Healthcare in the US is straight up legalized extortion. And I mean the dictionary definition of extortion. In fact, in most countries it probably meets the legal definition for extortion as well. It is absolutely disgusting. And it's even more disgusting that there are people who are either brainwashed or selfish enough to defend it.
What's more, in the USA, we don't even get the option to see what the price will be, or a rough ball park estimate. A few weeks later you get sticker shock. It's like, "$8,000 for a three hour emergency room visit".
Brainwashed. Most of the fiercest defenders of the system are people with below-average income living in Red States, aka the people with the most to personally gain from changing the system. I was recently speaking to someone from Kansas who was bragging about how he saved so much money in taxes compared to people in the alleged tax hellhole known as California. I dug into the numbers and showed him, to his shock, that he would actually be paying LESS taxes in California than he is in Kansas (because he only made 40k per year and the lowest marginal tax rate in Cali is 1%, whereas in Kansas the lowest rate is 3.1%). He would actually save $600 per year in taxes by moving to California, if he could somehow work the same job and make the same money. People with less than a highschool diploma vote Republican 2:1 (aka, the poorest people in the US). People with advanced college degrees (and the higher incomes that attend them) vote Democrat 2:1. And the Democrats are the party that favors more redistributive policies. The only states in the US that have attempted any degree of healthcare reform are Blue States. One of the greatest political acts of legerdemain is how Republicans tricked rural, less educated voters into voting against their own economic interest. The book "What's the Matter With Kansas?" made that point really well, years ago, during the George W. Bush presidency. The trend has only gotten worse over time.
The right-wing spent several decades of the 20th Century in the US brainwashing a large segment of the population to vote against their own best interests while encouraging other illogical things at the same time such as bigotry and religious zealotry. They train people to think things like, "Do everything yourself or drop dead and get out of the way of everyone who dd succeed alone" and "I should never have to help anyone without a consequence free option to say no" especially if it's a religious zealot who wants to deem someone to be an "evil sinner" and therefore "unworthy" of help. There's a literally real and deep-rooted thread of "Why should I have to pay for someone else when they might be doing things of which I don't approve of in life?" among about 40 percent of the American population in the US.
I had a friend who literally went to another country for a relatively routine surgery because it was less expensive to do that than to have it done in America. That's insane.
If we're just going with anecdotes, I live near the Canadian border and our medical facility parking lots are constantly filled with Canadian number plates on cars of Canadians escaping their own socialized medical system.
I had breast cancer and chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, medications, follow up medical exams every six months, etc., all were completely free. Not only that, I was absent from work for a year and a half but I kept my job and I always received my salary on time without any kind of reduction. And when I got back to work I was entitled to three extra days off every month for three years! I'm from Italy.
You get paid for recovering after the hospital? And keep your job and salary? Be extra grateful that you were born in the EU. Usa isn't the best country in the world. Im sadly stuck in this country. Hopefully one day i get out of this hell hole.
@@Perseus5 nothing stopping you from leaving besides your laziness and stupidity. You’re just a pathetic coward. Imagine wanting to be a victim so badly. You have issues, kid.
@@Perseus5 yeah, It's sick leave. You keep your job and salary for a year and you get 100% of your salary. After almost a year your salary get reduced (80 to 50%, sorry but I don't remember exactly) for almost another year. If the illness leaves you disable you can apply for what is known as "disabled pension" (invalidità in Italian) and get monthly according to the severity of your invalidity. Anyway, there are few different type of disability - according to the law, not to the medicine - that can give you the right to get a monthly payment. This is a really rough description of how welfare works in Italy (but it is almost the same across EU and EEA countries).
I'm surprised they didn't mention being charged to hold your baby after birth. Charging for skin to skin contact is probably the most ridiculous thing ever.
Apparently, the justification for that is because there's supposed to be a nurse there supervising the whole time that the woman and her baby are bonding, I guess just to make sure that there isn't an unexpected medical emergency post-partum. Even if that's true -- especially if that's true -- it's just a great example of the nickel-and-diming culture in American healthcare. Nothing can ever just be included. Ironic, because in other contexts of American culture, like restaurant dining, lots of things are included that aren't in other countries. It's strange that the same country produced "free refills" and "charging you to hold your newborn baby immediately after birth", but that's America. Maybe it just speaks to the very different priorities that exist in the food service industry versus the healthcare industry. One wants to make you happy in the hopes that you'll come back someday, the other wants to suck you dry in case it's the only time they ever interact with you. Or in case you die, I guess...lol.
I'm a GP and Neurology resident at Mexico, and a lot of US patients come to the country to have medical attention. Here an appointment is about $10 to $60 USD and LET ME TELL YOU: the medical attention being a lot more expensive on the US doesn't mean it's better. I've had patients from the US who sought after second and third opinions because after months they haven't had a diagnosis being made and spent thousands of dollars in unnecessary tests, and here only with physical examination and a few tests and a fair priced treatment we resolved their problems. Even patients here in Mexico with expensive treatments (like medication for Multiple Sclerosis which costs about $100k USD for a year) are given for free to the patients. Having universal social security is a blessing.
Healthcare isn’t part of social security. You are also too ignorant to understand that anecdotes don’t establish patterns. The quality of Mexico’s healthcare is exemplified by your ignorance.
Oh yeah, really expensive when a lot of time is not that great. I know there are doctors, and specialists that are leaving (here in PR) to the US, because they pay them more and it's sad...we'll be out of them. Also it's expensive here thanks to the US too, and our government.
Consider it a cautionary tale 😮 there's a lot of political groups popping up in countries outside America who want to do away with universal Healthcare or make it conditional. DONT LET THEM 👀☝️😭
I live in one of EU countries and I had abdominal operation this year, it was with full anesthesia and two surgeons were present because it was quite complicated, I was in the hospital for 5 days and was given strong drugs after the operation and lighter drugs other days and every day check ups, and nurses were always asking if I need something and how I was feeling. Also they did blood tests. It cost me NOTHING! The actual hospital bill was 71 EUR (31 EUR - operation, 40 EUR - hospital), but my work insurance covered that, but even if it didn't it was nothing. Also after that I went to the hospital 3 times for examination and surgeon did it for free as a mandatory check up after surgery. I can't understand how Americans live with such horrific medical bills. P.S. sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my native language
Glad you’re all better now I know it’s crazy I actually really makes me sad how much property goes on in America just because They can’t afford it let alone the housing market atm as well
@@2eleven48 thank you! I'm trying to improve my English but it's hard when you don't use it in everyday life 🙄 also English is my third language and sometimes my brain just don't want to cooperate with me 😂
It was really interesting talking with Hannah, Lauren and Callie about the prices of medical bills in the US and UK. It's still really shocking how expensive it is in the states 😅 Hope you guys enjoyed! -Christina 🇺🇸
I feel like U.S. Health care system are exclusively build for Government Worker and Official. Because everything literally free for us, but sadly not in the case for normal citizens.
My medications that keeps me alive cost me $4250/month if I didn't have insurance. If I were to lose my job, I'd literally be a dead man from not having insurance.
@@ChristinaDonnelly you are a very transparent person christina, you reflect everything you feel haha, it is very sad that many people do not want to go to the hospital even when they are sick because of how expensive it is, but all systems change over time, hopefully in the future anyone who needs it can go to the hospital
The whole discussion with how many people in the U.S. dont want an ambulance to pick them up is so crazy true. My great aunt was literally having a heart attack and decided to just drive herself to the hospital rather than calling 911. The people at the hospital told her to call an ambulance next time, but she was so against having to pay so much for just a ride to the hospital that is maybe a mile away. Depressing, really.
What hospitals do they overprice the bill because they know the insurance company will bargain down the price. So they over price so they actually get the money they want I wish they would have pointed that the difference between the sticker price and the actual price you pay. It is still expensive tho.
very true i remember getting really anxious because my mom said she might have to call the ambulence when i was having really bad heart problems, theyre so expensive.
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 I've literally never spent a penny on anything medical in my life (I'm Welsh so no prescription charges, and haven't been to dentist or opticians since I turned 19). I've never earned enough while in education to have paid any taxes either: literally completely free! As I understand it, the healthcare system in France, Germany etc. isn't 'socialised' in the same was as it is in the UK. There are lots of things you get billed for, obviously nowhere near to the extent of the US, and there are for-profit hospitals.
@@Emmet_Moore You get the basic things free, if you need them, in Germany. Well, I never went to hospital, but if they say you have to stay, you don't have to pay for it neither, I think. If you chose it on your own, that's a different thing. 😄
In Spain 🇪🇦, and the most European Union countries is the same, healthcare is free through a tax system, and I personally think it should be that way, it's a human right, not only for rich people :/. About how expensive it is in the USA, perhaps that a doctor earns more than 200-400 thousand dollars when the average salary there is 50 thousand dollars has something to do with it...
I feel like despite having some issues, having the NHS is so helpful. My grandpa and my dad both have diabetes and they get free prescription medicines, check ups etc. My dad was in hospital for about a month and everything was free for him. I'm not saying it's perfect but they're trying their best and it's a lot better than if we had to rely on private institutions for everything. Maybe some people will be able to afford the cost, but I know a lot of families, including ours, who can't.
Many Americans would gladly have a national healthcare system, but the right-wing in the US keeps it from happening as it would take away their control, power, money, and authority.
Medical bills in the US are crazy. My husband's spinal fusion cost was just under $500,000. Honestly if it wasn't for disability we never could have afforded it.
No insurance? I had 2 surgeries in 2022 the bill for one was $60000 and for the other one $49000. That is the cost and what the bill says but not even close to what I paid, if you have insurance of course. I actually ended paying $2500 for one and $3000 for the other one. One in Mount Sinai and the other at Bascom Palmer, number one eye clinic in the US and most likely the world. If I would have gone to a public hospital it would have been even less. So this is what keeps confusing people abroad about our system. Full of flaws but not as dramatic as people portray it. The hospitals in the US are like hotels compared to European facilities, which I also happen to know, since I lived in Europe for 25 years and had to have surgery twice. In the US you basically don't have to wait to have a surgery. In Spain I had to wait for more than 14 months to have it done. It of course was not life threatening situation, but my quality of life sucked big time during that waiting time period. In the US you also have programs that help the low income, you just have to check with your state, since that varies from state to state. Hospitals like Saint Jude do not charge any children for cancer treatment. So again it is a complicated and very burocratic system but not as bad as people abroad think it is. Every time I go back to Europe to visit friends and family they truly believe you don't get taken care off if you don't pay up front. Actually, it is illegal not to accept a patient, and we are the US (Suing capital of the world), so no hospital will dare to do something like that since you would be sued in a heart beat.
@@robertofernandez4455 Technically, a hospital ER must accept a patient that comes in with an emergency, but most of the things that are major causes of mortality and morbidity in the US are lifestyle disease and not "emergencies". If a patient is brought to an ER in a diabetic coma, they must be treated, but there's no guarantee they can access insulin to PREVENT the coma, in the first place (which is obviously much more beneficial to the patient's health outcomes). This is what leads many people to be serial-users of emergency departments. They lack access to normal healthcare and they wind up coming into the hospital as a sort of alternative "primary healthcare" because they have nothing else. These hospital frequent fliers also rack up a lot of expenses while in the hospital, since an ER is the most expensive vehicle imaginable for delivering primary care, which drives up costs for all healthcare consumers in the US as a whole. The US healthcare system treats by crisis and the US government governs by crisis. They both wait, in a state of indifferent neglect, until things are completely falling apart, and then they hastily rush to pick up the pieces and prevent total collapse at the last minute, barely averting catastrophe (if they even can). There is a fearful symmetry to it all, I suppose.
The British women's accents sound more transatlantic, a mixture of English and American. Except the British girl on the end, her accent sounds even less British than the blonde. Neither of them sound properly British.
Healthcare costs the same around the world, it's just a question of who pays for it. In socialist countries like in Europe, the government pays the bills and taxes you for it. In the US, the insurance companies pay. Some people choose not to buy insurance, and then THEY have to pay... but that is because they chose not to buy any insurance.
@@biggpete100 A single payer system has massive leverage, with drug prices and equipment. Why insulin is pennies for them, and thousands in the states.
I think the craziest thing about all this - is that the US government's public healthcare expenditure **per person** (i.e. spending via people's taxes) is higher than the UK. When you consider that the UK generally has better health outcomes than the US, you unfortunately realise that the US has a system that is more expensive, not universal, and objectively worse (for the population)
When people's health is a COST for a country, the country itself tries to make their population healthier, in order to avoid expenses. When people's health is a PROFIT for some people, said people push the government to approve laws that make the population sick, in order to profit from it.
@@1789Henrique yes! It's actually a multiple of what it costs per person in the UK. We have a totally broken system where the billing gets split up among as many categories and providers as possible (rather than the usual business model of subcontracting) so that the patient has to make multiple co-pays. We have been focusing on insurance as the bad guys for several decades now, but I think the real culprits are actually the service providers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers. I don't mean your friendly family doctor in their small practice either, it's more like hospitals with a bunch of administrators making (high) six and seven figure salaries and the fact that since OBVIOUSLY they cannot collect from many emergency room patients, they try to get as much as possible from the insured and those who can afford to pay. Specialists are outrageously expensive as well. Keep in mind, when we have insurance through our employer, we still have to pay for that as well! I think I'm fairly lucky (Stockholm syndrome?) in that I pay about $210 per month as a single person (but also have $50 co-pays for specialists), my coworker with a family has to pay almost $800 per month. And we also have what's called a "deductible" where the insurance doesn't pay for most things until we have spent $1500 and $3000 respectively. Something else that will be of interest to non-Americans, is that since we have to pay all this money for health care, no prices of anything at all are advertised and you don't find out what anything costs til after the procedures are done. Sometimes they make you pay as you're leaving, but usually it's just the deductible and then you get a massive bill in the mail.
I live in the UK and have private medical cover through work. If I need a hospital stay and choose to go NHS, the insurer actually pays me per night for staying NHS instead of private as it cheaper for them than paying for a private hospital stay. This is no joke.
1) Have private medical coverage through work that pays you to go to NHS hospital 2) Get a job where you can work remotely 3) Contract chronic disease that requires you to spend lots of time in the hospital, but not so bad that you can't still remote work 4) Profit
Well Germany 🇩🇪 invented the national health insurance under Bismarck in the 1880s and its still in effect ever since. The UK system is not very different form ours
In India, I got COVID and I was on medication for a month. And cost of all the test, and medicine was under 70 dollars from a private hospital. In government hospital it's free in some states
I live in NY and the bill to deliver my son was around $35,000. Completely basic pregnancy, fairly quick delivery we stayed in the hospital for a total of 3 days. My insurance covered that but I still had to pay a $200 copay. Plus a $40 copay at each obgny appt leading up to giving birth and $50 for prints of the sonograms and that was a monthly occurrence.
This is also what happened with my older sister after she was born in 1982, the hospital charged my parents $10,000 USD in which in today's money is about $32,621.35 USD. My parents can't even afford to pay that amount because we were very poor, and fortunately my grandparents help out pay the medical bill because my dad's family were loaded, and they really loved my mom, especially my late grandmother. That's how heartless the U.S. healthcare is, and it's considered one of the worse in the world, and it contributes to rising poverty to homeless problems.😥
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 It's really not that easy. I'm European so I agree but also, I'm sure lots of Americans want to move but simply just can't because of several reasons.
@@nepd89 Once you're here, I hope you get settled. And please, if you're sick or need an ambulance, do not hesitate to get one. Your health is important and you will not be charged a single penny for seeing your local doctor. We are not barbaric! Have an amazing time in the UK :)
Christina, it’s not just based on state - even residents of Mass will pay different rates based on the plans the employer chooses to offer from the agent the employer chooses to utilize.
And also the plan the individual person uses. I live in Massachusetts and my employer offers me something like 6 or 7 different plans from 3 different insurers, each with slightly different coverage (different things are in-network or out-of-network), different co-pay, deductible, etc.
One thing they didn’t talk about is getting braces. I’m pretty sure it costs thousands for it in the US, while in the UK braces are free for people under 18. My dentist referred me to an orthodontist and the process was really easy. And because it’s free almost every one in my friend group at school had braces at one point :)
Right, in Sweden it's free for anyone under 20 years of age. That means that as long as your first appointment is prior to you turning 20, the whole process is free no matter how long or complicated it becomes. I had to have five teeth removed and even though my non specialist dentist performed those procedures (over several visits), it was still free as it was a part of my specialist dentists plan.
I broke my back when I was 20 years of age. I was treated for two years - I won't bore you with the details - and a back specialist from America was consulted, somewhere along the line. For all the hospital time; medication; the operation; walking aids, spinal corsets; physio, blah, blah, blah it cost £0. I am 56 and have never had a problem since. I'm backpacking along The Coast to Coast next month. God bless the NHS!
Nearly 40% of cancer patients in the UK fail to receive urgent treatment within two months due to long wait times. Over 6 million people in England alone are waiting *years* for surgery. Ambulance wait times in the UK are now over an hour on average. The NHS is abject garbage.
@@fatherson5907 We are living in an unusual time, vis- a-vis Covid and waiting times for everything has rocketed. It will take a long time to get back to normal. However, life-threatening ailments are being prioritised. I was diagnosed with breast cancer, after a routine mammogram. From mammogram to operation took 5 weeks. I start radiotherapy at the end of this month and will be on medication for 5 years - Tamoxifen. I won't have to pay a penny. Even the medication is free and will be delivered, by Royal Mail, to my door. I don't even have to pay for the hospital car park. The target, from diagnosis to treatment is 31 days and 90% of people hit that target. The other 10% very soon after. Heart problems are also treated quickly. As for everything else, the best idea is to stop voting Tory!
It’s crazy listening to this, especially the birthing part towards the end, we had all of our 3 children at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge, the facilities are world class, even private rooms for water births, with music and mood lights. We spent more than two weeks at the main unit with our third child because of complications. The total cost for the hospital was £0, but the parking charges were atrocious. With UHC It’s a case of get a bill, or never get a bill. It’s not evil government communism guys, it’s common sense, you don’t go bankrupt and get treated like a human being, instead of a cash machine, and You get the luxury of complaining about parking lot fees, instead of losing your house.
It’s funny how ignorant you lot are. I lived in the UK for years, and the NHS is absolute garbage. You’re so ignorant that you think you’re getting it for “free” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Over 40% of cancer patients in the UK are waiting over two months for urgent treatment. Over 6 million in England alone are waiting years for surgery. You have higher average household debt than the US, so stop with the lies about debt. The NHS is third world garbage. Justice for Indi Gregory.
Living in the US (when I was much younger, so let's say 15 years ago) and making less than $20k a year meant that when my ex got pneumonia we qualified to go to a "charity" hospital. We had to wait in the waiting room for 8 hours to see the doctor, another 3 hours to get an xray and even though it was a charity hospital, we still ended up having to pay $2,000.
In the Uk, you wouldn’t have even gotten to see the doctor. You would have been waiting until you die The UK NHS is third world garbage, just like the people it serves.
Went to the ER for a kidney stone once. Got a couple tests to verify it was what I already knew it was, got some pain meds, and was sent home early the next morning. The bill was over $12,000. Fortunately, I had just gotten insurance the month before thanks to the ACA (Obamacare) because my job didn't offer insurance and I had pre-existing conditions that allowed insurance companies to turn me down before the ACA went into effect.
In Brazil we also have a free system, just as it seems to be in the UK. We call it "SUS", the unified health system, which is also universal, that is, no matter who or where you are from, Brazilian or not, you will be attended for free
Most Brazilian upper middle-class families, however, do not use SUS and pay for private health insurance while also paying for SUS through their taxes. The basic reason is that the quality of service at SUS is very bad, waiting times are prohibitively long, and health outcomes following SUS treatment for serious conditions are poor (if you can get any treatment at all). My dad had to be operated to remove a malignant tumor from his left lung. He had surgery at Hospital Sírio-LIbanês in São Paulo, which is probably one of the two best hospitals in Brazil along with Hospital Albert Einstein, also in São Paulo. His private health insurance covered the hospital costs, but he still had to pay about 50,000 Brazilian reais for the medical team. And private health insurance that gives you access to hospitals like Sírio or Einstein typically costs over 5,000 Brazilian reais/month. I feel like Brazil is now actually pretty much like the US where people literally go bankrupt to pay for healthcare.
It's definitely not "just per night" here in the U.S. it depends on your treatments. For example IV meds & depending on which ones, van be thousands by itself ON TOP of your stay. We lost our home to medical debt. Literally just ONE of our bills was over $38,000. In a short amount of time with heavy medical problems, we accumulated almost $400,000 of medical debt. It was really bad & took us a while to get back on our feet but we definitely lost our home. Specialty doctor visits cost more so without insurance can cost up to $900 for us. Thankfully we have insurance but the sad thing is, why are we paying for insurance when it's not all the same & they won't even cover everything?... even our co-pays add up, the deductibles & out of pocket max are ridiculous, & the whole thing is just ridiculous. I was literally just in the hospital this week & for a few days, it's like $60,000 but thankfully I have insurance but still. I'm a high risk pregnancy & had major issues so I was in (again) for that. I know too much about all this medical stuff having bad health we can't control unless someone comes up with cures tomorrow. 😭 my best friend married a guy from the UK & had her baby. Easy. No fuss. Everything taken care of. Meanwhile I'm pregnant & getting bills up the butt. It just never stops. America is called corporate America for a reason. Our lives have been turned into a business & that's the truth. We don't mean anything, just our lives mean something in terms of making money off of it. Insurance is 1 prime example. There are people turned away for their health because they can't afford it or "don't meet certain credentials". If you want care, you pay. Oh you're dying? Well do you have money for treatment? No? Oh well, I guess bye then! There are SOME assistance programs but many don't all work the same & they're not 100%. They still make you pay for something unless you're already at rock bottom Poverty level & HAVE to get rid of your bills.
That system is a downright joke. Sorry for saying that. I'm from Brazil, a third world country in South America. My family and i we don't have any insurance. My cousin fractured his arm playing soccer. They called the ambulance that took him to the emergency and he even needed a surgery. All that costed R$0,00 to him and to his family. And that was in a public hospital.
@@BrunoGomes-ne9eo your comment is not offensive or anything whatsoever so don't even worry about it. It 100% is a joke & it's nice to hear about experiences in other countries. I'm familiar with Brazil & have been wanting to go there actually. Lol. But that's why America's called "corporate America". It's all about business & making money off of you in some way no matter how detrimental it is to another person. The system is, & has been broken in many ways & for many years. America is supposed to be "so great" but yet they struggle to jump on taking care of their people in any way they can no matter what. They'll jump on it only if it means big money for them in the end. Is that ALWAYS the case? No, there are some genuinely good people willing to help but the problem is, they have zero control over this system to do large things even if they wanted to because the system doesn't allow it. It's incredibly frustrating. Losing everything we had to medical debt the year we got married, was traumatizing.
@@Jennybelle1990 Yeah, i can imagine it. I've heard stories of Americans married to Brazilians who came to Brazil to seek treatment without going broke. Lot's of Brazilians keep on paying insurance though they live in the US. It's nice that you like Brazil, my country is always open for everybody =) Me and my brother we also had fractured our arm when we were little and the only thing our parents had to pay was one medicine that they had to buy in a drugstore and it wasn't even expensive. Cases like this happen all the time here. We have private hospitals here, but since my family is a middle class one we can't afford to go to any, but fortunately our universal healthcare have worked well for us. Of course it isn't perfect cuz perfection is non-existent, but i know that if anytime i need treatment i won't be billed with a crazy expensive cost. My grandma battled against lung cancer and stayed 15 days hospitalized cuz she discovered it in a complicated stage. She didn't pay one penny. Anyway, you guys deserve something better.
In my opinion you US Americans make three huge financial mistakes: 01. Student Loans 02. Medical Bills 03. Mortgages/Housing Loans You're basically accumulating debt all your life to be debt-free when you retire. It makes more sense when you accumulate your assets first and then buy what you can afford - thus spending less than you earn. Yet your financial stability is shattered by your messed-up healthcare system and your initiated to the debt culture through student loans. It might be an eye-opener for you if you watch youtube videos about European healthcare systems - but you have to do it with an open mind. Don't believe the propaganda about "socialized healthcare". We rather call it "universal healthcare" where you pay upfront, deducted from your gross income. It is not free but I daresay we have more in our pocket in the end than you. While it may seem that we earn less han you keep in mind that we have paid our taxes + social security beforehand. We are financially stable and we're generally happy with our healthcare system. It''s reliable, after all. It's a pain to see that you can be ruined by medical bills, that you can be evicted from your home within three days' time and that there are so many homeless people in your country. This is a shame for any so-called "civilized country". You should save up for a one-week vacation to Europe. It would blow your mind. If you speak only English choose the UK but I'm pretty sure the Dutch or Germans would be happy to help out, too. Younger people speak pretty good English. When you're here go to a pharmacy and get yourself some Aspirin and see what you pay. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be more than 5 to 1 Euros (that's our usual co-pay in Germany.) Please watch the reaction videos of British citizens on TH-cam about the cost of US healthcare - their facial expressions are priceless...!
@@indiecarmayne correction... "you U.S. Americans"... yeah that's not OUR fault. Tell that to our government that doesn't care & only cares for money & how to profit off of their citizens... I'm fully aware of the flaws & if anything there's more than 3.
We don’t pay the hospital bills basically. we fill out a bunch of forms to help lower costs because our incomes not high enough etc. and then we ignore the debt collectors phone calls. Although if you don’t have insurance many hospitals won’t even see you or will make you wait for hours even if you have a serious issue. I went with a work injury where I had my forearm and wrist sliced open by glass shattering on the line in front of me due to faulty equipment. Not only did my job try to not allow me to have workers compensation the hospital even with my insurance had me sit for 2 hours before seeing me. I had to hold my arm above my head for like an hour and a towel I had wrapped around it at work. And I was just like “eh this is normal.” My grandmother was always sick in and out every year pretty sure her bills hit over 10 million so she just claimed bankruptcy and defaulted on the payments.
5 years ago I fell off a ladder, broke my arm and dislocated my elbow. I went to hospital had x-rays then had to be sedated to have my elbow put back in place. The next morning I was first in theatre at 9am, I had 9 screws and metal plate put in my arm. The next day I was allowed to go home. Didn't cost me a penny at the point of service, I wonder how much it was have cost me if I was in the US. Thank you NHS
100,000 at least. If you're lucky and have good insurance (which can be anywhere from 400-1200/MO in my experience), they would pay 80% once you've met your deductible (between 5-10k you must pay before their portion kicks in). It's a total racket!
As a UK resident with a serious medical condition the NHS is absolutely brilliant and I have never had an issue with my care, I have an Incomplete C4 to T2 Spinal Injury and am Type 2 Diabetic.
The only time I got sick in the U.S., which was in the '80s, was probably the flu because it came on so fast. I was in the emergency room of a hospital and it didn't cost anything at first, but at some point a bill for 50 dollars came to Europe. That was actually fair, but as a European, I had travel health insurance, of course, and so that paid for it.
My father ended up in the ER and he had to pay 25k for a one night stay because of a hernia in his stomach. It pisses me off because we pay for insurance on a monthly basis. Then we have a copay before we are seen. Then we have to pay a certain percentage on certain test like x-rays may only be covered at 60%. Not to mention meds. Then to add insult to injury, they don’t tell you how much your meds are until you are at the window.
The British health service, unemployment benefits, child benefits and pension is all funded by a tax called national insurance. Income tax is a different tax. 😉
LoL I know nothing but I'm an American and have lived/visited as much as I can. I agree with European countries (edit) On health Care. only thing ruining it is America and China. And sad to say neither governments care about their people as much as ....
@@jalicea1650 That's part of the propaganda lies of the right-wing in the US. Socialized medicine is NOT "Socialism". The UK is a capitalist nation much like most first world nations are to some extent. Most Americans don't actually know what real "classical Socialsm" is, but they're brainwashed to hear the word and think "evil".
@@jalicea1650 Nah, it's called common sense. Even Switzerland which has a full private healthcare system take care for free of people who can't afford it. And they even have standardized bills...
Clinics in Israel are covered by national insurance that you pay a certain amount every month, and consultations are either free or about the equivalent of $10. Private hospitals are between $300 and $5000 approximately (depending on the procedure).
I'm shocked. Ican't imagine having to pay so much money just to go to the hospital. In my country you can get anything health related for free, even things like medicine, surgery and therapy. Of course, there's also the option of going to a private hospital, but even private health care is not that expansive in my country. Also, our medical files are registered in the public healthcare database, so even if we go to another doctor in another state the doctor will have access to all of our medical files, reports etc.
For me, a few months ago, i had a doctor visit because i was having serious pain in my lower right abdomen and i made a doctor visit to rule out appendicitis. The visit and the total checkup time was like 15-20 minutes but i waited 45 minutes to get in. I ended up paying like around $200 dollars for the doctor to push around my abdomen, take my vitals, and ask a few questions. For me, i would rather have health insurance taken out of taxes based on income and tax brackets then have to find outside health insurance or rely on you employer. The coverage could vary so much and trying to find a place that takes your insurance. i would rather have the health coverage system the uk has here in the us.
I got billed $700, in full - without the insurance pay, because I agreed to talk with a doctor who never even showed up. On top of that there are so many other costs and I was there for maybe 3 hours and they really do add unnecessary things, like once they have a blood or urine sample, they can run so many tests that are unrelated to what you’re there for and you can’t do anything about it.
Most of the UK private health care is done with nhs equipment and staff. the main difference is the wait time... and perhaps the food (although I have never had to complain).
Hit my head and passed out, woke up 3 days later in the hospital and $32K poorer. Great thing to have starting out in life at 20 years old. this was in 1998 btw.
I don't live in the US but I do live in a country where healthcare also isn't free, called Ireland. So I can relate to not having free healthcare. My parents once had a hospital bill for me that costed them €180 after I had fractured my foot, had an x-ray done and received a cast. I also know a girl who went to the same secondary school as me who had surgery done on her leg due to an injury that she picked up from playing sports. The surgery bill costed more than €10,000. Edit: Although to be fair, pregnancy is actually free in Ireland whilst it's crazy expensive in the US. What a win for Ireland.
This is the biggest reason for me why I'll not (basically never at this point) consider moving to the US. While many people in my country have this stereotype that achieving the 'American Dream' is easy, they just don't know how much the system works against new immigrants, POCs and minorities. Where I live in (not my home country) has a system that works really similarly to the NHS, and we do have the option for private practicing doctors too, except that each hospital visits are about 12 USD per day and waiting hours are hell but anything better than going to debt for caring about my health.
There is a lot of misunderstanding on the subject and a lot of lies and political agendas. Almost everybody that has a full time job here has insurance covered by the employer. I've never had to pay a penny for medical insurance, neither have my parents and neither did my grandparents (who are already dead and they didn't not contribute a penny, because they never worked in the US) There are people who risk not having insurance needlessly because if they really could not afor it it will be covered by the government. Don't believe the lies.
@@guayabito6946 well theres a girl from the US in the comments that told her experience about the medical depts and all of it, and it seems very expensive
@@Sebas_M_Kinoman She is just telling you 10% of the truth. If people really paid those expenses out of pocket you would see Americans rioting in the streets. Not even insurance agencies pay that because they have arrangements with hospitals and pay just a small fraction of that money. That is the price if you go without insurance, however, even if this happens the hospital can pardon your debt or a big amount of it. I have a cousin who just arrived in the US and had no insurance, she went to the hospital and got a bill of 10K, after negotiating with them they pardoned most of it.
The ongoing cost for conditions like diabetes and asthma must be frightening. I have heard stories of people rationing their insulin...actually risking their lives because of the cost. Is this true? In New Zealand I pay a $5 prescription fee and that covers that medication entirely for 3 months. My son had childhood leukemia and all medication, tests, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hospital aways were completely free. Blessed to live in a country with funded medical care
I know your comment is now a month old, but I wanted to replay since no one else did yet. Yes, poor uninsured Americans do often have to decide between food, rent/mortgage, medicine, and heating/air conditioning, depending on the time of year and area of the US you live in now. The right-wing in the US spent several decades of the 20th century brainwashing a significant amount of the population to be against their own best interests while encouraging other illogical things like religious zealotry and bigotry. They are trained to think things like, I kid you not, "Taxes are evil and theft", "Do everything yourself or drop dead and get out of the way of everyone who did succeed alone" and "I shouldn't have to help anyone without a consequence free option to say no on a case by case basis". This is especially true if a religious zealot wants to deem someone to be an "evil sinner' which, in this mindset, makes them "unworthy" of help.
$1500 per night? You're kidding girl.😂 In Malaysia,accessibility to government hospital is high. Staying in hospital for a night would cost you $2.3 maybe (rm10 and lower). Last time my mom admitted to hospital for 4/5 days and did a minor surgery to remove a tumor, it costs only RM40? ($9.50) As a developing country, our healthcare is quite integrated and accessible to public though
the US is the worst when it comes to the industrialized world...but even some developing countries are way ahead of the US when it comes to universal healthcare. Thats why people call the US these days a 3rd world country with a Gucci belt
@@guayabito6946 Really? Then what about a girl in the comments here whose family lost the house to medical debt? And hundreds of thousands people like that? And tons of people who don't actually have insurance. And people who refuse to call 911 because they're afraid of ambulance cost? If everybody has insurance are they nobodies then? Are you ok with them just dying?
SO healthcare costs in Denmark: visiting your GP:0$, visiting the ER:0$, getting medicine:cost of the medicine (and you can request the cheapest one) once you hit a certain limit you get chronic deduction which reduces the cost of medicine... i had to pay 140$ for the first starting dosis of a drug called ozempic (type2 diabetic medicine) which lasts about a month... next time i have to buy the coming months dosis it will cost me around 70$ until eventually it will be nearly free. All this isnt 100% free mind you... i pay around 40% tax (state tax, municipality tax and church tax combined). The only real cost of GP visits is when you need a bill stating you have been sick (for when you have had to have sick leave), but since its usually requested by the employer they have to foot the bill (which is around 40$ or so)
"Church tax"? That's a new one for me. As an atheist, I would raaaage if I had to pay a tax to support the church. Isn't Denmark pretty unreligious? Why do people still put up with that, unless it's just because people are mesmerized by all the taxes and it's just one line-item that sneaks by in the crowd?
@Karl with a K I had a health plan where the co-pay for an office visit was $20 as recently as 2019. While previously unemployed, circa 2012, I also had a state subsidized insurance where almost everything was free (MassHealth, which is the Massachusetts flavor of Medicaid). I had fallen and fucked up my right hand and had to receive a bunch of occupational therapy to get my thumb working again. Over the course of a dozen visits for therapy, I paid a net $0. However, I did have to pay $3.65 for prescriptions (one cent for every day of the year? Weird amount, lol) and I was limited to only generic drugs, which was fine because what I needed was readily available in generic form.
It's hard for anyone living outside the US, to fathom how a person could become medically bankrupt simply through a misfortune that they had no control over. I think paying extra tax or a small levy on you income to ensure that you are covered medically, is well worth the peace of mind. It's hard to see this happening in the US because there whole way of living, is ALL about the 'individual' .. a me, me, me attitude. They have little concern with their fellow members of society.
It’s funny to see how ignorant the people in the Uk and Europe are. We laugh at your pathetic NHS, making nearly 40% of cancer patients wait more than two months for surgery 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 And average household debt is 70% higher in the UK than the UK, so spare is your bankruptcy lie.
Unfortunately, the right-wing spent several decades of the 20th century in the US brainwashing people to be against their own best interests. "Taxes are evil and theft" is just one small part of the brainwashing ideas that were used.
Here in Brazil, it's free for us to go to the hospital because the money we would pay to the hospital we pay into the taxes. But when COVID appeared some places of my state which is São Paulo (southwest of Brazil) people were asking R$100,00 to test if we were or not infected. But at the Basic Health Unity it's for free.
The US medical industry such as health insurance, hospitalizations, prescriptions & doctor's appointments have become very commercialized to where the working/ lower class people can't afford paying for any type of healthcare. And the politicians advocate more for the high interest medical groups thus them receiving some type of perks/ kickback money for supporting them & their lobbyist. It's gotten to the point where a person would have to eventually have to file for "bankruptcy" to pay for outstanding medical bills now days.
In terms of Government spending, US spends 24% on Health insurance (medicare etc) while the UK spends 18% of the budget on NHS. The 6% difference is spent on UK Social Welfare. So the argument that Social Healthcare in USA would lead to higher taxes, can be considered incorrect. Issue is the Health INDUSTRY in the US will lobby $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ any attempt to do so and spread the fear of taxes to the general population
Blatant lies. The US would need to raise taxes by $5-10T per year to implement expanded universal healthcare (elderly and disabled already receive UHC). The NHS is laughable garbage. Stop trying to push your failed, third world junk on us.
I had to get my appendix out here in the US and insurance covered it but the bill before insurance came to $40,000 for the tests for diagnosis, 1 night in the hospital, the surgery itself, and the anesthesia.
Hello everyone~ Hannah here! 🇬🇧 I had a really interesting time talking with everyone about the difference in medical bills! ☺ It made me very proud of our NHS hehe Hope everyone is staying happy and healthy! Take care 😘
More and more of us are waking up to the reality that universal healthcare would be best. Hopefully that number is going to be high enough to make a difference one day
I’m American (from Texas), now living on a spousal visa in Scotland since 2021. I have a medical condition which has caused me more than 30 hospital stays and several ambulance rides over the last 10 years. The costs of those stays became so overwhelming, I just quit opening the medical bills. I do, however, recall one statement for a 4-day hospital stay (in 2011) being nearly $50k. The average cost of an ambulance ride is $3k-$4k. It’s also customary in the US for patients without medical insurance to be visited by a financial advisor before being released from the hospital. Just recently, I had to be hospitalised in Scotland. Let me just say, the experience was mind blowing, and I mean that in a good way! I couldn’t believe there was absolutely no out-of-pocket expense, and the care I got was really great! I hope I never have to live in the US again!
I'm from England and I have to say we are probably nowhere near as patriotic or as proud of our country compared to many parts of the world- but we love our NHS! It has saved my life and the lives of many people I know and because it comes out of our taxes- it feels free! It also doesn't feel to me like the most excessive drain on my monthly pay, either. In fact for those who don't pay tax for legitimate reasons (e.g. children) it is free! It is so popular here that any politician who promotes private healthcare over the NHS (even if they use it) is pretty much guaranteeing political suicide/not getting public support. I saw a TH-cam video that compared UK tax costs for healthcare compared to the rest of the world/United States and it still works out much cheaper than many economically developed countries! It's arguably one of the best things about being British!
The NHS is third world garbage. Over 40% of cancer patients in the Uk fail to receive urgent treatment within two months due to long wait times. Over 6 million in England alone are waiting years for surgery. Average ambulance wait time in the UK for ambulance is over 60 minutes. Nurses are paid so poorly in the UK that many have resorted to visiting food banks 🤣🤣🤣
@@fatherson5907 Those are problems within the NHS- not with the NHS as a system. I'm sorry if you've suffered because of the reasons you have listed but that's because the system has become too big and bloated in it's infrastructure combined with a lack of proper care and funding that has gone into it. Each one of those problems is due to a terrible government that has failed the NHS, not the NHS system failing the general populace. I don't know your situation. Maybe you go private- in which case, not everyone can afford to do what you do, and does nothing to negate the importance of the NHS. Maybe you do use the NHS and you're just complaining about a group dedicated to saving lives- in which case- you can't deny there are many who are well and alive today because of their efforts. Just because there's problems doesn't mean it should be disregarded as a whole entity. After all, name me a hospital system that's perfect? Like anything in life, when it's allowed to do it's job properly and funded (which it hasn't been for a long time); it's one of the best things about the UK. I hope for your sake you don't ever need to be reliant on a system that you are so quick to complain about. Oh and also- you're 100% right about the way Nurses are treated. The same is true of so many public service workers in the UK these days. It's terrible- but not their fault or the system- it's a government that has underfunded them.
@@fatherson5907 . Then answer my original question, state where in that report your claim appears. I could point out I have a lot of experience getting NHS healthcare.
From time to time I think that the people in the "land of the free" don't even notice how unfree they are sometimes. But hey, they're pretty happy with their guns, so everyone has their priorities... Greetings from Germany, where I have had three major surgeries in my life so far, which didn't cost me a single cent...😁
last year i was feeling ill for about 3 days and eventually my daughter said enough i am phoning for an ambulance. This arrived and the paramedics checked me out and said you have a high temperature, and all your signs are not good we are taking you to the hospital i was admitted and was immediately assessed and given a scan this revealed i had a blood clot on my left kidney. As i said i wasn't feeling very well. I then spent the next 4 days in hospital getting expert treatment and drugs for this condition. including 3 meals a day. After 4 days i had another scan was given the all clear and went home. How much did all this cost me? ZERO ZILCH NADA thank God for the NHS and i don't live in the USA i would be 76 and bankrupt
PS i can't believe all the lies and crap that your insurance company's feed you with regards to the NHS. But i can see why. They have a strangle hold on your health care and charge you through the roof for the privilege and will condemn and lie to protect against any threat to their income. If you can't pay you die. When i was 15 i left school and started working and every week a small amount was taken from my paycheck towards the NHS and this along with the rest of the working populations weekly donation financed the NHS to treat those who were sick and ill at that time when i retired my weekly donation stopped. My wife has MS so is on constant medication and has had several admissions into hospital over the years for UTI etc and all were ambulance admissions. As a result of my admission for my blood clot it was discovered that i needed daily medication for a heart condition so both my wife and i are on prescriptions all of which are free. So just as mine and others paid for those who were sick then those who are working now are paying for us so on and on it goes. The upshot of this is that we get free at source treatment and free from the stress of worrying about the cost as there are no cost. 6 months ago, my son-in-law fell of a ladder [ cutting a hedge] an Ambulance was called, and he was taken to A&E he had a brain scan was kept in for 2 days for observation fitted with a back brace and given pain killers. Again, guess what the bill came to ZERO ZERO NADDA he is 36 so still paying his weekly donation. What's all this crap i heard about death panels is that the best B/S that the insurance companies could come up with my wife is 74 me 76 and we are both alive and kicking thanks to the NHS. I am sorry but i felt the record has to be set Straight the system in the US is corrupt and keeps some people very rich. But the majority poor and unhealthy
One of the wrongs is that unlike a bottle of soda pop the price of which is pretty standard country wide, there is no set price for ANY treatment and even medications, xrays and hospital supplies like bandages. And the hospital supply markups are somewhere around tenfold, as I was charged $2 a pill for asprin pills and $15 for bandaids that would have cost me 5 cents and 25 cents respectively at the local drug stores or Walmart or supermarket. Add to the inflations that some of the for profit facilities add in when they submit the bill to the insurers, there's alot that gets the $ to go up.
“Everything has a cost here. Everything adds up.” That’s everywhere! The main difference is that hospitals and healthcare providers anywhere else on earth won’t charge $300-$500 for a bag of freaking saline, that costs about $1 to make! When I go get an X-ray in The Netherlands, it costs €45 (about $47), which is covered by insurance. In the US that same X-ray costs between $200-$400. And it’s the exact same X-ray, same machine, same time to take it. There is absolutely no difference at all. Don’t forget that in the US it costs $40 to hold your child after giving birth. They charge it under “skin to skin contact.”
Here’s the other crazy part for US Healthcare costs - often times, not always - they don’t actually expect you to pay the total costs. They write off costs all the time. They have a whole process of accounting for this.
Lucky that we are one of the commonwealth countries so we follow everything what UK does. Income tax covered everything, not happy with how much they took my money away but i feel grateful after watching this video.
I've had surgery on my shoulder. I had great service. During Covid, my husband had a cancerous kidney removed. We've both had follow-up checkups, and I have had physiotherapy. I also have sleep apnea and asthma because I am a pensioner. I do not have to pay for my inhaler, but if I did have pay, it would be £10.
The problem in the US is not that the health system is private. The real issue is that is extremelly expensive. There is clearly no competition in that market if the prices remain that high.
People ask why the price of medical care is confusing in America. ITS BECAUSE ITS DESIGNED TO BE CONFUSING. Things don't have like a consistent understood cost so hospitals can kind of charge us whatever and we are just tired enough that we either give off an exasperated sigh if we have the money for it or we just cry if we don't.
Like the huge price ranges listed by the American women in this video are that wide so that we don't exactly ever know what we are going to be charged for anything.
You got your wrong on private insurance in the UK. Private Medical Insurance in the UK is designed to complement the NHS, not replace it's services. Although the private sector can help you skip waiting lists and give you access to treatment not available on the NHS, private hospitals still rely on the NHS for primary and emergency care, such as A&E.
Hi, In The UK the NHS is not payed out of taxes, we pay national insurance for the NHS which is deducted out of your wages at the same time as the tax👌
This is such a problem🤯 like I wouldn’t feel safe without healthcare. Our politics is not the best but healthcare system is something we should be proud of. Unfortunately ppl don’t notice it and complain because they don’t know anything else.
Gosh it's times like this am proud to be British. Thank God for NHS ❤️. Am currently pregnant with my second child and am well looked after by our midwifes and doctors. I've never spent a penny on maternity care but in US you'll spend alot even before your baby is born.
The NHS is absolute garbage. Nearly 40% of cancer patients in the UK are waiting over two months for urgent treatment. There are over 6 million people in England waiting for surgery. The average ambulance wait time in the UK is 61 minutes. The NHS is utter trash.
Here in Italy, going to the hospital for a visit, or simply if you suddenly feel ill, is free and you don't have to pay for like the stay if it's night. But it is almost always difficult to make a reservation for a medical appointment, even for something serious, such as if you have an illness. Not so much because of making the appointment itself, but because of the waiting time which often goes beyond months or even years.
Ragazzi, ma ci rendiamo conto che il mondo considera questo stato (USA) un modello da seguire!? Il suo sistema giudiziario si basa praticamente sul giudizio popolare, esiste la pena di morte (cosa assolutamente barbara), il sistema scolastico fa pena ed è estremamente costoso. Per capirsi io sono una ragazza italiana e frequento un'università italiana PRIVATA che annualmente costa 5500€; mio padre fa il muratore e non siamo ricchi ma nonostante questo non si è indebitato per la mia istruzione. Per non parlare dell'argomento "sanità". Se te sei una persona non ricca ed hai una malattia grave sei praticamente condannato a morte.
The British girl is completely wrong about serious conditions and illnesses, a private hospital will just send you to the NHS as they are up to date with the latest procedures and do practice them regularly and so are much better for this than private hospitals. Private medicine in the UK is commonly used by US companies as their expatriate workers expect it and wealthier people who use it to jump the queue for minor procedures and elective surgery. Private hospitals tend to be more luxurious than NHS hospitals but aren’t very good at the more complex procedures.
I am an American. Let’s not forget how much we can pay per month just to have our insurance. Right now i pay 700$ a month for two adults and one child.. to still have to meet deductibles and pay co pays.. insane.
If you have insurance it is way cheaper. Just like you pay for your "free" treatments in your taxes in the UK, in the US we pay for it thru insurance premiums.
Our National Insurance payments are taken straight out of our wages so there's no risk of it running out and we don't need any proof we have it when we go for treatment! We also have the option of personal health insurance but it is just that, an option not the only system!
@@B-A-L it’s taken out of your wages. We take our insurance premiums out of our wages by our own will. So it’s pretty much the same except the government does it for you (whether you like it or not).
@@mschauki So your saying its a much better way then? Have you actually watched this video then? Also why don't you object to socialised fire service and policing?
@@B-A-L I didn’t say better or worse. It works. And it lacks in some aspects of it. Both yours and ours. In Canada people with serious problems can wait for years to be seen, and some people don’t make it. Here my insurance pays for my doctor’s visit and I’m seen promptly.
Exactly. And if you help your society by keeping them healthy, you're saving money in the long run. So the American way is just ridiculous however you look at it. 🤷♀️
This is funny to watch them talk about money! I was born in America and lived 2 years as a kid in Canada. I was a really sick child in and out of the hospital and on and off of medicine. Sometimes I was sick every other week. And in 1987 in Canada my parents both worked and to have half decent health insurance from both of their jobs for me their insurance cost them over $800.00 a month. Now in America right now I pay less then $20.00 a month for my health insurance. Four days ago I went to an urgent care walk in office for a bug bite and my co-pay was $15.00. Then when I went to the pharmacy to buy and pick up my creme prescription it only cost $11.00. It was really reasonably priced. But I prefer usually to take and to go to the natural market stores to buy vitamins and natural supplements. But the last few times I have gone to the doctors offices in the USA it has been really reasonably priced.
I'm on disability and thankfully have good insurance. Just today had a blood test. (apparently extremely rare one. Phlebotemist said in 15 years, he's never even needed the tube used for it.) It required pre-authorization from the insurance, or else it was $500.... for 1 tube of blood. In 2007 in Arizona, had an abdominal surgery using the da Vinci robot. Life-saving, but planned (non-emergency) surgery. Hospital billed $21k for operating room, $600 for anesthesia meds plus $6k for anesthesiologist, $8K surgeon. No idea what they billed for 6 hours in recovery, then 14 hours (overnight) in a room plus morphine drip. Thankfully my insurance covered everything except a $100 copay. The insurance only paid about $12k total, but if I didn't have insurance, I'd have been billed the huge prices, and they just don't care.
dad suffered 2 really severe brain hemorrhages within 2 years. he survived but is 100% disabled and receives the disability pension, in addition to the ordinary pension (is there such a form of pension in the USA?). On those 2 occasions he was hospitalized for a total of 5 and a half months (of which 2 and a half months in the neurological resuscitation ward), 3 months of physical rehabilitation and 2 months of rehabilitation to be able to speak (followed by a speech therapist) . Medical tests of all kinds, CT scans, MRIs, blood tests of various types, we called the ambulance so many times that I stopped counting them. We didn't pay a cent. Moreover, he has the right on a lifetime loan for use of a wheelchair, walkers and similar medical-health products, all without paying. He only paid for 2 specialist heart exams for around USD 70-80 each. Now I wonder how much we would have had to pay for all this if we had been in the US: no one gets it out of my head that just for the hospital and the whole bill would have exceeded $ 1.5 million.
I have insurance, but went to a non network ER for a Covid test. The bill was $4600.00. Insurance paid $600.00 and my husband’s FSA paid $4, 000. The cleaned out our FSA!
I had to get a PCR Covid test every week in order to visit my Mom in a nursing home here in Canada, so I have had to either go to a hospital or get tested by hospital staff at the home over 30 separate times, total cost - $0. People need to demand better in the USA.
@Karl with a K "demands are meaningless"... That's literally how people in Europe got free healthcare, 1 month+ vacation a year, paid maternity (and in some nations paternity) leave... Maybe they just tell you guys that demands are meaningless because it's convenient for the government that you believe it
I am an RN and work in a hospital. 3 yrs ago, I had to go to the ER 2 days in a row (was not admitted) to rule out an emergent issue. I received 3 separate bills for each day. 1 for the hospital and the imaging they did. 1 for the radiologist who read my imaging (medical group contracted by the hospital). And, lastly, 1 for the ER doctors who saw me (medical group contracted by the hospital). Overall, I had to pay $2,000 out of pocket. It took me months to pay it off. And I worked at that hospital!!! The costs are absolutely outrageous.
I would add 2 things here. First, it is NOT free. In Spain, we have the same situation, we pay it by the taxes. So, I would say it is included. But that also means that taxes are high. For example, an employer would pay close to twice what the employee receives. Second, insurances. Because they do business with insurances, the prices are usually inflated. That also happens with car insurances, for example. I saw examples in US where the bills are reduced by a lot when the patient says that doesn't have insurance.
I have read that a doctor worked out what a particular operation including diagnosing and stay in hospital would cost about £3500 (about $5000) and the equivalent procedure in US is about $10000 (about £7000)
You can’t compare pricing to US prices as everyone has different insurance. I choice a plan that’s cheaper per month but would require I pay more on my hospital bill. If I wanted to I could choice a more expensive plan that would cover 80% of all hospital expenses.
I live and work in NYC. I had appendicitis and had to have my appendix removed and stay in the hospital for 2 nights. Total bill was well over $60k for everything including the laparoscopic surgery but because I have insurance (as a majority of Americans do) my total out of pocket costs were around $4.5k in addition to what I already pay for my insurance. Luckily medical bills are not allowed to accrue interest and most bills can be paid in small increments over a long period of time or you can work out a specific payment plan. Also you can write off certain medical bills when doing your taxes, etc. Anyway, yes medical bills in the US are crazy but when you have insurance generally they are not as crazy compared to what you might pay out of your taxes for the British system. Obviously if you need a lot of continual medical care, a national tax-funded healthcare system is better but if you are of average health and are insured, you probably end up paying slightly less for healthcare compared to a national program. It’s very complicated and nuanced… but overall even here in the US we agree that we could do a lot better and that the system falls incredibly short for certain demographics. That said we also have a lot of great hospital systems and care because of that capitalistic system, but yes, it is messed up because you literally cannot control everything that happens to you. It’s kinda complicated, but everyone agrees that the costs quoted for things in the healthcare industry are criminally inflated.
I live in the UK. I've had appendicitis as well. I had complications and was in for 2 weeks. The total cost was free. I also has something more serious which put me in the ICU for 3 months. The drug I had to take was 16k a bottle and I had about 25 of them. The cost was still zero to me. We do pay for it in taxes but it's no way near. If you earn 2000 a month they would deduct 350 a month in taxes. But even taking that into account my taxes wouldn't go anyway near the cost of the medical treatment. There are some costs for drugs they prescribe to take at home but they are capped at about £10 an item regardless of the cost of the drug. And if it is a life saving drug such as insulin then I believe the price is free to the patients.
@@paulb414 I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It’s really upsetting when you have to drop everything and contend with health issues you can’t control. I’m glad that the NHS has worked well for you and not added insult to injury by leaving you with massive debt. Your story reminded me that I forgot to mention that here in the US, medical insurance also includes this thing call an “out of pocket maximum” meaning once you pay a certain amount in medical expenses in a given plan year, everything covered by your plan beyond that is covered in full by insurance. So for example I was only about $500 away from my “out of pocket maximum” for the year so after reaching that, every medical expense would have been covered by my insurance in full for the remainder of the year… which means that if you are chronically ill, at least once you meet that amount in out of pocket costs (on average around $4k) your insurance will cover the rest. This keeps most people from being completely financially wrecked by medical expenses. Also you can open specific savings accounts that save pre-tax dollars of your salary that you can use only on medical related expenses (FSA or HSA) essentially limiting the financial burden of medical bills. There is a lot of nuance and other things like deductibles and so forth but the system when operating as it is intended isn’t as horrible and scary as media reporting and the bills without context may seem. Don’t get me wrong, the US system is far from perfect and not inherently better than a NHS type system, but it is also not as bad as people will harp on if you are insured… which is more or less required by law or at least heavily pushed. Also the government does offer federally/state subsidized insurance plans (Medicaid and Medicare) but their coverage can be limited depending on the situation. As mentioned in the video though, usually your job will offer you a health insurance plan and cover a portion or entirety of the plan cost… but there are a plethora of plans ranging in price and coverage…. so it really just depends on each situation. Phew, sorry for the lecture but this is all just fresh in my mind because of my experience. I look at it this way, overall… I probably paid all together last year what I would have paid in taxes for national healthcare (broke even you could say)… that said, next year I expect, and hope, that my medical costs will be significantly lower… so it varies. That all said, living paycheck to paycheck in the US and not having insurance or having to pay for insurance without employer help can be extremely stressful especially if you have a medical emergency and that should REALLY not be the case in this country.
word 2. We don't pay crazy amounts of tax from our wages in the UK. First 12,570 0% tax 12,570 to 50,270 20% 50,271 to 150,000 40 % over 151000 45 %. As an example someone earning 80,000 would pay 0 % on 12,570, 20 % 7,540 (on 37,700) + 40% 11,891 (on 29,730) = 19,431 Tax. Or 24.29 % of 80,000. Without the additional cost of health insurance or co-pays.
It's WEALTHcare. IF you have Money enough to pay for a Mortgage, you can get treated! ...Maybe! They dance around the issue, shove you between several other "specialists", make you wait months for test results, make it seem like Your Fault if they didn't do Their Job in Reporting it you on time or if they gave you bad directions to go between several locations or if they gave you or bad meds. Malpractice is High and Hospitals have Lawyers against people who want Money back against Malpractice done against them. It's a Useless Evil System that exists to look like something is working. BOTH. Ethics are poor. Treatment and System are jokes. AND it's awful expensive. Expensive? For a Highly Likely False Hope? For the IMAGE and DREAM for Health? It's quite crazy!
In Spain 🇪🇦, and the most European Union 🇪🇺 countries is the same, healthcare is free through an elaborated tax system (even if you move from one member country to another), and I personally think it should be that way, it's a human right, it should not be only for rich people :/, I was really feeling sadness with Christina faces... when people question whether public healthcare can be good... the best healthcare systems in the world are public... Spain, for example, is among the best and I feel very proud for that, I wish everyone in the world to have access to a healthcare system if they need it :/ About how expensive it is in the USA, perhaps that a doctor earns soo soo much money has something to do with it as well...
I think it would be completely impossible for us to pay such insane ammounts of money for american healthcare. I mean, average salaries here in Spain are about 25,000 €/year and too many people gets lower than that. I myself have been unemployed in the last 14 years! It was worse in the old times. My deceased father could only earn 300,000 euros in ALL HIS LIFE !
@@BlackHoleSpain but that is a situational matter, that is only related to the cost of living in the country, it is adjusted in that sense and it does not mean that you are poorer for earnings less money here in comparison with USA for example, you earn less money but the cost of things is also cheaper. The issue is that depending on the salary of your country you shouldn't need to pay so much for health related things.
The thing is in Europe , specifically the EU the governments negotiate stuff and that is why also medication is waaay cheaper or even free. The tax system is I would say the main point in all of this. The "social part" as well as LAWS dont exist in the US as in other parts of the world, so they can do whatever they like and have prices like that. Also healthcare is treated as a business, well the entire US is just about business. They are the only industrialized country which doesnt have paid vacation and parental leave. That says a lot as well.
I've had private insurance, public insurance, and no insurance. The medical system in the US is insanely complicated. Just saying it's expensive is a gross simplification. I have a serious heart condition and the most I pay out of pocket is a couple of bucks of meds. There are systems in place in the US to help people with medical costs, and most health care providers will work with you on that front. Also it always annoys me when someone says their healthcare is free. Someone is paying for it weather that be you or your fellow tax payer.
The US citizens I know, like myself, would like universal healthcare. Even my brother a Republican and a doctor would prefer a universal system because it is impossible to treat patients when the billion dollar insurance industry declines almost every first request for treatment.
Speaking from fellow Americans I agree before, had no insurance but, as got older my parents was able to put me on County Care aka Gov. insurance or low income insurance. Not only that when they know your poor and go to nice doctors office or nice hospital I use to be mistreated due to my insurance almost like discrimination. Now since pandemic I dont get as mistreated cause they can be sued for this. Im in Illinois.
Healthcare in the US is straight up legalized extortion. And I mean the dictionary definition of extortion. In fact, in most countries it probably meets the legal definition for extortion as well. It is absolutely disgusting. And it's even more disgusting that there are people who are either brainwashed or selfish enough to defend it.
Everything in the US is extorsion lol, they all just want your money
What's more, in the USA, we don't even get the option to see what the price will be, or a rough ball park estimate. A few weeks later you get sticker shock. It's like, "$8,000 for a three hour emergency room visit".
Here here, too right
Brainwashed. Most of the fiercest defenders of the system are people with below-average income living in Red States, aka the people with the most to personally gain from changing the system. I was recently speaking to someone from Kansas who was bragging about how he saved so much money in taxes compared to people in the alleged tax hellhole known as California. I dug into the numbers and showed him, to his shock, that he would actually be paying LESS taxes in California than he is in Kansas (because he only made 40k per year and the lowest marginal tax rate in Cali is 1%, whereas in Kansas the lowest rate is 3.1%). He would actually save $600 per year in taxes by moving to California, if he could somehow work the same job and make the same money.
People with less than a highschool diploma vote Republican 2:1 (aka, the poorest people in the US). People with advanced college degrees (and the higher incomes that attend them) vote Democrat 2:1. And the Democrats are the party that favors more redistributive policies. The only states in the US that have attempted any degree of healthcare reform are Blue States.
One of the greatest political acts of legerdemain is how Republicans tricked rural, less educated voters into voting against their own economic interest. The book "What's the Matter With Kansas?" made that point really well, years ago, during the George W. Bush presidency. The trend has only gotten worse over time.
The right-wing spent several decades of the 20th Century in the US brainwashing a large segment of the population to vote against their own best interests while encouraging other illogical things at the same time such as bigotry and religious zealotry. They train people to think things like, "Do everything yourself or drop dead and get out of the way of everyone who dd succeed alone" and "I should never have to help anyone without a consequence free option to say no" especially if it's a religious zealot who wants to deem someone to be an "evil sinner" and therefore "unworthy" of help. There's a literally real and deep-rooted thread of "Why should I have to pay for someone else when they might be doing things of which I don't approve of in life?" among about 40 percent of the American population in the US.
I had a friend who literally went to another country for a relatively routine surgery because it was less expensive to do that than to have it done in America. That's insane.
Geez
If we're just going with anecdotes, I live near the Canadian border and our medical facility parking lots are constantly filled with Canadian number plates on cars of Canadians escaping their own socialized medical system.
You mean the US, Canada and Mexico are in America and North America and have good free (or almost) healthcare
Just like many Americans travel to Canada or Cuba to get MUCH CHEAPER medications.
Medical tourism.
I had breast cancer and chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, medications, follow up medical exams every six months, etc., all were completely free. Not only that, I was absent from work for a year and a half but I kept my job and I always received my salary on time without any kind of reduction. And when I got back to work I was entitled to three extra days off every month for three years! I'm from Italy.
You get paid for recovering after the hospital? And keep your job and salary? Be extra grateful that you were born in the EU. Usa isn't the best country in the world. Im sadly stuck in this country. Hopefully one day i get out of this hell hole.
@@Perseus5 nothing stopping you from leaving besides your laziness and stupidity. You’re just a pathetic coward.
Imagine wanting to be a victim so badly. You have issues, kid.
@@Perseus5 yeah, It's sick leave. You keep your job and salary for a year and you get 100% of your salary. After almost a year your salary get reduced (80 to 50%, sorry but I don't remember exactly) for almost another year. If the illness leaves you disable you can apply for what is known as "disabled pension" (invalidità in Italian) and get monthly according to the severity of your invalidity. Anyway, there are few different type of disability - according to the law, not to the medicine - that can give you the right to get a monthly payment.
This is a really rough description of how welfare works in Italy (but it is almost the same across EU and EEA countries).
Same happens in Brazil. I hope you're better and cancer free now.
@@Perseus5 even in what the USA consider to be third world countries...
I'm surprised they didn't mention being charged to hold your baby after birth. Charging for skin to skin contact is probably the most ridiculous thing ever.
Apparently, the justification for that is because there's supposed to be a nurse there supervising the whole time that the woman and her baby are bonding, I guess just to make sure that there isn't an unexpected medical emergency post-partum. Even if that's true -- especially if that's true -- it's just a great example of the nickel-and-diming culture in American healthcare. Nothing can ever just be included.
Ironic, because in other contexts of American culture, like restaurant dining, lots of things are included that aren't in other countries. It's strange that the same country produced "free refills" and "charging you to hold your newborn baby immediately after birth", but that's America.
Maybe it just speaks to the very different priorities that exist in the food service industry versus the healthcare industry. One wants to make you happy in the hopes that you'll come back someday, the other wants to suck you dry in case it's the only time they ever interact with you. Or in case you die, I guess...lol.
The most obscene charge! They charge you for holding your newborn baby! Absolutely disgusting! Only in America……..
Lauren did mention and Christina said it was true.
@@zoe2318
it shouldn't cost anything.
@@zoe2318 it just isn't. everything is needlessly expensive
I'm a GP and Neurology resident at Mexico, and a lot of US patients come to the country to have medical attention. Here an appointment is about $10 to $60 USD and LET ME TELL YOU: the medical attention being a lot more expensive on the US doesn't mean it's better.
I've had patients from the US who sought after second and third opinions because after months they haven't had a diagnosis being made and spent thousands of dollars in unnecessary tests, and here only with physical examination and a few tests and a fair priced treatment we resolved their problems.
Even patients here in Mexico with expensive treatments (like medication for Multiple Sclerosis which costs about $100k USD for a year) are given for free to the patients.
Having universal social security is a blessing.
Healthcare isn’t part of social security. You are also too ignorant to understand that anecdotes don’t establish patterns.
The quality of Mexico’s healthcare is exemplified by your ignorance.
Oh yeah, really expensive when a lot of time is not that great. I know there are doctors, and specialists that are leaving (here in PR) to the US, because they pay them more and it's sad...we'll be out of them. Also it's expensive here thanks to the US too, and our government.
Consider it a cautionary tale 😮 there's a lot of political groups popping up in countries outside America who want to do away with universal Healthcare or make it conditional. DONT LET THEM 👀☝️😭
I live in one of EU countries and I had abdominal operation this year, it was with full anesthesia and two surgeons were present because it was quite complicated, I was in the hospital for 5 days and was given strong drugs after the operation and lighter drugs other days and every day check ups, and nurses were always asking if I need something and how I was feeling. Also they did blood tests. It cost me NOTHING! The actual hospital bill was 71 EUR (31 EUR - operation, 40 EUR - hospital), but my work insurance covered that, but even if it didn't it was nothing. Also after that I went to the hospital 3 times for examination and surgeon did it for free as a mandatory check up after surgery. I can't understand how Americans live with such horrific medical bills.
P.S. sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my native language
Glad you’re all better now I know it’s crazy I actually really makes me sad how much property goes on in America just because They can’t afford it let alone the housing market atm as well
@COH it’s next to nothing bro I take it your not from the uk
@COH as if YOUR government doesn't do the same, but at least we don't need to pay for insurance 😄🤷♀️
temminka....aside for one or two simple mistakes, your English was immaculate. Bravo. Robert, UK.
@@2eleven48 thank you! I'm trying to improve my English but it's hard when you don't use it in everyday life 🙄 also English is my third language and sometimes my brain just don't want to cooperate with me 😂
It was really interesting talking with Hannah, Lauren and Callie about the prices of medical bills in the US and UK. It's still really shocking how expensive it is in the states 😅 Hope you guys enjoyed! -Christina 🇺🇸
I feel like U.S. Health care system are exclusively build for Government Worker and Official. Because everything literally free for us, but sadly not in the case for normal citizens.
Great video , Christina 😊
My medications that keeps me alive cost me $4250/month if I didn't have insurance. If I were to lose my job, I'd literally be a dead man from not having insurance.
@@MilSpecScout so sorry to hear that 😢 Happy you have insurance through your job. The price is way too steep
@@ChristinaDonnelly you are a very transparent person christina, you reflect everything you feel haha, it is very sad that many people do not want to go to the hospital even when they are sick because of how expensive it is, but all systems change over time, hopefully in the future anyone who needs it can go to the hospital
The whole discussion with how many people in the U.S. dont want an ambulance to pick them up is so crazy true. My great aunt was literally having a heart attack and decided to just drive herself to the hospital rather than calling 911. The people at the hospital told her to call an ambulance next time, but she was so against having to pay so much for just a ride to the hospital that is maybe a mile away. Depressing, really.
What hospitals do they overprice the bill because they know the insurance company will bargain down the price. So they over price so they actually get the money they want I wish they would have pointed that the difference between the sticker price and the actual price you pay. It is still expensive tho.
very true i remember getting really anxious because my mom said she might have to call the ambulence when i was having really bad heart problems, theyre so expensive.
@Karl with a K No I work in healthcare
Honestly, that's barbaric for a first world country.
@@lauragoreni3020 i completely agree.
Uk girls 🇬🇧: "Free"
Us girls 🇺🇲: "How is that possible ?"
France girls 🇫🇷 : Same for us. It's Free
Us girls : Them as well ?
The Other Western Europeans have as well
@@christophermichaelclarence6003
I've literally never spent a penny on anything medical in my life (I'm Welsh so no prescription charges, and haven't been to dentist or opticians since I turned 19). I've never earned enough while in education to have paid any taxes either: literally completely free!
As I understand it, the healthcare system in France, Germany etc. isn't 'socialised' in the same was as it is in the UK. There are lots of things you get billed for, obviously nowhere near to the extent of the US, and there are for-profit hospitals.
easy, don't spend a ridiculous amount of money in army equipment
@@Emmet_Moore You get the basic things free, if you need them, in Germany. Well, I never went to hospital, but if they say you have to stay, you don't have to pay for it neither, I think. If you chose it on your own, that's a different thing. 😄
In Spain 🇪🇦, and the most European Union countries is the same, healthcare is free through a tax system, and I personally think it should be that way, it's a human right, not only for rich people :/.
About how expensive it is in the USA, perhaps that a doctor earns more than 200-400 thousand dollars when the average salary there is 50 thousand dollars has something to do with it...
I feel like despite having some issues, having the NHS is so helpful. My grandpa and my dad both have diabetes and they get free prescription medicines, check ups etc. My dad was in hospital for about a month and everything was free for him. I'm not saying it's perfect but they're trying their best and it's a lot better than if we had to rely on private institutions for everything. Maybe some people will be able to afford the cost, but I know a lot of families, including ours, who can't.
Many Americans would gladly have a national healthcare system, but the right-wing in the US keeps it from happening as it would take away their control, power, money, and authority.
You could get rid of diabetes with the right diet
@@jwb52z9funnily enough the right wing in the UK is trying to cripple the NHS as much as possible, I wonder where the correlation is...
Medical bills in the US are crazy. My husband's spinal fusion cost was just under $500,000. Honestly if it wasn't for disability we never could have afforded it.
No insurance? I had 2 surgeries in 2022 the bill for one was $60000 and for the other one $49000. That is the cost and what the bill says but not even close to what I paid, if you have insurance of course. I actually ended paying $2500 for one and $3000 for the other one. One in Mount Sinai and the other at Bascom Palmer, number one eye clinic in the US and most likely the world. If I would have gone to a public hospital it would have been even less. So this is what keeps confusing people abroad about our system. Full of flaws but not as dramatic as people portray it. The hospitals in the US are like hotels compared to European facilities, which I also happen to know, since I lived in Europe for 25 years and had to have surgery twice. In the US you basically don't have to wait to have a surgery. In Spain I had to wait for more than 14 months to have it done. It of course was not life threatening situation, but my quality of life sucked big time during that waiting time period. In the US you also have programs that help the low income, you just have to check with your state, since that varies from state to state. Hospitals like Saint Jude do not charge any children for cancer treatment. So again it is a complicated and very burocratic system but not as bad as people abroad think it is. Every time I go back to Europe to visit friends and family they truly believe you don't get taken care off if you don't pay up front. Actually, it is illegal not to accept a patient, and we are the US (Suing capital of the world), so no hospital will dare to do something like that since you would be sued in a heart beat.
@@robertofernandez4455 no, they just drive you to bankruptcy and send sharks to threaten you if you don't pay. Yes that is so much better.
@@robertofernandez4455 Technically, a hospital ER must accept a patient that comes in with an emergency, but most of the things that are major causes of mortality and morbidity in the US are lifestyle disease and not "emergencies". If a patient is brought to an ER in a diabetic coma, they must be treated, but there's no guarantee they can access insulin to PREVENT the coma, in the first place (which is obviously much more beneficial to the patient's health outcomes).
This is what leads many people to be serial-users of emergency departments. They lack access to normal healthcare and they wind up coming into the hospital as a sort of alternative "primary healthcare" because they have nothing else. These hospital frequent fliers also rack up a lot of expenses while in the hospital, since an ER is the most expensive vehicle imaginable for delivering primary care, which drives up costs for all healthcare consumers in the US as a whole.
The US healthcare system treats by crisis and the US government governs by crisis. They both wait, in a state of indifferent neglect, until things are completely falling apart, and then they hastily rush to pick up the pieces and prevent total collapse at the last minute, barely averting catastrophe (if they even can).
There is a fearful symmetry to it all, I suppose.
@@StochasticUniverse There's a say in my country: "It's better to prevent than remedy". I would complement with cheaper also.
@@robertofernandez4455 But how much do you pay for that insurance? Isn't that the point?
Nice to see the team black shirt British accent 🇬🇧( Hanah and Lauren ) and the team white shirt 🇺🇲 ( Christina and Callie )
Ce mission
I
The British women's accents sound more transatlantic, a mixture of English and American. Except the British girl on the end, her accent sounds even less British than the blonde. Neither of them sound properly British.
Lauren and Hannah should've also told em that in UK, after giving birth, the NHS give the mother like £800 after their first child
Also in the uk pregnant women get 39 weeks of paid leave and in the USA they get non
Sounds like socialism. lol
@@jalicea1650 hahaha
@@jalicea1650 Americans would be shocked by Sweden’s welfare state and policies
@@johnpark7972 same for Dutch. US citizens would be shocked to learn about it.
The US healthcare costs is disgusting!
It's probably because of their policy who focusing on business.
Healthcare costs the same around the world, it's just a question of who pays for it. In socialist countries like in Europe, the government pays the bills and taxes you for it. In the US, the insurance companies pay. Some people choose not to buy insurance, and then THEY have to pay... but that is because they chose not to buy any insurance.
EU taxes are disgusting
tax the rich
@@biggpete100 A single payer system has massive leverage, with drug prices and equipment. Why insulin is pennies for them, and thousands in the states.
I think the craziest thing about all this - is that the US government's public healthcare expenditure **per person** (i.e. spending via people's taxes) is higher than the UK. When you consider that the UK generally has better health outcomes than the US, you unfortunately realise that the US has a system that is more expensive, not universal, and objectively worse (for the population)
When people's health is a COST for a country, the country itself tries to make their population healthier, in order to avoid expenses. When people's health is a PROFIT for some people, said people push the government to approve laws that make the population sick, in order to profit from it.
Most health care advancements come out of the US
@@gizdonk ... even if that was true, it isn't translating into better health outcomes for the US population.
@@gizdonk what is the point of advanced medical technologies if majority of the citizens would never use it? Oh, wait. The rich will use it, I forget.
@@1789Henrique yes! It's actually a multiple of what it costs per person in the UK. We have a totally broken system where the billing gets split up among as many categories and providers as possible (rather than the usual business model of subcontracting) so that the patient has to make multiple co-pays. We have been focusing on insurance as the bad guys for several decades now, but I think the real culprits are actually the service providers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers. I don't mean your friendly family doctor in their small practice either, it's more like hospitals with a bunch of administrators making (high) six and seven figure salaries and the fact that since OBVIOUSLY they cannot collect from many emergency room patients, they try to get as much as possible from the insured and those who can afford to pay. Specialists are outrageously expensive as well.
Keep in mind, when we have insurance through our employer, we still have to pay for that as well! I think I'm fairly lucky (Stockholm syndrome?) in that I pay about $210 per month as a single person (but also have $50 co-pays for specialists), my coworker with a family has to pay almost $800 per month. And we also have what's called a "deductible" where the insurance doesn't pay for most things until we have spent $1500 and $3000 respectively.
Something else that will be of interest to non-Americans, is that since we have to pay all this money for health care, no prices of anything at all are advertised and you don't find out what anything costs til after the procedures are done. Sometimes they make you pay as you're leaving, but usually it's just the deductible and then you get a massive bill in the mail.
I live in the UK and have private medical cover through work. If I need a hospital stay and choose to go NHS, the insurer actually pays me per night for staying NHS instead of private as it cheaper for them than paying for a private hospital stay. This is no joke.
1) Have private medical coverage through work that pays you to go to NHS hospital
2) Get a job where you can work remotely
3) Contract chronic disease that requires you to spend lots of time in the hospital, but not so bad that you can't still remote work
4) Profit
I would love to see other countries telling us about their hospitals and medicine 🇩🇪🇪🇦🇳🇿🇨🇦🇭🇲
Hey you didn't mention my country as well 🇫🇷. Watch my comment
Most other countries are like the UK so wouldn't be that different tbh.
Well Germany 🇩🇪 invented the national health insurance under Bismarck in the 1880s and its still in effect ever since. The UK system is not very different form ours
In India, I got COVID and I was on medication for a month. And cost of all the test, and medicine was under 70 dollars from a private hospital.
In government hospital it's free in some states
Canada: Free
I live in NY and the bill to deliver my son was around $35,000. Completely basic pregnancy, fairly quick delivery we stayed in the hospital for a total of 3 days. My insurance covered that but I still had to pay a $200 copay. Plus a $40 copay at each obgny appt leading up to giving birth and $50 for prints of the sonograms and that was a monthly occurrence.
😮
This is also what happened with my older sister after she was born in 1982, the hospital charged my parents $10,000 USD in which in today's money is about $32,621.35 USD. My parents can't even afford to pay that amount because we were very poor, and fortunately my grandparents help out pay the medical bill because my dad's family were loaded, and they really loved my mom, especially my late grandmother. That's how heartless the U.S. healthcare is, and it's considered one of the worse in the world, and it contributes to rising poverty to homeless problems.😥
"Everything cost money in the US 🇺🇲" oh Christina 😂
That's true , and people even don't go to the hospital too much because of that 🤧😷🤒
@@luzineteoliveira4951 Then move to Europe 🇪🇺 then.
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 It's really not that easy. I'm European so I agree but also, I'm sure lots of Americans want to move but simply just can't because of several reasons.
@@thespankmyfrank Instead if spending money on healthcare use it to move to europe
The ICU in the USA depending on what's wrong with you can cost up to $100,000 per 24 hour day
I'm so glad health care is free in the UK. I'm gonna be moving to London next month and this was a huge concern for me.
There are a few rules for non-Brits. Usually have to pay a yearly fee.
@@ladywhistledown9616 Thank you for the heads up. I'll look into that.
@@nepd89 look up nhs visa surcharge, the cost varies depending what visa you’re applying for
@@johnleonard9090 Thanks. I have a skilled workers visa. I'll check into that before I travel.
@@nepd89 Once you're here, I hope you get settled. And please, if you're sick or need an ambulance, do not hesitate to get one. Your health is important and you will not be charged a single penny for seeing your local doctor. We are not barbaric! Have an amazing time in the UK :)
Christina, it’s not just based on state - even residents of Mass will pay different rates based on the plans the employer chooses to offer from the agent the employer chooses to utilize.
And also the plan the individual person uses. I live in Massachusetts and my employer offers me something like 6 or 7 different plans from 3 different insurers, each with slightly different coverage (different things are in-network or out-of-network), different co-pay, deductible, etc.
Same in Pennsylvania with my employer. I choice how much I want to spend per month on healthcare.
One thing they didn’t talk about is getting braces. I’m pretty sure it costs thousands for it in the US, while in the UK braces are free for people under 18. My dentist referred me to an orthodontist and the process was really easy. And because it’s free almost every one in my friend group at school had braces at one point :)
$6k for braces and $3k for invisalign....
Right, in Sweden it's free for anyone under 20 years of age. That means that as long as your first appointment is prior to you turning 20, the whole process is free no matter how long or complicated it becomes. I had to have five teeth removed and even though my non specialist dentist performed those procedures (over several visits), it was still free as it was a part of my specialist dentists plan.
Not free at all. People from the UK are so uneducated that they don’t understand how they’re paying for it.
@@onewomanarmy6451 It's been changed to 23
Even with dental insurance it cost $2000 for each child's braces.
I broke my back when I was 20 years of age. I was treated for two years - I won't bore you with the details - and a back specialist from America was consulted, somewhere along the line.
For all the hospital time; medication; the operation; walking aids, spinal corsets; physio, blah, blah, blah it cost £0.
I am 56 and have never had a problem since. I'm backpacking along The Coast to Coast next month. God bless the NHS!
Nearly 40% of cancer patients in the UK fail to receive urgent treatment within two months due to long wait times.
Over 6 million people in England alone are waiting *years* for surgery.
Ambulance wait times in the UK are now over an hour on average.
The NHS is abject garbage.
@@fatherson5907 We are living in an unusual time, vis- a-vis Covid and waiting times for everything has rocketed. It will take a long time to get back to normal. However, life-threatening ailments are being prioritised.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer, after a routine mammogram. From mammogram to operation took 5 weeks. I start radiotherapy at the end of this month and will be on medication for 5 years - Tamoxifen.
I won't have to pay a penny. Even the medication is free and will be delivered, by Royal Mail, to my door.
I don't even have to pay for the hospital car park.
The target, from diagnosis to treatment is 31 days and 90% of people hit that target. The other 10% very soon after. Heart problems are also treated quickly.
As for everything else, the best idea is to stop voting Tory!
@@graceygrumble and now that your lies have been exposed, you run away. Typical coward from the UK.
It’s crazy listening to this, especially the birthing part towards the end, we had all of our 3 children at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge, the facilities are world class, even private rooms for water births, with music and mood lights.
We spent more than two weeks at the main unit with our third child because of complications.
The total cost for the hospital was £0, but the parking charges were atrocious.
With UHC
It’s a case of get a bill, or never get a bill.
It’s not evil government communism guys, it’s common sense, you don’t go bankrupt and get treated like a human being, instead of a cash machine, and
You get the luxury of complaining about parking lot fees, instead of losing your house.
It’s funny how ignorant you lot are.
I lived in the UK for years, and the NHS is absolute garbage. You’re so ignorant that you think you’re getting it for “free” 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Over 40% of cancer patients in the UK are waiting over two months for urgent treatment. Over 6 million in England alone are waiting years for surgery.
You have higher average household debt than the US, so stop with the lies about debt.
The NHS is third world garbage. Justice for Indi Gregory.
Living in the US (when I was much younger, so let's say 15 years ago) and making less than $20k a year meant that when my ex got pneumonia we qualified to go to a "charity" hospital. We had to wait in the waiting room for 8 hours to see the doctor, another 3 hours to get an xray and even though it was a charity hospital, we still ended up having to pay $2,000.
In the Uk, you wouldn’t have even gotten to see the doctor. You would have been waiting until you die
The UK NHS is third world garbage, just like the people it serves.
that's a lot of money!!
Went to the ER for a kidney stone once. Got a couple tests to verify it was what I already knew it was, got some pain meds, and was sent home early the next morning. The bill was over $12,000. Fortunately, I had just gotten insurance the month before thanks to the ACA (Obamacare) because my job didn't offer insurance and I had pre-existing conditions that allowed insurance companies to turn me down before the ACA went into effect.
In Brazil we also have a free system, just as it seems to be in the UK. We call it "SUS", the unified health system, which is also universal, that is, no matter who or where you are from, Brazilian or not, you will be attended for free
No such thing as free healthcare. Money doesn’t fall from the sky.
Go back to your favela and drink dirty rain water.
Most Brazilian upper middle-class families, however, do not use SUS and pay for private health insurance while also paying for SUS through their taxes. The basic reason is that the quality of service at SUS is very bad, waiting times are prohibitively long, and health outcomes following SUS treatment for serious conditions are poor (if you can get any treatment at all).
My dad had to be operated to remove a malignant tumor from his left lung. He had surgery at Hospital Sírio-LIbanês in São Paulo, which is probably one of the two best hospitals in Brazil along with Hospital Albert Einstein, also in São Paulo. His private health insurance covered the hospital costs, but he still had to pay about 50,000 Brazilian reais for the medical team. And private health insurance that gives you access to hospitals like Sírio or Einstein typically costs over 5,000 Brazilian reais/month.
I feel like Brazil is now actually pretty much like the US where people literally go bankrupt to pay for healthcare.
It's definitely not "just per night" here in the U.S. it depends on your treatments. For example IV meds & depending on which ones, van be thousands by itself ON TOP of your stay. We lost our home to medical debt. Literally just ONE of our bills was over $38,000. In a short amount of time with heavy medical problems, we accumulated almost $400,000 of medical debt. It was really bad & took us a while to get back on our feet but we definitely lost our home.
Specialty doctor visits cost more so without insurance can cost up to $900 for us. Thankfully we have insurance but the sad thing is, why are we paying for insurance when it's not all the same & they won't even cover everything?... even our co-pays add up, the deductibles & out of pocket max are ridiculous, & the whole thing is just ridiculous. I was literally just in the hospital this week & for a few days, it's like $60,000 but thankfully I have insurance but still. I'm a high risk pregnancy & had major issues so I was in (again) for that. I know too much about all this medical stuff having bad health we can't control unless someone comes up with cures tomorrow. 😭 my best friend married a guy from the UK & had her baby. Easy. No fuss. Everything taken care of. Meanwhile I'm pregnant & getting bills up the butt. It just never stops. America is called corporate America for a reason. Our lives have been turned into a business & that's the truth. We don't mean anything, just our lives mean something in terms of making money off of it. Insurance is 1 prime example. There are people turned away for their health because they can't afford it or "don't meet certain credentials". If you want care, you pay. Oh you're dying? Well do you have money for treatment? No? Oh well, I guess bye then! There are SOME assistance programs but many don't all work the same & they're not 100%. They still make you pay for something unless you're already at rock bottom Poverty level & HAVE to get rid of your bills.
That system is a downright joke. Sorry for saying that. I'm from Brazil, a third world country in South America. My family and i we don't have any insurance. My cousin fractured his arm playing soccer. They called the ambulance that took him to the emergency and he even needed a surgery. All that costed R$0,00 to him and to his family. And that was in a public hospital.
@@BrunoGomes-ne9eo your comment is not offensive or anything whatsoever so don't even worry about it. It 100% is a joke & it's nice to hear about experiences in other countries. I'm familiar with Brazil & have been wanting to go there actually. Lol. But that's why America's called "corporate America". It's all about business & making money off of you in some way no matter how detrimental it is to another person. The system is, & has been broken in many ways & for many years. America is supposed to be "so great" but yet they struggle to jump on taking care of their people in any way they can no matter what. They'll jump on it only if it means big money for them in the end. Is that ALWAYS the case? No, there are some genuinely good people willing to help but the problem is, they have zero control over this system to do large things even if they wanted to because the system doesn't allow it. It's incredibly frustrating. Losing everything we had to medical debt the year we got married, was traumatizing.
@@Jennybelle1990 Yeah, i can imagine it. I've heard stories of Americans married to Brazilians who came to Brazil to seek treatment without going broke. Lot's of Brazilians keep on paying insurance though they live in the US. It's nice that you like Brazil, my country is always open for everybody =)
Me and my brother we also had fractured our arm when we were little and the only thing our parents had to pay was one medicine that they had to buy in a drugstore and it wasn't even expensive. Cases like this happen all the time here. We have private hospitals here, but since my family is a middle class one we can't afford to go to any, but fortunately our universal healthcare have worked well for us. Of course it isn't perfect cuz perfection is non-existent, but i know that if anytime i need treatment i won't be billed with a crazy expensive cost. My grandma battled against lung cancer and stayed 15 days hospitalized cuz she discovered it in a complicated stage. She didn't pay one penny. Anyway, you guys deserve something better.
In my opinion you US Americans make three huge financial mistakes:
01. Student Loans
02. Medical Bills
03. Mortgages/Housing Loans
You're basically accumulating debt all your life to be debt-free when you retire. It makes more sense when you accumulate your assets first and then buy what you can afford - thus spending less than you earn. Yet your financial stability is shattered by your messed-up healthcare system and your initiated to the debt culture through student loans.
It might be an eye-opener for you if you watch youtube videos about European healthcare systems - but you have to do it with an open mind. Don't believe the propaganda about "socialized healthcare". We rather call it "universal healthcare" where you pay upfront, deducted from your gross income. It is not free but I daresay we have more in our pocket in the end than you. While it may seem that we earn less han you keep in mind that we have paid our taxes + social security beforehand.
We are financially stable and we're generally happy with our healthcare system. It''s reliable, after all. It's a pain to see that you can be ruined by medical bills, that you can be evicted from your home within three days' time and that there are so many homeless people in your country. This is a shame for any so-called "civilized country".
You should save up for a one-week vacation to Europe. It would blow your mind. If you speak only English choose the UK but I'm pretty sure the Dutch or Germans would be happy to help out, too. Younger people speak pretty good English. When you're here go to a pharmacy and get yourself some Aspirin and see what you pay. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be more than 5 to 1 Euros (that's our usual co-pay in Germany.)
Please watch the reaction videos of British citizens on TH-cam about the cost of US healthcare - their facial expressions are priceless...!
@@indiecarmayne correction... "you U.S. Americans"... yeah that's not OUR fault. Tell that to our government that doesn't care & only cares for money & how to profit off of their citizens... I'm fully aware of the flaws & if anything there's more than 3.
We don’t pay the hospital bills basically. we fill out a bunch of forms to help lower costs because our incomes not high enough etc. and then we ignore the debt collectors phone calls. Although if you don’t have insurance many hospitals won’t even see you or will make you wait for hours even if you have a serious issue. I went with a work injury where I had my forearm and wrist sliced open by glass shattering on the line in front of me due to faulty equipment. Not only did my job try to not allow me to have workers compensation the hospital even with my insurance had me sit for 2 hours before seeing me. I had to hold my arm above my head for like an hour and a towel I had wrapped around it at work. And I was just like “eh this is normal.”
My grandmother was always sick in and out every year pretty sure her bills hit over 10 million so she just claimed bankruptcy and defaulted on the payments.
5 years ago I fell off a ladder, broke my arm and dislocated my elbow. I went to hospital had x-rays then had to be sedated to have my elbow put back in place. The next morning I was first in theatre at 9am, I had 9 screws and metal plate put in my arm. The next day I was allowed to go home. Didn't cost me a penny at the point of service, I wonder how much it was have cost me if I was in the US. Thank you NHS
100,000 at least. If you're lucky and have good insurance (which can be anywhere from 400-1200/MO in my experience), they would pay 80% once you've met your deductible (between 5-10k you must pay before their portion kicks in). It's a total racket!
As a UK resident with a serious medical condition the NHS is absolutely brilliant and I have never had an issue with my care, I have an Incomplete C4 to T2 Spinal Injury and am Type 2 Diabetic.
The NHS is third world garbage.
Over 40% of cancer patients in the UK fail to receive urgent treatment within two months due to long wait times.
The only time I got sick in the U.S., which was in the '80s, was probably the flu because it came on so fast. I was in the emergency room of a hospital and it didn't cost anything at first, but at some point a bill for 50 dollars came to Europe. That was actually fair, but as a European, I had travel health insurance, of course, and so that paid for it.
My father ended up in the ER and he had to pay 25k for a one night stay because of a hernia in his stomach. It pisses me off because we pay for insurance on a monthly basis. Then we have a copay before we are seen. Then we have to pay a certain percentage on certain test like x-rays may only be covered at 60%. Not to mention meds. Then to add insult to injury, they don’t tell you how much your meds are until you are at the window.
The British health service, unemployment benefits, child benefits and pension is all funded by a tax called national insurance.
Income tax is a different tax. 😉
Isn't that socialism? Can you imagine America going socialist like the UK?
LoL I know nothing but I'm an American and have lived/visited as much as I can. I agree with European countries (edit) On health Care. only thing ruining it is America and China. And sad to say neither governments care about their people as much as ....
@@jalicea1650 That's part of the propaganda lies of the right-wing in the US. Socialized medicine is NOT "Socialism". The UK is a capitalist nation much like most first world nations are to some extent. Most Americans don't actually know what real "classical Socialsm" is, but they're brainwashed to hear the word and think "evil".
@@jalicea1650 Nah, it's called common sense. Even Switzerland which has a full private healthcare system take care for free of people who can't afford it. And they even have standardized bills...
@@jalicea1650 yeah it would be great for them.
Clinics in Israel are covered by national insurance that you pay a certain amount every month, and consultations are either free or about the equivalent of $10. Private hospitals are between $300 and $5000 approximately (depending on the procedure).
The us funds Israel's free medical care
I'm shocked. Ican't imagine having to pay so much money just to go to the hospital. In my country you can get anything health related for free, even things like medicine, surgery and therapy. Of course, there's also the option of going to a private hospital, but even private health care is not that expansive in my country. Also, our medical files are registered in the public healthcare database, so even if we go to another doctor in another state the doctor will have access to all of our medical files, reports etc.
For me, a few months ago, i had a doctor visit because i was having serious pain in my lower right abdomen and i made a doctor visit to rule out appendicitis. The visit and the total checkup time was like 15-20 minutes but i waited 45 minutes to get in. I ended up paying like around $200 dollars for the doctor to push around my abdomen, take my vitals, and ask a few questions. For me, i would rather have health insurance taken out of taxes based on income and tax brackets then have to find outside health insurance or rely on you employer. The coverage could vary so much and trying to find a place that takes your insurance. i would rather have the health coverage system the uk has here in the us.
It won't happen the insurance companies are making Billions of $ every year and they won't give that up without a fight
I got billed $700, in full - without the insurance pay, because I agreed to talk with a doctor who never even showed up. On top of that there are so many other costs and I was there for maybe 3 hours and they really do add unnecessary things, like once they have a blood or urine sample, they can run so many tests that are unrelated to what you’re there for and you can’t do anything about it.
Most of the UK private health care is done with nhs equipment and staff. the main difference is the wait time... and perhaps the food (although I have never had to complain).
Hit my head and passed out, woke up 3 days later in the hospital and $32K poorer. Great thing to have starting out in life at 20 years old. this was in 1998 btw.
That “marry a man from the UK” bit absolutely got me. Legitimately replied out loud: “Find me one, they’re rare here!” 🤣 Dang it!
I don't live in the US but I do live in a country where healthcare also isn't free, called Ireland. So I can relate to not having free healthcare. My parents once had a hospital bill for me that costed them €180 after I had fractured my foot, had an x-ray done and received a cast. I also know a girl who went to the same secondary school as me who had surgery done on her leg due to an injury that she picked up from playing sports. The surgery bill costed more than €10,000.
Edit: Although to be fair, pregnancy is actually free in Ireland whilst it's crazy expensive in the US. What a win for Ireland.
No healthcare is free anywhere, ever. Only ignorant people believe that nonsense.
This is the biggest reason for me why I'll not (basically never at this point) consider moving to the US. While many people in my country have this stereotype that achieving the 'American Dream' is easy, they just don't know how much the system works against new immigrants, POCs and minorities. Where I live in (not my home country) has a system that works really similarly to the NHS, and we do have the option for private practicing doctors too, except that each hospital visits are about 12 USD per day and waiting hours are hell but anything better than going to debt for caring about my health.
There is a lot of misunderstanding on the subject and a lot of lies and political agendas. Almost everybody that has a full time job here has insurance covered by the employer. I've never had to pay a penny for medical insurance, neither have my parents and neither did my grandparents (who are already dead and they didn't not contribute a penny, because they never worked in the US) There are people who risk not having insurance needlessly because if they really could not afor it it will be covered by the government. Don't believe the lies.
@@guayabito6946 well theres a girl from the US in the comments that told her experience about the medical depts and all of it, and it seems very expensive
@@Sebas_M_Kinoman She is just telling you 10% of the truth. If people really paid those expenses out of pocket you would see Americans rioting in the streets. Not even insurance agencies pay that because they have arrangements with hospitals and pay just a small fraction of that money. That is the price if you go without insurance, however, even if this happens the hospital can pardon your debt or a big amount of it. I have a cousin who just arrived in the US and had no insurance, she went to the hospital and got a bill of 10K, after negotiating with them they pardoned most of it.
Well, for me the biggest reason is the lack of vacation days. In Europe, you can easily get until 10 weeks per year in some countries.
@@Misterjingle Why do you think that is? that is their solution to high unemployment!!!
The ongoing cost for conditions like diabetes and asthma must be frightening. I have heard stories of people rationing their insulin...actually risking their lives because of the cost. Is this true? In New Zealand I pay a $5 prescription fee and that covers that medication entirely for 3 months. My son had childhood leukemia and all medication, tests, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hospital aways were completely free. Blessed to live in a country with funded medical care
I know your comment is now a month old, but I wanted to replay since no one else did yet. Yes, poor uninsured Americans do often have to decide between food, rent/mortgage, medicine, and heating/air conditioning, depending on the time of year and area of the US you live in now. The right-wing in the US spent several decades of the 20th century brainwashing a significant amount of the population to be against their own best interests while encouraging other illogical things like religious zealotry and bigotry. They are trained to think things like, I kid you not, "Taxes are evil and theft", "Do everything yourself or drop dead and get out of the way of everyone who did succeed alone" and "I shouldn't have to help anyone without a consequence free option to say no on a case by case basis". This is especially true if a religious zealot wants to deem someone to be an "evil sinner' which, in this mindset, makes them "unworthy" of help.
Yes just true. And pharma lobby politicians so they allow them to charge 300$ per vial when its only a few dollars in Canada. Truly fvcked up
$1500 per night? You're kidding girl.😂
In Malaysia,accessibility to government hospital is high. Staying in hospital for a night would cost you $2.3 maybe (rm10 and lower).
Last time my mom admitted to hospital for 4/5 days and did a minor surgery to remove a tumor, it costs only RM40? ($9.50)
As a developing country, our healthcare is quite integrated and accessible to public though
yea right
the US is the worst when it comes to the industrialized world...but even some developing countries are way ahead of the US when it comes to universal healthcare.
Thats why people call the US these days a 3rd world country with a Gucci belt
Nobody really pays for that, everybody here has insurance.
@@guayabito6946 Really? Then what about a girl in the comments here whose family lost the house to medical debt? And hundreds of thousands people like that? And tons of people who don't actually have insurance. And people who refuse to call 911 because they're afraid of ambulance cost? If everybody has insurance are they nobodies then? Are you ok with them just dying?
@@adrammelech6323 She probably did not have insurance. You are not obligated to have it.
SO healthcare costs in Denmark: visiting your GP:0$, visiting the ER:0$, getting medicine:cost of the medicine (and you can request the cheapest one) once you hit a certain limit you get chronic deduction which reduces the cost of medicine... i had to pay 140$ for the first starting dosis of a drug called ozempic (type2 diabetic medicine) which lasts about a month... next time i have to buy the coming months dosis it will cost me around 70$ until eventually it will be nearly free.
All this isnt 100% free mind you... i pay around 40% tax (state tax, municipality tax and church tax combined).
The only real cost of GP visits is when you need a bill stating you have been sick (for when you have had to have sick leave), but since its usually requested by the employer they have to foot the bill (which is around 40$ or so)
"Church tax"? That's a new one for me.
As an atheist, I would raaaage if I had to pay a tax to support the church. Isn't Denmark pretty unreligious? Why do people still put up with that, unless it's just because people are mesmerized by all the taxes and it's just one line-item that sneaks by in the crowd?
@Karl with a K I had a health plan where the co-pay for an office visit was $20 as recently as 2019. While previously unemployed, circa 2012, I also had a state subsidized insurance where almost everything was free (MassHealth, which is the Massachusetts flavor of Medicaid). I had fallen and fucked up my right hand and had to receive a bunch of occupational therapy to get my thumb working again. Over the course of a dozen visits for therapy, I paid a net $0. However, I did have to pay $3.65 for prescriptions (one cent for every day of the year? Weird amount, lol) and I was limited to only generic drugs, which was fine because what I needed was readily available in generic form.
It's hard for anyone living outside the US, to fathom how a person could become medically bankrupt simply through a misfortune that they had no control over.
I think paying extra tax or a small levy on you income to ensure that you are covered medically, is well worth the peace of mind.
It's hard to see this happening in the US because there whole way of living, is ALL about the 'individual' .. a me, me, me attitude. They have little concern with their fellow members of society.
It’s funny to see how ignorant the people in the Uk and Europe are. We laugh at your pathetic NHS, making nearly 40% of cancer patients wait more than two months for surgery 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
And average household debt is 70% higher in the UK than the UK, so spare is your bankruptcy lie.
Unfortunately, the right-wing spent several decades of the 20th century in the US brainwashing people to be against their own best interests. "Taxes are evil and theft" is just one small part of the brainwashing ideas that were used.
Here in Brazil, it's free for us to go to the hospital because the money we would pay to the hospital we pay into the taxes. But when COVID appeared some places of my state which is São Paulo (southwest of Brazil) people were asking R$100,00 to test if we were or not infected. But at the Basic Health Unity it's for free.
São Paulo is in the southeast (rather than southwest) of Brazil.
The US medical industry such as health insurance, hospitalizations, prescriptions & doctor's appointments have become very commercialized to where the working/ lower class people can't afford paying for any type of healthcare.
And the politicians advocate more for the high interest medical groups thus them receiving some type of perks/ kickback money for supporting them & their lobbyist.
It's gotten to the point where a person would have to eventually have to file for "bankruptcy" to pay for outstanding medical bills now days.
In terms of Government spending, US spends 24% on Health insurance (medicare etc) while the UK spends 18% of the budget on NHS. The 6% difference is spent on UK Social Welfare.
So the argument that Social Healthcare in USA would lead to higher taxes, can be considered incorrect.
Issue is the Health INDUSTRY in the US will lobby $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ any attempt to do so and spread the fear of taxes to the general population
Blatant lies. The US would need to raise taxes by $5-10T per year to implement expanded universal healthcare (elderly and disabled already receive UHC).
The NHS is laughable garbage. Stop trying to push your failed, third world junk on us.
I had to get my appendix out here in the US and insurance covered it but the bill before insurance came to $40,000 for the tests for diagnosis, 1 night in the hospital, the surgery itself, and the anesthesia.
Damn, that's insane. Over here that's totally free, and i was complaining about needing to pay for a parking ticket at the hospital.
Hello everyone~ Hannah here! 🇬🇧 I had a really interesting time talking with everyone about the difference in medical bills! ☺ It made me very proud of our NHS hehe Hope everyone is staying happy and healthy! Take care 😘
1:44 you reaction about the "expensive" thing was pretty funny and relatable , i totally agree with you 😂🥰
The overall American attitude to social healthcare is simply beyond belief. How the hell do Americans put up with this?
They have been led to believe its all communist or something.
More and more of us are waking up to the reality that universal healthcare would be best. Hopefully that number is going to be high enough to make a difference one day
@@Canuckplumber83 . There is also a total misconception on the subject of social housing. Social housing is huge in the UK and many parts of Europe.
You have no clue what you’re talking about. People from the UK are so ignorant.
@@kylep3514 Stupid. Many people are scared of socialism.
I’m American (from Texas), now living on a spousal visa in Scotland since 2021. I have a medical condition which has caused me more than 30 hospital stays and several ambulance rides over the last 10 years. The costs of those stays became so overwhelming, I just quit opening the medical bills. I do, however, recall one statement for a 4-day hospital stay (in 2011) being nearly $50k. The average cost of an ambulance ride is $3k-$4k. It’s also customary in the US for patients without medical insurance to be visited by a financial advisor before being released from the hospital. Just recently, I had to be hospitalised in Scotland. Let me just say, the experience was mind blowing, and I mean that in a good way! I couldn’t believe there was absolutely no out-of-pocket expense, and the care I got was really great! I hope I never have to live in the US again!
I would never move to US even for a 1M$
So you’re mooching off of the UK taxpayer.
No such thing as free healthcare. Other people are being forced to pay your bill.
You’re selfish.
@@Taketheredpill891reat, please tell all of your fellow countrymen. We don’t want you peasants here.
And enjoy Putin. You’re next 🤣🤣🤣
I'm from England and I have to say we are probably nowhere near as patriotic or as proud of our country compared to many parts of the world- but we love our NHS!
It has saved my life and the lives of many people I know and because it comes out of our taxes- it feels free! It also doesn't feel to me like the most excessive drain on my monthly pay, either. In fact for those who don't pay tax for legitimate reasons (e.g. children) it is free! It is so popular here that any politician who promotes private healthcare over the NHS (even if they use it) is pretty much guaranteeing political suicide/not getting public support. I saw a TH-cam video that compared UK tax costs for healthcare compared to the rest of the world/United States and it still works out much cheaper than many economically developed countries! It's arguably one of the best things about being British!
The NHS is third world garbage.
Over 40% of cancer patients in the Uk fail to receive urgent treatment within two months due to long wait times.
Over 6 million in England alone are waiting years for surgery.
Average ambulance wait time in the UK for ambulance is over 60 minutes.
Nurses are paid so poorly in the UK that many have resorted to visiting food banks 🤣🤣🤣
@@fatherson5907 Those are problems within the NHS- not with the NHS as a system. I'm sorry if you've suffered because of the reasons you have listed but that's because the system has become too big and bloated in it's infrastructure combined with a lack of proper care and funding that has gone into it. Each one of those problems is due to a terrible government that has failed the NHS, not the NHS system failing the general populace.
I don't know your situation. Maybe you go private- in which case, not everyone can afford to do what you do, and does nothing to negate the importance of the NHS. Maybe you do use the NHS and you're just complaining about a group dedicated to saving lives- in which case- you can't deny there are many who are well and alive today because of their efforts. Just because there's problems doesn't mean it should be disregarded as a whole entity. After all, name me a hospital system that's perfect?
Like anything in life, when it's allowed to do it's job properly and funded (which it hasn't been for a long time); it's one of the best things about the UK.
I hope for your sake you don't ever need to be reliant on a system that you are so quick to complain about.
Oh and also- you're 100% right about the way Nurses are treated. The same is true of so many public service workers in the UK these days. It's terrible- but not their fault or the system- it's a government that has underfunded them.
@@fatherson5907 .
I see you are spewing your crap again.
@@grahvis I see you still can’t refute the objective facts
@@fatherson5907 .
Then answer my original question, state where in that report your claim appears.
I could point out I have a lot of experience getting NHS healthcare.
My dad was in the hospital for 5 months in Italy (had a massive surgery) and it was free
From time to time I think that the people in the "land of the free" don't even notice how unfree they are sometimes.
But hey, they're pretty happy with their guns, so everyone has their priorities...
Greetings from Germany, where I have had three major surgeries in my life so far, which didn't cost me a single cent...😁
Why I had to pay 10 Euros for every night I stayed in the hospital?
I'm in the AOK btw.
Also in any areas I have to pay a capped "Selbstkostenanteil"
last year i was feeling ill for about 3 days and eventually my daughter said enough i am phoning for an ambulance. This arrived and the paramedics checked me out and said you have a high temperature, and all your signs are not good we are taking you to the hospital i was admitted and was immediately assessed and given a scan this revealed i had a blood clot on my left kidney. As i said i wasn't feeling very well. I then spent the next 4 days in hospital getting expert treatment and drugs for this condition. including 3 meals a day. After 4 days i had another scan was given the all clear and went home. How much did all this cost me? ZERO ZILCH NADA thank God for the NHS and i don't live in the USA i would be 76 and bankrupt
PS i can't believe all the lies and crap that your insurance company's feed you with regards to the NHS. But i can see why. They have a strangle hold on your health care and charge you through the roof for the privilege and will condemn and lie to protect against any threat to their income. If you can't pay you die. When i was 15 i left school and started working and every week a small amount was taken from my paycheck towards the NHS and this along with the rest of the working populations weekly donation financed the NHS to treat those who were sick and ill at that time when i retired my weekly donation stopped. My wife has MS so is on constant medication and has had several admissions into hospital over the years for UTI etc and all were ambulance admissions. As a result of my admission for my blood clot it was discovered that i needed daily medication for a heart condition so both my wife and i are on prescriptions all of which are free. So just as mine and others paid for those who were sick then those who are working now are paying for us so on and on it goes. The upshot of this is that we get free at source treatment and free from the stress of worrying about the cost as there are no cost. 6 months ago, my son-in-law fell of a ladder [ cutting a hedge] an Ambulance was called, and he was taken to A&E he had a brain scan was kept in for 2 days for observation fitted with a back brace and given pain killers. Again, guess what the bill came to ZERO ZERO NADDA he is 36 so still paying his weekly donation. What's all this crap i heard about death panels is that the best B/S that the insurance companies could come up with my wife is 74 me 76 and we are both alive and kicking thanks to the NHS. I am sorry but i felt the record has to be set Straight the system in the US is corrupt and keeps some people very rich. But the majority poor and unhealthy
One of the wrongs is that unlike a bottle of soda pop the price of which is pretty standard country wide, there is no set price for ANY treatment and even medications, xrays and hospital supplies like bandages. And the hospital supply markups are somewhere around tenfold, as I was charged $2 a pill for asprin pills and $15 for bandaids that would have cost me 5 cents and 25 cents respectively at the local drug stores or Walmart or supermarket. Add to the inflations that some of the for profit facilities add in when they submit the bill to the insurers, there's alot that gets the $ to go up.
Funny watching this October 2023 i remember watching a uk documentary on their medical system. And the medics were saying this system is failing
“Everything has a cost here. Everything adds up.” That’s everywhere! The main difference is that hospitals and healthcare providers anywhere else on earth won’t charge $300-$500 for a bag of freaking saline, that costs about $1 to make!
When I go get an X-ray in The Netherlands, it costs €45 (about $47), which is covered by insurance. In the US that same X-ray costs between $200-$400. And it’s the exact same X-ray, same machine, same time to take it. There is absolutely no difference at all.
Don’t forget that in the US it costs $40 to hold your child after giving birth. They charge it under “skin to skin contact.”
Here’s the other crazy part for US Healthcare costs - often times, not always - they don’t actually expect you to pay the total costs. They write off costs all the time. They have a whole process of accounting for this.
That's true in some cases, but, for many people, it just makes their lives Hell to have massive unpaid debt.
Medical debt is the number one kind of debt in the is, and it is devastating
Lucky that we are one of the commonwealth countries so we follow everything what UK does. Income tax covered everything, not happy with how much they took my money away but i feel grateful after watching this video.
It sucks that we're a commonwealth (or/and colony) of the US so.. it's not great.
I've had surgery on my shoulder. I had great service. During Covid, my husband had a cancerous kidney removed. We've both had follow-up checkups, and I have had physiotherapy. I also have sleep apnea and asthma because I am a pensioner. I do not have to pay for my inhaler, but if I did have pay, it would be £10.
Over 40% of cancer patients in the UK are waiting over two months for urgent treatment. The NHS is third world garbage.
The problem in the US is not that the health system is private. The real issue is that is extremelly expensive. There is clearly no competition in that market if the prices remain that high.
It's a Cartel
No the problem is that healthcare in the US is a for profit business.
People ask why the price of medical care is confusing in America. ITS BECAUSE ITS DESIGNED TO BE CONFUSING. Things don't have like a consistent understood cost so hospitals can kind of charge us whatever and we are just tired enough that we either give off an exasperated sigh if we have the money for it or we just cry if we don't.
Like the huge price ranges listed by the American women in this video are that wide so that we don't exactly ever know what we are going to be charged for anything.
And so they can deny coverage if they confuse you enough!
Americans pay more than double per capita what the next highest country pays for health care. And that's with millions of people not even covered.
Nope, that is a lie.
@@fatherson5907 no, you are a lie.
@@solido888 cite your source for that lie. I’ll wait…
@@fatherson5907 you can literally just Google it. You're a big boy. Daddy's proud
@@solido888oogle isn’t a source. Didn’t make it past grade 5, eh?
Sorry that you can’t back up your lies, kid.
By the time we got to the end of this, I was really feeling for the American girls. Sometimes, the US can be a tough gig.
I feel bad for the British girls. They are so uneducated that they think the NHS is good.
You got your wrong on private insurance in the UK. Private Medical Insurance in the UK is designed to complement the NHS, not replace it's services. Although the private sector can help you skip waiting lists and give you access to treatment not available on the NHS, private hospitals still rely on the NHS for primary and emergency care, such as A&E.
Hi,
In
The UK the NHS is not payed out of taxes, we pay national insurance for the NHS which is deducted out of your wages at the same time as the tax👌
This is such a problem🤯 like I wouldn’t feel safe without healthcare. Our politics is not the best but healthcare system is something we should be proud of. Unfortunately ppl don’t notice it and complain because they don’t know anything else.
Gosh it's times like this am proud to be British. Thank God for NHS ❤️. Am currently pregnant with my second child and am well looked after by our midwifes and doctors. I've never spent a penny on maternity care but in US you'll spend alot even before your baby is born.
The NHS is absolute garbage. Nearly 40% of cancer patients in the UK are waiting over two months for urgent treatment. There are over 6 million people in England waiting for surgery. The average ambulance wait time in the UK is 61 minutes.
The NHS is utter trash.
9:49
Lauren: Find a British man to marry. LOL.. 😅😆😂
Here in Italy, going to the hospital for a visit, or simply if you suddenly feel ill, is free and you don't have to pay for like the stay if it's night. But it is almost always difficult to make a reservation for a medical appointment, even for something serious, such as if you have an illness. Not so much because of making the appointment itself, but because of the waiting time which often goes beyond months or even years.
Went to the emergency room, they said "here is your band aid." " That will be $7,500. Truth!
Ragazzi, ma ci rendiamo conto che il mondo considera questo stato (USA) un modello da seguire!?
Il suo sistema giudiziario si basa praticamente sul giudizio popolare, esiste la pena di morte (cosa assolutamente barbara), il sistema scolastico fa pena ed è estremamente costoso. Per capirsi io sono una ragazza italiana e frequento un'università italiana PRIVATA che annualmente costa 5500€; mio padre fa il muratore e non siamo ricchi ma nonostante questo non si è indebitato per la mia istruzione.
Per non parlare dell'argomento "sanità".
Se te sei una persona non ricca ed hai una malattia grave sei praticamente condannato a morte.
Esattamente
The British girl is completely wrong about serious conditions and illnesses, a private hospital will just send you to the NHS as they are up to date with the latest procedures and do practice them regularly and so are much better for this than private hospitals. Private medicine in the UK is commonly used by US companies as their expatriate workers expect it and wealthier people who use it to jump the queue for minor procedures and elective surgery. Private hospitals tend to be more luxurious than NHS hospitals but aren’t very good at the more complex procedures.
This just makes me want to move to the UK!
I am an American. Let’s not forget how much we can pay per month just to have our insurance. Right now i pay 700$ a month for two adults and one child.. to still have to meet deductibles and pay co pays.. insane.
Imagine paying far more than that and being put on waiting lists for months/years, like in the UK.
@@fatherson5907 it's not more than that. You are ignorant
If you have insurance it is way cheaper. Just like you pay for your "free" treatments in your taxes in the UK, in the US we pay for it thru insurance premiums.
Our National Insurance payments are taken straight out of our wages so there's no risk of it running out and we don't need any proof we have it when we go for treatment! We also have the option of personal health insurance but it is just that, an option not the only system!
@@B-A-L it’s taken out of your wages. We take our insurance premiums out of our wages by our own will. So it’s pretty much the same except the government does it for you (whether you like it or not).
@@mschauki So your saying its a much better way then? Have you actually watched this video then? Also why don't you object to socialised fire service and policing?
@@B-A-L I didn’t say better or worse. It works. And it lacks in some aspects of it. Both yours and ours. In Canada people with serious problems can wait for years to be seen, and some people don’t make it. Here my insurance pays for my doctor’s visit and I’m seen promptly.
@@B-A-L fire and police are funded municipally. The NHS is absolute garbage.
The average overnight stay in the US is actually $10,000
Health insurance should be a right not a privilege.
Sadly it's also about profit in the US.
@@nerigarcia7116 Absolutely, that’s why it’s so expensive.
Exactly. And if you help your society by keeping them healthy, you're saving money in the long run. So the American way is just ridiculous however you look at it. 🤷♀️
For us Europeans 🇪🇺🇫🇷 it's already a privilege.
Our Human Rights
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 Yeah, we're a commodity in the US.
This is funny to watch them talk about money! I was born in America and lived 2 years as a kid in Canada. I was a really sick child in and out of the hospital and on and off of medicine. Sometimes I was sick every other week. And in 1987 in Canada my parents both worked and to have half decent health insurance from both of their jobs for me their insurance cost them over $800.00 a month. Now in America right now I pay less then $20.00 a month for my health insurance. Four days ago I went to an urgent care walk in office for a bug bite and my co-pay was $15.00. Then when I went to the pharmacy to buy and pick up my creme prescription it only cost $11.00. It was really reasonably priced. But I prefer usually to take and to go to the natural market stores to buy vitamins and natural supplements. But the last few times I have gone to the doctors offices in the USA it has been really reasonably priced.
What happens if you get cancer or break an arm? How much do you have to pay?
Why did your parents need health insurance in Canada? Canadians have universal access.
I'm on disability and thankfully have good insurance. Just today had a blood test. (apparently extremely rare one. Phlebotemist said in 15 years, he's never even needed the tube used for it.) It required pre-authorization from the insurance, or else it was $500.... for 1 tube of blood. In 2007 in Arizona, had an abdominal surgery using the da Vinci robot. Life-saving, but planned (non-emergency) surgery. Hospital billed $21k for operating room, $600 for anesthesia meds plus $6k for anesthesiologist, $8K surgeon. No idea what they billed for 6 hours in recovery, then 14 hours (overnight) in a room plus morphine drip. Thankfully my insurance covered everything except a $100 copay. The insurance only paid about $12k total, but if I didn't have insurance, I'd have been billed the huge prices, and they just don't care.
dad suffered 2 really severe brain hemorrhages within 2 years. he survived but is 100% disabled and receives the disability pension, in addition to the ordinary pension (is there such a form of pension in the USA?). On those 2 occasions he was hospitalized for a total of 5 and a half months (of which 2 and a half months in the neurological resuscitation ward), 3 months of physical rehabilitation and 2 months of rehabilitation to be able to speak (followed by a speech therapist) . Medical tests of all kinds, CT scans, MRIs, blood tests of various types, we called the ambulance so many times that I stopped counting them. We didn't pay a cent. Moreover, he has the right on a lifetime loan for use of a wheelchair, walkers and similar medical-health products, all without paying.
He only paid for 2 specialist heart exams for around USD 70-80 each. Now I wonder how much we would have had to pay for all this if we had been in the US: no one gets it out of my head that just for the hospital and the whole bill would have exceeded $ 1.5 million.
The home of the brave that have to take illnesses bravely in order to die freely.
with 2m dollars u can probaly get a flight to another country where you dont have to pay 🙂👍
I have insurance, but went to a non network ER for a Covid test. The bill was $4600.00. Insurance paid $600.00 and my husband’s FSA paid $4, 000. The cleaned out our FSA!
Is america dreams
I had to get a PCR Covid test every week in order to visit my Mom in a nursing home here in Canada, so I have had to either go to a hospital or get tested by hospital staff at the home over 30 separate times, total cost - $0. People need to demand better in the USA.
@Karl with a K "demands are meaningless"... That's literally how people in Europe got free healthcare, 1 month+ vacation a year, paid maternity (and in some nations paternity) leave... Maybe they just tell you guys that demands are meaningless because it's convenient for the government that you believe it
I am an RN and work in a hospital. 3 yrs ago, I had to go to the ER 2 days in a row (was not admitted) to rule out an emergent issue.
I received 3 separate bills for each day. 1 for the hospital and the imaging they did. 1 for the radiologist who read my imaging (medical group contracted by the hospital). And, lastly, 1 for the ER doctors who saw me (medical group contracted by the hospital). Overall, I had to pay $2,000 out of pocket. It took me months to pay it off. And I worked at that hospital!!! The costs are absolutely outrageous.
In south africa every thing is free but you can also choose to go to private hospital but you pay in private hospital
England is the best England is the best 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
If the UK was a state in the US, it would be the second poorest state 🤣🤣🤣🤣
This is 13 minutes and 30 seconds of how messed up America’s health system is.
This is 13 minutes and 30 second of how ignorant British people are.
I would add 2 things here. First, it is NOT free. In Spain, we have the same situation, we pay it by the taxes. So, I would say it is included. But that also means that taxes are high. For example, an employer would pay close to twice what the employee receives. Second, insurances. Because they do business with insurances, the prices are usually inflated. That also happens with car insurances, for example. I saw examples in US where the bills are reduced by a lot when the patient says that doesn't have insurance.
Don't play word games with "free"
I have read that a doctor worked out what a particular operation including diagnosing and stay in hospital would cost about £3500 (about $5000) and the equivalent procedure in US is about $10000 (about £7000)
You can’t compare pricing to US prices as everyone has different insurance. I choice a plan that’s cheaper per month but would require I pay more on my hospital bill. If I wanted to I could choice a more expensive plan that would cover 80% of all hospital expenses.
It feels like people on the US have set the difficulty to the max, on the other hand, people on the UK just having a nice tutorials they could enjoy
I live and work in NYC. I had appendicitis and had to have my appendix removed and stay in the hospital for 2 nights. Total bill was well over $60k for everything including the laparoscopic surgery but because I have insurance (as a majority of Americans do) my total out of pocket costs were around $4.5k in addition to what I already pay for my insurance. Luckily medical bills are not allowed to accrue interest and most bills can be paid in small increments over a long period of time or you can work out a specific payment plan. Also you can write off certain medical bills when doing your taxes, etc. Anyway, yes medical bills in the US are crazy but when you have insurance generally they are not as crazy compared to what you might pay out of your taxes for the British system. Obviously if you need a lot of continual medical care, a national tax-funded healthcare system is better but if you are of average health and are insured, you probably end up paying slightly less for healthcare compared to a national program. It’s very complicated and nuanced… but overall even here in the US we agree that we could do a lot better and that the system falls incredibly short for certain demographics. That said we also have a lot of great hospital systems and care because of that capitalistic system, but yes, it is messed up because you literally cannot control everything that happens to you. It’s kinda complicated, but everyone agrees that the costs quoted for things in the healthcare industry are criminally inflated.
I live in the UK. I've had appendicitis as well. I had complications and was in for 2 weeks. The total cost was free. I also has something more serious which put me in the ICU for 3 months. The drug I had to take was 16k a bottle and I had about 25 of them. The cost was still zero to me. We do pay for it in taxes but it's no way near. If you earn 2000 a month they would deduct 350 a month in taxes. But even taking that into account my taxes wouldn't go anyway near the cost of the medical treatment. There are some costs for drugs they prescribe to take at home but they are capped at about £10 an item regardless of the cost of the drug. And if it is a life saving drug such as insulin then I believe the price is free to the patients.
@@paulb414 I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It’s really upsetting when you have to drop everything and contend with health issues you can’t control. I’m glad that the NHS has worked well for you and not added insult to injury by leaving you with massive debt. Your story reminded me that I forgot to mention that here in the US, medical insurance also includes this thing call an “out of pocket maximum” meaning once you pay a certain amount in medical expenses in a given plan year, everything covered by your plan beyond that is covered in full by insurance. So for example I was only about $500 away from my “out of pocket maximum” for the year so after reaching that, every medical expense would have been covered by my insurance in full for the remainder of the year… which means that if you are chronically ill, at least once you meet that amount in out of pocket costs (on average around $4k) your insurance will cover the rest. This keeps most people from being completely financially wrecked by medical expenses. Also you can open specific savings accounts that save pre-tax dollars of your salary that you can use only on medical related expenses (FSA or HSA) essentially limiting the financial burden of medical bills. There is a lot of nuance and other things like deductibles and so forth but the system when operating as it is intended isn’t as horrible and scary as media reporting and the bills without context may seem. Don’t get me wrong, the US system is far from perfect and not inherently better than a NHS type system, but it is also not as bad as people will harp on if you are insured… which is more or less required by law or at least heavily pushed. Also the government does offer federally/state subsidized insurance plans (Medicaid and Medicare) but their coverage can be limited depending on the situation. As mentioned in the video though, usually your job will offer you a health insurance plan and cover a portion or entirety of the plan cost… but there are a plethora of plans ranging in price and coverage…. so it really just depends on each situation. Phew, sorry for the lecture but this is all just fresh in my mind because of my experience. I look at it this way, overall… I probably paid all together last year what I would have paid in taxes for national healthcare (broke even you could say)… that said, next year I expect, and hope, that my medical costs will be significantly lower… so it varies. That all said, living paycheck to paycheck in the US and not having insurance or having to pay for insurance without employer help can be extremely stressful especially if you have a medical emergency and that should REALLY not be the case in this country.
I live in Luxembourg and I would pay almost nothing for your case. I pay around 150€ monthly for healthcare here...
word 2. We don't pay crazy amounts of tax from our wages in the UK. First 12,570 0% tax 12,570 to 50,270 20% 50,271 to 150,000 40 % over 151000 45 %. As an example someone earning 80,000 would pay 0 % on 12,570, 20 % 7,540 (on 37,700) + 40% 11,891 (on 29,730) = 19,431 Tax. Or 24.29 % of 80,000. Without the additional cost of health insurance or co-pays.
Very sad that US health care is so poor or outrageously expensive.
That's why many of us now call it "profit care".
It's WEALTHcare. IF you have Money enough to pay for a Mortgage, you can get treated! ...Maybe!
They dance around the issue, shove you between several other "specialists", make you wait months for test results, make it seem like Your Fault if they didn't do Their Job in Reporting it you on time or if they gave you bad directions to go between several locations or if they gave you or bad meds.
Malpractice is High and Hospitals have Lawyers against people who want Money back against Malpractice done against them.
It's a Useless Evil System that exists to look like something is working.
BOTH. Ethics are poor. Treatment and System are jokes. AND it's awful expensive.
Expensive? For a Highly Likely False Hope? For the IMAGE and DREAM for Health?
It's quite crazy!
US has the highest quality healthcacre. NHs quality is sadly terbl.
In Spain 🇪🇦, and the most European Union 🇪🇺 countries is the same, healthcare is free through an elaborated tax system (even if you move from one member country to another), and I personally think it should be that way, it's a human right, it should not be only for rich people :/, I was really feeling sadness with Christina faces...
when people question whether public healthcare can be good... the best healthcare systems in the world are public... Spain, for example, is among the best and I feel very proud for that, I wish everyone in the world to have access to a healthcare system if they need it :/
About how expensive it is in the USA, perhaps that a doctor earns soo soo much money has something to do with it as well...
I think it would be completely impossible for us to pay such insane ammounts of money for american healthcare. I mean, average salaries here in Spain are about 25,000 €/year and too many people gets lower than that. I myself have been unemployed in the last 14 years! It was worse in the old times. My deceased father could only earn 300,000 euros in ALL HIS LIFE !
@@BlackHoleSpain but that is a situational matter, that is only related to the cost of living in the country, it is adjusted in that sense and it does not mean that you are poorer for earnings less money here in comparison with USA for example, you earn less money but the cost of things is also cheaper. The issue is that depending on the salary of your country you shouldn't need to pay so much for health related things.
The thing is in Europe , specifically the EU the governments negotiate stuff and that is why also medication is waaay cheaper or even free. The tax system is I would say the main point in all of this. The "social part" as well as LAWS dont exist in the US as in other parts of the world, so they can do whatever they like and have prices like that.
Also healthcare is treated as a business, well the entire US is just about business.
They are the only industrialized country which doesnt have paid vacation and parental leave. That says a lot as well.
Its not free, you pay for it with your high taxes.
@@guayabito6946 But we don't have to pay Health insurance on top of our tax, or co-pays on visiting a doctor or hospital.
I've had private insurance, public insurance, and no insurance. The medical system in the US is insanely complicated. Just saying it's expensive is a gross simplification. I have a serious heart condition and the most I pay out of pocket is a couple of bucks of meds. There are systems in place in the US to help people with medical costs, and most health care providers will work with you on that front. Also it always annoys me when someone says their healthcare is free. Someone is paying for it weather that be you or your fellow tax payer.
Yes, we are so proud and very grateful that we have our NHS 🇬🇧♥️
The US citizens I know, like myself, would like universal healthcare. Even my brother a Republican and a doctor would prefer a universal system because it is impossible to treat patients when the billion dollar insurance industry declines almost every first request for treatment.
All I can say is AMEN, and my spiritually doesn't follow the same path (edit) we all live in this fragile thing. Makes sense to take care of all.
Speaking from fellow Americans I agree before, had no insurance but, as got older my parents was able to put me on County Care aka Gov. insurance or low income insurance. Not only that when they know your poor and go to nice doctors office or nice hospital I use to be mistreated due to my insurance almost like discrimination. Now since pandemic I dont get as mistreated cause they can be sued for this. Im in Illinois.