General British people guess how much healthcare costs in the US

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Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
I have not....I'm just pulling your chain though buddy.

Just found the video interesting.

Please don't take me wrong. I'm not trying to defend this broken gross system at all.


There is so much waste in the combination of drug and device manufacturers and hospitals, That you can take an American orthopedic surgeon and an American patient and fly them both down to a five-star resort hotel in Mexico. There the patient will receive the exact same knee replacement they would receive in the United States. Same manufacturer same model still sealed in the same package. The same American surgeon will do the same knee replacement on the same American patient.

The surgeon will be paid three times as much as he would be in the United States. The patient will recover at the Mexican hospital and then fly back home. The company that arranges all of this will also cut a $5,000 check to the patient.

That's how gross and wasteful our system is.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
My son broke his arm in FL on that big RV trip we did. Bill was $6000+ but our cost was the initial travel insurance of around $1000 then like $800 for the claim.

In Florida I bet you could have found a meth head to set that arm for about 10 bucks and a bottle of MD 2020.
 

SoupCan

how bout dat
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
2,660
3,193
Can't you just switch the insurance to the one you are driving?

I have a two trucks and two subarus...I just cover the ones we are gonna drive(so only 2 at a time)
Costs 18 bucks everytime, I can transfer the plate over but to get the paper work it's 18 bucks. Shit is stupid as fuck
 

John Lee Pettimore

Further south than you
May 18, 2021
6,302
6,762
I'm always suspicious about the American healthcare memes and there is such a vast tapestry of different states, insurance setups, medical care etc that I don't think it's automatically a one size fits all "I broke my arm and it cost me $30,000!" situation.

Having said that, it's obvious that there is a huge problem and no real political will at all to sort it, thanks to the lobbyists.

In NZ, I have accessed the healthcare system three times. Twice it worked fantastic, once was bullshit.

Threw my back out at work, they paid me to sit at home for two weeks. Was paid 80% of my regular wage to sit at home, the national insurance agency took care of it within a couple of days and my employer topped up the rest.

Couple of years later I broke my thumb playing cricket, was in a hand cast on my dominant hand for a month. Couldn't work. National insurance paid it, employer topped it up.

Last year I got glandular fever and was laid up for six weeks. That time I got fucked over. Couldn't get unemployment, because I still had a job. Couldn't get cover from ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) because it wasn't an accident. So I ran through all my sick days, all my annual leave and all my savings. Which was fucking bullshit. Prescription meds and that are all government subsidised, though.

Dental is ridiculous here too, I have insurance through work which costs me fuck all, but they'll pay 75% of any treatment up to $1000/year. Which isn't perfect, but it's something. Without that, I'm pretty much not even going to the dentist.

??