daughters breathing
$0
We've had 2 kids
$0
My daughter needs an inhaler for her asthma and it costs about $3.
I have no idea how anyone could possibly survive living in the US :\
I had no idea you had to pay money to have a kid at the hospital, thats just insane
$0
We've had 2 kids
$0
My daughter needs an inhaler for her asthma and it costs about $3.
I have no idea how anyone could possibly survive living in the US :\
I had no idea you had to pay money to have a kid at the hospital, thats just insane
please take me with you.
I like Bill Drummond and cold weather, does that make me an honorary Scot?
$30,000?
My son was in NICU for 3 days when born (for nothing really, it was precautionary) and the bill was $70,000. This is NYC.
Thankfully, we had fantastic insurance (which we ramped up when we knew we were trying for a child) and only paid $2,000 out of pocket. The hospital settled with the insurance company for $25,000 I think.
The itemized bill was hilarious, wish we had kept it.
My son was in NICU for 3 days when born (for nothing really, it was precautionary) and the bill was $70,000. This is NYC.
Thankfully, we had fantastic insurance (which we ramped up when we knew we were trying for a child) and only paid $2,000 out of pocket. The hospital settled with the insurance company for $25,000 I think.
The itemized bill was hilarious, wish we had kept it.
Because if we riot, someone's gonna get hurt and that hospital bill's gonna be ENORMOUS!!!
Even some on this board think it's fine. Someone should link to that other thread about people saying, "See, what did I tell you, Medicare-for-all just can't EVER work!" that was a Moderate circle jerk.
People have been conditioned by Republican talking points to the point that they just can't see any other way of life.
Curious about US folks how much would American healthcare would charge me for an inguinal hernia and testicular hernia repair?
Filipino guy living in Scotland for more than a decade
Filipino guy living in Scotland for more than a decade
sick
If it all goes to shit Scotland will have one more illustrator
Since, NHS is funded through tax (correct me if im wrong) I waltzed out the hospital without paying a single penny. Couldn't thank enough the Iraqi doctor who patched me up and his colleagues.
Those prices are quite frightening
There is no such thing as comprehensive health insurance in the U.S., because it's a patchwork hellscape of "networks" and drug restrictions and billing codes and pharmacy managers and naked, brazen profiteering. Even if you have great insurance through your employer, it's basically a dice roll as to what you pay when you go see a new specialist or are prescribed a new drug. Could be $30. Could be $300. Could be $30,000! Fun game, very hilarious. Unbelievably venal and broken. One of only two countries in the world that advertises drugs directly to consumers! You can download an app to see if you can save $50 on your $800 prescription this month! Oh, while you were unconscious, a specialist you didn't ask for showed up, and he's not in your network, so the insurer won't pay for his ten seconds by your bedside that will be several thousand dollars please.
I moved here by choice and it's a fucking heaving, murderous disaster, and like one person in five seems to grasp the magnitude of how bad it is.
When my wife had her tonsils removed she had an issue where the stitching came undone and caused bleeding. So I rushed her to the nearby hospital, and they said that they would need to transfer her to the other hospital branch. That cost us a $1000 for a hospital to hospital transfer via an ambulance. That was 15 years ago so I can definitely believe it is closer to $2500 now.
and yet people in this country just think that is the price you pay for "the best".
and yet people in this country just think that is the price you pay for "the best".
You are correct. But also the underlying price of health care provision in the U.K. is dramatically lower because the state negotiates prices on behalf of its citizens.
Rather than having a bunch of greedy private companies scrape and bow and bid on a grotesquely overpriced roiling hell of private hospitals, consultants, pharmacies, drug companies, and device manufacturers.
The entire system is built on triage at a truly grand scale. There is always a waiting list.
If you require urgent care, you get it urgently. If you can wait, you wait.
For cancer specifically:
So 19 out of 20 people are dealt with within the clinically agreed acceptable time limit. Things can always be improved, but it's pretty good.
It's hard to differentiate when people are quoting itemised costs that the insurance pay for, and actual costs you are charged out of pocket for.
How do emergency sevices go about billing someone who was not conscious to make the decision of treatment?
If someone passes away whilst getting treatment, will anyone else get the bill?
How do emergency sevices go about billing someone who was not conscious to make the decision of treatment?
If someone passes away whilst getting treatment, will anyone else get the bill?
$0 in the U.K.
In Ireland, where I grew up, and which has a dual-payer system (you can still buy private insurance), it would probably be a thousand dollars at most (if I remember rightly, hospital stays have a cap around there for a given 12-month period), and effectively $0 for children, the elderly, and the poor.
Ireland also has the drug payment scheme, which caps drug costs for all residents. The most an entire household can pay for drugs in a given month is about $140. Once your prescriptions cost more than that, the state picks up the tab.
If anything the threat to the NHS could be the issue that pushes undecideds and some No voters over the edge. I think enough people here value it and we're a socialist leaning country more so than England given our voting record, it will be a decisive element of winning independence. Will be funny seeing the No side argue Scotland can't afford to be independent but in the union we can afford an ever more privatised health..
Yes, per-capita government healthcare spending is higher in the US than the UK, as absurd as that sounds.
