As someone in the Uk I believe that we should receive a bill after treatment but that is zero’d off at the end, just so people really know how much they’ve “saved” by having the NHS.
Can't you check online? I know we have "free healthcare" in Hungary, so I paid via my taxes. But on the national health insurance website I could check every single health related spending under my name ever, even back in 2000. It had everything from GP visits to subsidized drugs and specialist visits. I lived in the UK a bit, but I tried to cut all my ties there since, so I can't check anymore if NHS has something like that. I do have my full NHS history with me, but I'm too lazy to check now if it has costs.
@@slavianalbanovich9025 because the average american doesn't understand that our system is different from other countries. here in the usa nobody talks or thinks about anywhere else but here
@@slavianalbanovich9025 She means that very few people in the US think much about other countries besides the US, much less travel to another country (only about 1/3 of us have a valid passport). We get very few news reports about things that happen in other parts of the world unless the US has something to do with it.
@@Januaryschild sure, but today the world has changed and thanks to the internet it is possible to communicate with other people from all over the world. Americans, at least the young ones, will have to ask themselves why the whole world is horrified at the thought of American healthcare.
As a nurse in the UK, im sure ill be paid more working the US, but i would rather stay in the NHS because it is such a huge honor to work for a health system that gives people so much comfort financially and do not burden them with having their health and medical needs taken care of. Such a huge honor! Like its just the humanly thing to do with your citizens tbh
Whatever is free is not always good. Europe has a much better healthcare system which is also not expensive as in the US. I am a doctor working in the NHS and I am EMBARRASSED that I joined this idiotic system that provides AVERAGE training for their doctors with ridiculous salaries and very poor quality of care for their patients.
No there is no guarantee that you'd get paid more here in the states. In fact most nurses are quitting cuz the conditions are so poor and not enough for the pay. Stay where you are it's most likely better there. We currently have a massive nurse shortage. 😏 teacher shortage too!
@@ariabm44 huh that's a really interesting perspective. Which system would you say works the best out of the modernly developed countries that have more developed medical technology? Cuz it seems to me that there are issues in each system. And not small ones either.
@@caitlynlawrence8502 yes I agree that all systems have issues. Personally I have worked both in central Europe and NHS. Now you don't always need advanced technology to provide care when you have a system (NHS ) that due to cost effectiveness treats you with guidelines and medication that people in Europe have abandoned 20 years ago. In UK you might be able to help people with very rare or chronic diseases requiring modern technology in medicine but if you have something simple you suffer. Unfortunately when non medical people like managers step into a healthcare system this is what happens. Managers should be people coming from a healthcare profession that they are able to understand the nature of the job. Not some random tesco managers that's stepped in taking also double the salary of a front line worker.
I love how you're not just saying 'everything in the UK is free', you're actually giving an idea of how much these procedures cost the NHS...makes me feel even more grateful that we get so much paid for, when you're not on huge amounts of money it's a huge burden off your shoulders 💙
@@QE2Glasgow ok, it's free at the point of delivery ;) and NI is a relatively small amount compared to say, what I paid for health insurance as a freelancer in Germany (if you have an employer they pay a fair bit of it), or what an American would pay if they had a medical emergency, like the example he gives of the MI and two heart stents.
You are so right! I don't think that people in the US get the idea of caring for your friends, family and fellow man. They also don't understand the freedom that comes from not having to worry about the cost of medical conditions/emergencies. My son was hospitalized 7 times with asthma before he was two years old. I never once had to think about the cost of treatment.
I had stemcell transplant in Germany, of course for free. I was told the coasts for all of it would be arround 250.000€. Can't even imagine how much it would be in the US..
@@vinlondon8904 of course not! :) I had a chronic disease called Neutropenia that stopped my immune system from fully developing. After an incident that brought me to the icu doctors said we can't take the risk for that to happen again, so we decided for chemo and SCT
The craziest thing about American healthcare wasn't even listed here. It's the fact that your insurance company can deny coverage for something your doctor recommends. Like, if your doctor recommends a procedure or a certain medication, your insurance company can say "no, we don't think you need that". My doctor and I have been struggling to get prescriptions approved for over a year now. She's tried several different medications, and the insurance company doesn't like anything. Bear in mind that without insurance, some of these prescriptions are over $100/month. One was $500/month. So it really limits your medical care based on your health insurance's decisions.
my wifes sisters daughter was in the US navy and had something happen to her which needed surgery. It became bothersome since the hospital (she was a civilian then) did not want to work with US navy insurance!! Fortunately she lived in Phoenix AZ, and so did (at the time) senator John McCain definitely a navy man. He was contacted and intervened - she got her operation. Shame on the hospital!!!
@@lesliejohnson827 true, I believe they should be free too!! But it must be difficult since it isn’t a one size fits all solution and people have preferences that they probably wouldn’t cater to if they made them free, they’d just mass produce one size and shape of pad to make production as cheap as possible. Also I can see people (wrongly) arguing that you won’t necessarily die if you don’t wear pads or tampons etc. It should absolutely be free but there is defo obstacles, I mean governments being majority male is the first one 😂
@@lesliejohnson827 A bit of a flippant answer really :( Having a period is not a life threatening situation. My daughter not having her insulin, she would be dead within a few days. We pay thousands every year to keep her alive in the USA. In the UK the thyroxin that both my sister and father take to keep them alive is free. Just food for thought.
@@michaelsmith7425 agreed, but neither are a choice and neither can really be cured so ideally they’d both be free. In the U.K. obviously insulin is free and some supermarkets have taken the tax off period products but we’re still working on making them free- it’s something that the U.K. is much more likely to implement than the US
Immediately clicked, I am a us health care economics reporter who stayed in London for a month to report on the differences. This video was made for me. My medication is $7,800 per month in the US and 8£ on the NHS
That’s because America is corrupt as shit. If only Medicare could negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies we would have the same prices as the UK.
@@emmaw_5719 it's free in England for children, OAPs and those whose life depends on the meds. However, what right-minded person would begrudge a few quid to help the NHS? I prefer to pay. It's the least we can do.
This is why I haven't been to a DR in almost 3 years. Last time I went was because I broke all 4 of my small toes on one foot. So it couldn't be avoided.... im pretty sure I have some major health issues. I've had headaches at least 2times a week for years and I have major stomach issues regularly. But it doesn't seem like I'm going to die from it... pretty sure. So its not worth the cost. I can barely afford rent can't be worrying about my heath.
@@scotthullinger4684 Actually the base cost for services and medication is considerably different. Even in the UK which has the NHS, you still have to pay for medication and prescriptions in certain parts of the UK. If you look up the price of an epipen say, the base cost is considerably different (costs around £45 per pen or £90 for 2 OR £8.80 with NHS prescription charge) when in the US it is $650. Obviously, you have to take in the cost of living and wage difference however the US just has the price inflated for further profit margins not because of the actual cost of manufacturing.
@@scotthullinger4684 Never did I say the NHS system could work in the US and would resolve problems, I didn't even highlight 'problems'. YOU brought up how it costs the same everywhere, which it does not and I simply expressed that and then YOU started spewing about capitalism and socialism. My initial comment was simply expressing how insane it is that a simple treatment in the US is the equivalent of a down payment in the UK. Nothing more, nothing less. It sounds as though you are trying to have a debate with yourself here and getting a little too carried away while you're at it.
I'm an Aussie. During my pregnancy and birth of my son, including my 1 week stay in hospital, it cost me ZERO dollars. I had an epidural and a water birth was my original plan. After returning home from hospital, I had a nurse come to my home to do a check up....again, free because of our national health care system. America is no dream lol
Americans: "Nothing is free, you're still paying for it in your taxes!" Me: "Yeah, but because *everyone* is paying for it in their taxes, you're each paying *a shit-ton less* for it. That's how division works, genius."
@@grayhalf1854 "If I do it myself, it's charity and wonderful, but if the law makes me do it, it's communism and evil!" "So you'll donate to charities that pay people's medical bills?" "Psh, of course not, it's my hard-earned money!"
@@pigs18 "Insurance is factored into the cost of all goods and services sold in the US"? Um... can you please explain that a bit more to me? If I buy an apple, what part of that cost exactly is going towards what kind of insurance?
I'm an EU citizen living in the UK. I happen to work in the NHS, which I love despite the terrible pay. I have 2 children. My first birth was very complicated and traumatic. I'm guessing it cost them loads just to keep me alive, let alone patching me up after it. I was in hospital for over a week, had to have surgery, was intubated, etc. Second birth, I chose to have a cesarean because emotionally and mentally I couldn't go through the same thing again. It was straight forward, some hemorrhage but as I had had a massive one with my first, they knew it could happen and were ready for it. I spent 3 days in. Easier recovery this time and my guess is that it cost roughly the same. I'm thankful I could chose and that I didn't have to be in debt to have my babies. I love working in the NHS. When I'm at work I give my all to my patients. That's how I want to be treated so I make sure my patients know I care and will do my best for them. That's what everyone deserves. A little bit more pay is needed but we are definitely not working in the NHS for the pay 🩵
I grew up in the US but now I live in NZ and what Evan said about not going to the doctor unless you’re in a dire emergency because of fearing the cost is something that is hardwired into me despite the fact that NZ healthcare is free or extremely low cost
Free? Healthcare isn’t usually free In New Zealand. It’s only free if you’re in an accident, if you’re sick then you have to pay for it yourself. My mum had to get a few surgeries a couple years ago and luckily it was all covered by our insurance otherwise we would of had to pay like $20,000. It’s cheaper than America but still tons of money.
@@rachelcookie321 ive had two seizures, broken bones, suicide attempt and a brest reduction surgery every single thing was free, the only thing i paid for was the prescriptions and ambulance for my seizures which cost 90 each from st johns.
@@rachelcookie321 assuming NZ is like aus, you likely went to a private hospital that was in partnership with your private insurance. if you went to a government hospital, it would have been free.
@@rachelcookie321 ? My brother got really sick and we didn’t pay a cent. My friends have also had many surgeries and haven’t paid anything. Did you go private ??
OK but as a resident of the UK can I just say that a JUNIOR DOCTOR earning £12 an hour is outrageous. Your doctor should be able to afford the average price of a Nando's for FUCK'S sake.
you want to pay more tax to fund that? I would happily do so but that is what would be needed the money has to come from somewhere for pay rises. If the overall NHS budget does not change and you increass pay you have less money for everything else. yet raisng taxes to fund such things dont win votes so it does not happen
@@lordomacron3719 I personally would pay for it by making companies like Amazon actually pay taxes, but if you're asking "If literally the only way to pay NHS workers more would be a tax increase on you, would you still be in favour?" the answer is yes.
@@LynxChan good i wish more would think that way. One point thought the Likes of Amazon DO pay their Taxes perfectly legally that is not the fualt of the companies that is the fault of those who wrote the tax laws that can be exploited in such ways. in the debate about big compaines and tax all i hear is how the company are the ones who should face critisisim and not the politicians who make the tax laws in the first place. they are both responsable
@@lordomacron3719absolutely agree, it's our governments that must be held to account for the loopholes and back doors they install for the benefit of large companies to exploit. Companies will do everything they legally can to keep and grow their money, that is their entire purpose, it's government that has to ensure they pay their fair share, and it's our job to hold politicians who don't to account.
@@lordomacron3719 Not necessarily, a wage increase usually ends up paying for itself. This is because they will have extra money that they can spend on things they want and funnel it back into the economy. When people are struggling they only spend when they have to. "How do we pay for it?" is a redundant question. Especially when the government has spaffed 36 billion pounds on track and trace, spent 12 million on their new conference stage, and Boris spent £900,000 painting a bloody plane! Not to mention the government spends approximately £8000 a minute on nuclear weapons and keeping Trident going.
There was this thing years ago, someone explained a hip replacement cost in the US was $41,000 at the time and it was explained that you could fly and move to spain, live there for 2 years, have two hip replacement surgeries and fly back to the US for less. US medical is not for the people, its a business built for profit.
In England during the height of covid I needed double shoulder surgery they gave me an mri scan and 2 weeks later they gave me flawless surgery! On top of that they gave me 6 months of physiotherapy !! All medication was included ! Furthermore my dad needed a life saving heart surgery again during the height of covid! All of this cost £0 I love the nhs and everyone that works there, I always always buy an nhs worker a pint when I meet them! They are up there with our soldiers, thankyou boys and girls
The NHS staff saved mine and my unborn baby's life in January. I had covid and ended up in ICU. I was at deaths door and may had never met my little boy. Thank you NHS. You are my guardian angels xxx
@@ShammaAzmi bless you. My one regret is I wish I'd listened to my instincts, I was working up until 8 months pregnant in a GP practice so still had contact with people. This was also before the vaccination programme progressed to pregnant people. So it was even more risky. This was my second too. Just do what feels right, and look after yourself as much as possible x
my mother was walking around with a burst appendix for a week and she didn’t go until she absolutely had to. i’m sure so many americans have died from this
@@cmmndrblu I'm a diabetic here in the UK and all my medications are free, it truly heartless that in the US you are held accountable to either your job, parents or how much you have in your bank account to survive any or all life changing health issues. A truly Dog eat Dog society.
I considered driving myself to the hospital when I was in NO CONDITION to drive because I didn't want to pay for an ambulance. I eventually called an ambulance because I didn't want to crash and kill someone. The ride and ER visit cost me $2,000 (and that was only because I didn't need any major procedures)
I can’t thank the NHS enough. For free, they saved my life as a child from meningococcal septicaemia. They’ve given my child life through a difficult and complex pregnancy and birth. They saved her fathers leg from being amputated with a cage and pins through his leg & rods and screws keeping his spine together. We are so blessed 🙏🏻
@@davidevans3223 Yeah but it’s still substantially less than the US. The US pays more in healthcare than pretty much the entire developed world and on top of that they pay around 250% more for routine medicine compared to the rest of the developed world. This as well as your taxes each year. So the US actually has to pay for insurance, pay for medical treatment, pay their taxes and then pay through the nose for medicine (if required.) Compared to all of that being covered by everyone’s tax dollars in pretty much the rest of the developed word. I’d rather pay my taxes and not go bankrupt for visiting the doctor, thank you very much.
I'm for NHS in America. However, no private health insurance will pay for an ambulance ride if you are drunk..even dead drunk..You will have to pay maybe 2500 pounds and 1000 pounds for the ER room. If you are falling down drunk and pass out chances are nobody will call an ambulance..American's are very careful when they use the health system. In some cities like the one I live in, you have to pay for a fire truck that you have called for...
Genuinely, I wish the US had a similar health care system to the UK. We'd still complain, but we'd complain less & have a physically healthier population overall. It shouldn't cost a small fortune just to keep yourself alive if you're physically healthy, but have small complications, or have a kid.
@@khwezik3894 No. Obamacare/the ACA was a health care bill that opened up a lot of people to getting health care that couldn't before. It limited how health care companies could drop people with pre-existing conditions & whatever else. It apparently had a universal option if you couldn't afford an insurance company...that was removed before it passed because they wanted to get more Republican support on it. The Trump Administration removed the individual mandate, which I think is for the better because it forced people who couldn't afford insurance to pay a fine, which isn't something people SHOULD be doing, with no benefits to them. Unfortunately, the mandate also removes protecting people with pre-existing conditions from getting dropped from the insurers, bit that's why I think the shit should just be redone anyways.
For sure. No human should ever have to choose not to stay alive because if they got help they would be crippled with debt for the rest of their lives. I'm very grateful to live in the UK and be able to get the help I need when I need it
The health care system in the US is actually disgusting. It's funny hearing the differences but when you consider what someone can owe for a medical emergency they have no control over it's so depressing.
There are occasional news stories about people refusing ambulances after car crashes because they know they can't pay. It's really messed up, to be perfectly honest, and it's one of the biggest reasons I hope to leave this country in a few years.
I mean, not even a car accident, where there's someone to blame maybe because they ran a red light or something. You just fall at home or something equally unpredictable and not anyone's fault and that's it, that's your year's salary, if you're lucky, down the drain. It's crazy
@@nahuelma97 too true. I specifically highlighted the car accident thing because I remember reading a news story about it, but I know it also happens in many other circumstances. Either way it's messed up
The thought occurs to me that maybe many US citizens who are afraid of the costs or have no insurance did not even go to the hospital during this pandemic and may have died (undetected) of the virus.
@@manub.3847 I think the undetected part may not be as feasible as one would initially think, since there would have to be an autopsy, which would reveal the cause of death to be COVID-19, but people being afraid to go to the doctor, yeah, that's pretty messed up
I lived with an undiagnosed, untreated chronic illness that kept me from attending school consistently when I was in high school. I suffered for almost the entire school year (about 10 months) and only went to the doctor once the school told me my attendance was getting bad enough that I would have to repeat the year if I didn't fix it. My family and I were too worried that I had something seriously wrong with me healthwise and would rather live in blissful ignorance than have to add a ton of medications and doctor visits to our bills. Thankfully it wasn't that bad... It just ended up being one visit and some OTC drugs taken daily. A few years later, I was in college/university, away from my parents for the first extended period of time. I was having menstrual cramps so bad that I thought my appendix burst... every single month. Sometimes even when I wasn't menstruating. I remember one time where I got a sudden bout of cramps and I was knelt on the school library floor sobbing and cradling myself. It was agony. I've had shingles before and this was worse. I still didn't go to a doctor until many months later because my insurance wasn't taken at the closest doctor offices -- I had to go home from school and take some days off school and go to urgent care to figure it out. I still had to pay close to $100 after insurance coverage for two doctor visits and some more for the lab work. The USA just clearly prefers people suffer for free rather than get the health care they need. Especially since my family is lower middle class, we couldn't afford to go. It's easier and cheaper to just die.
@@scotthullinger4684this is backwards thinking and entirely self centred. You’re not paying for other people - you’re paying for you when your body starts going wrong. Screw America, third world pretending it’s a first world
I have heard from a couple of people whose close friends in the states (I’m Canadian) that they chose NOT to be treated for cancer even though there was a pretty high cure rate, due to the extreme cost. I think the for profit system in the US is tragic.
The scary part is you have no idea what the treatment will cost when you start it. Last year, I had to go to the hospital for blood clots in my lungs. Once they told me what I had, I had no choice but to have it treated then or there was a high possibility that I would throw another clot and die. When I was admitted, I couldn’t say what my end total would be. Luckily, I have pretty good health insurance, so I felt it was something I could handle. I ended up paying $2,000 out of pocket. I shudder to think what may have happened to me if I didn’t have insurance, since my presenting symptoms didn’t seem that bad to me. Maybe I would just blow them off for fear of getting a $50,000 bill.
The cost, I believe, would go down significantly if hospitals were forced to be honest about how much each treatment costs. If someone is able to shop around for the best price then that forces the hospitals to compete, which would lower the price. I don't mind paying for my medical bills, but I can't stand calling around only to be told how they don't know how much having a baby at their hospital will cost, and can't give me even a range of prices. Same with urgent care clinics and most doctors offices.
This was an excellent video. I’ve seen videos criticising US healthcare costs before but not one where UK costs are broken down to this level. As a Brit, I’m glad to fund the NHS in the way that we do but we definitely take it for granted. Thanks for producing a very informative video. Very interesting.
We definitely do take it for granted. We allow or even encourage a lot of extremely unhealthy behaviour when said behaviour is a public burden. If you smoke you're not just causing problems for yourself but for all of society who must finance the inevitable treatment for the consequences of your behaviour.
@@pch2230 What a well-reasoned, well-thought out response. You fanatical cult members who treat the NHS like an untouchable God are insane. You know full well what I wrote is not absolute bollocks.
@@nogoogleyounothavingmycred253 the irony here lol. We could say the same about your first comment how you said just as much as he did to back up your claim.
The government play on the fact we take it for granted too, by slowly selling it all off and underfunding it without us making a stink about it. The fact they haven't increased the budget IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC or to give its workers a reasonable pay rise says all you need to know about the Tory's.
I live in India and we just recently had a baby. it cost us totally around of 965 USD(77000 INR) for a 4 day stay in a private room of a very well equipped and modern hospital. this was including everything the doctors fees, medicine, babys bill etc. Most of it was reimbursed by our insurance as well .
I recently gave birth in Finland and the total cost (yeah we do actually have to pay some ourselves) ended up at around 300€. This included everything, from our 2 night stay for me and my husband, to the emergency c-section etc. Super happy to be living in Europe whenever I need health care.
@@peternicol9355 No it isn't. The idea that the NHS is the best healthcare in the world is nonsense. Even if we ignore the disgusting dereliction of duty and the manipulation by the NHS currently, many European countries provide a much better service
@@peternicol9355 We don't travel to the UK for healthcare. That is why. Unless you're talking about healthcare in the private sector. That is pretty much the only thing the UK has going for it. And thanks to Brexit and the Tories being in power, it won't take long at all before private healthcare in the UK starts to reach US prices and the NHS covers less and less critical care. Ditch your exceptionalism. The UK isn't special.
@@peternicol9355 Don't make me laugh. The UK is currently collapsing and Ireland has clearly demonstrated that England is doing worse in terms of vaccinations. And don't even get me started on that ridiculous "herd immunity" bullshit that greedy lying sacks of shit in leadership positions spouted at the start of the pandemic. It was nothing more than an excuse to make sure the rich kept making money while everyone around them were dropping like flies.
My wife's British and it blew my mind when she went to the hospital for a check-up, and had surgery the next day like it was nothing. I had a bad cramp in my neck and charged $1,500 for just walking into the hospital in the US.
This is why it annoys me when people from the US say "yeah but you have huge wait lists" or "yeah but you'll die waiting to be treated". The NHS will treat you VERY quickly if it's needed. I needed surgery following a severe tear during birth. They saw me on the Thursday and operated on the following Tuesday. Also I'm sure I read that the wait times AND quality of care are generally worse in the US and many go bankrupt for it too. They have one of the worst maternal death rates of the developed world.
@@kingasparagoose6849 Nah, I'm British and the NHS does sometimes have huge wait times, but those wait times are only as long as they are due to the chronic and purposeful underfunding the NHS has been receiving over the last decade, they've been getting longer over time and it's a big part of why NHS staff keep going on strike, as the NHS needs more funding. However those wait times are also usually for things that aren't immediately urgent, if you need surgery right now then you'll get surgery right now. Despite wait times, the NHS is miles ahead of the US system of healthcare and if you really want you can still go private anyway and at least private costs in the UK are fairly reasonable, unlike the US. The security the NHS provides cannot be understated.
What drove me crazy when giving birth to my daughter, was that they charged me a room occupancy fee of 7k for myself, and an additional room occupancy fee of 5k for my newborn. We were in the same room the entire time! I was caring for her the entire time myself, outside of the standard newborn checks, which they also charged me for! Gtfo
Wtf! If you have insurance would it still cost as much? Like for here in Australia you have the choice to go public which is free or go private which you may have an out of pocket cost of maybe ranging from 200 to 1k maybe. And do most people in the US have private health? How do people pay for those exorbitant bills? That's just so fucked up
The answer is we don't :/ plenty of people can't afford healthcare at all. Lots of low income people just kinda live in debt... even with my mother's most expensive insurance plan through her work, her deductible is still so high she can never go to the doctor, so she's working on a broken (never fully healed) ankle but just works through the pain cuz bills don't pay themselves
@@instinctivejudgement Most people don’t. It gets put on your credit report and affects the rest of your life of being able to buy a home or anything like that it shows up as debt.
Last year, I ended up in the ER following a suicide attempt. I was under observation for 12hrs to ensure my heart didn’t go into distress and start arresting. I was given IV saline and IV antiemetics to help flush my system, as well as blood tests, and an EKG. After I was discharged, I received my ER bill less than a week later. Even with insurance, it cost me 6x what I make in a month. After getting that bill, I almost wished I had succeeded, because the financial price was (at that time of my life) worse than paying with my life. There’s something severely wrong with the American healthcare system if I’d rather successfully end my life, than get emergency intervention and live to face the bill.
I'm from the Netherlands. My partner had to have open hart surgery a couple years back. He had two open heart surgeries (1st one didn't fix it, so they had to go in a second time). Each surgery was followed by 2 days in intensive care and about 5 days in general care. For the surgeries, hospital care and all the drugs, I think the hospital declared about 15,000 euro to his insurance. For the insurance he only had to pay his "own risk" portion, which at the time was 385 euro. If we lived in the US, we would have been bankrupt.
There are states in the USA that take peoples homes and put them in jail if they cant pay their medical bills. Last year I had to put 9000 dollars on my credit card to pay for two root canals and a crown. Im still trying to pay it off. I hate living in the USA as I get older.
@@pieflower6419 it is underfunded and understaffed but its our NHS its a beautiful place to go when you need help. No one panics and think oh dear can they afford that ambulance. No one is thinking about a bill while in the most vulnerable moment of their life. My husbands picking you up in that ambulance and all he's thinking is how do I save, treat and/or help this person.
@@sagnhill That price is insane. I live in Norway, for some reason dental is not considered part of our public healthcare(though still free for children) so it's all private. A normal checkup would cost about 100$, I'd guess two root canals and a crown would cost somewhere between 300-500$.
I live in Spain and had an open ankle dislocation in which 65% of my ankle was open. I was ambulanced into emergency surgery, hospitalised and 2 years later still having check up MRIs. I paid ZERO. Only a small amount for medication prescriptions which probably totally came to 20 dollars if that. I am walking fine and everytime I look at the ever fading scar, I am so grateful for National Health
Canadian here: My best friend ended up in hospital with a very rare condition for 7 months. She was in ICU twice during that time and on extremely expensive drugs. Multiply CT and MIR scans. It cost her zero dollars until she was officially discharged but had to go into extended care which took a couple of weeks, so then she was being charged for her bed which was about $400 in the end. Her diagnosis was Neuromyelitis optica. Sadly she passed away 4 years later from complications of NMO.
I was really surprised to hear that he was only paid £12/hour... I knew wages on the NHS were low but this is ridiculous... you guys deserve to be paid so much more
I was a student nurse in Scotland back in 2014/15 and we were paid £500 a month. We were doing 36 hours a week and official nursing jobs. I believe the grant is now £10,000 per annum.
Well let's remember that you can't give away free services to 50 million people and then pay all the people providing those services huge salaries..... the money has to come from somewhere.....
Every US politician, healthcare executive, pharmaceutical executive and anyone else opposed to universal healthcare should have to watch this and then defend their position. I have two relatives through marriage who are MD's in the NHS - they are specialists who could practice anywhere but choose to stay in with NHS. Thank you for posting this Evan.
The size and population of the U.S could easily not just afford a low tax national health service, but they could have the best in the world, I once did the maths on the entire working populous paying $3 per month in healthcare tax and it far surpassed what was necessary for free healthcare, the drug companies would also still profit with a $10 prescription rate. Imagine what the system would be like if you rounded it up to $5 per month.
from a quick Google search that would come to 5.6 Billion Annually. We currently ALREADY spend 812 billion on Medicare so add that up to 818 billion just to round it. Different studies suggest different things but from the three studies I read Administrative savings from would be about $600 billion a year. Savings on prescription drugs would be between $200 billion and $300 billion a year, if we paid about the same price as other comparable countries paid. So lets just value it all at like 818b + 800b in savings to get 1.6 trillion dollars. Estimates of projected costs for universal health care place us at around 30 to 40 trillion dollars over a 10 year period or 3-4 trillion annually. So it would actually be 13-14 dollars a month instead of 3. Which is a good fucking deal isnt it?
@@avro9159 I mean if you read my reply to him I already pointed that out. We would have to pay 13-14 a month. It wouldn't cover the cost but it would basically even out with savings and additional revenue what we already pay.
Working middle class adults pay 400 euros per month in France for the equivalent of the NHS. And about 30 to 60 euros for eyes and dental insurance that also cover most of private clinics
@@avro9159 So you’re ok with privatizing healthcare? You really want that “for profit” healthcare system? You really think “making money and profits” is more important than HEALTH?
The thing is, the hospitals still have to pay to build the multi storey. Which costs a lot. And they need to find that money somewhere, and it shouldn’t come out of patient care. And at some of the hospitals I worked at, people used the hospital car park to go shopping as it was the cheapest car park in town. So the actual sick people and staff couldn’t park for people shopping. 😡
@@andiematrix9082 Very often, yes. Because then the hospital doesn’t have to find millions to build a car park. Get someone else to take the initial cost and make the money back. It’s just a better way to use what little money they have.
Still just baffles me completely how the US can live with its health system. I'm from the UK and dislocated my shoulder in Italy. They didn't even ask for my EHIC card or anything just told me it was free in the most stereotypically Italian way, fixed me up and sent me on my way all in the same night. The only thing I paid for was the taxi ride home.
I dislocated my knee in Spain. Had to show my EHIC but other than crutches and medication (painkillers and blood clot preventative injections) which cost about €30 it was free.
Evan never says in any of his videos, you can call the billing department of the hospitals in the US and make arrangements to pay what you can afford every month until the bill is paid.
@@marydavis5234 Doesn't that still just saddle you with a bunch of debt though? You are still forced into an expense for the purpose of your own health. My shoulder dislocation is part of a wider instability in both of my shoulders that means I've been in the hospital several times this year as well as having physio on the NHS. Even for a monthly cost I dread to think how long I would be paying that for if the cost fell directly onto me.
From what I can now recall about a video - or it may have been a documentary that I have seen before somewhere. The EHIC card was created to make sure that any EU citizen was guaranteed treatment in any EU country. The idea of the card was that, if used, where you are then treated can then be used to send a bill back to their own country for whatever your care package was that was needed at the time . . . I still remember now from it that the NHS paid these incoming bills off very quickly. Whereas many other countries always owed the NHS millions, up to perhaps hundreds of millions for not paying for what had been done in the UK for their own countrymen/women. And from what I can just about recall from a year or two ago since watching it now - the NHS was owed a few billion by them all together - as in some countries, a lot more than others, it was dependant upon wherever the most UK tourists went to on holiday and then went to get something seen to . . .
😂 I cut my finger in France (I’m Dutch). Went to the hospital. Doc had to check my tendon for damage, had to call in another doctor. We spent about two hours there in a private room. The only thing I paid was the over the counter meds afterwards (€50) and I could charge most of that to my insurance when I got home. French medical service was excellent.
A patient of mine had stents in the US whilst on holiday, and was charged £500,000. 10 years later has needs further stents in the UK, and didn't pay a penny out of pocket
As an American in the midwest, I still pay a lot for my healthcare, but my last trip to the ER in an ambulance (including x-ray and stitches) was about $3,500 without insurance. The numbers I hear about what must be the rest of the country are even shocking to me!
i went to the ER because of gallbladder pain had a few blood tests done, an EKG and finally taken back to an exam room and spoke to a doctor. About 6 1/2 hours later and i have $15,000 in medical bills that won't be covered because I hadn't paid my $4,700 deductible yet and my out of pocket maximum is $8,700. I have to have the removal surgery tomorrow so that's going to add even more debt
You do realise an ambulance is just a small van with underpaid, glorified drivers, right? Including petrol, depreciation, staff, it probably cost under $300.
Can confirm US health bills for heart attacks are insane; my grandmother had one earlier this year. The total bill was ~$150,000, and going through the individual charges was impossible to decipher and so frustrating
@@evan my favorite was the mysterious $15,000 charge for “materials” that apparently weren’t included in the room charge, the bed charge, or the drugs charge 🤷♀️
I had a baby at the start of the month and it wasn’t the smoothest and the thought of having to pay £££ on top of the trauma is terrifying. Also. The US charge you for skin-to-skin?!?! That’s horrific 💔 So thankful for the NHS we really don’t know how lucky we are until we compare to other countries.
I mean, you Brits take universal free healthcare for granted because you’ve had the NHS since 1946 while in America we still don’t have universal healthcare. Thankfully there’s a political movement here called Medicare for all so we eventually catch to the rest of the world.
@@koukkoufos2000 well you would if the politicians who support it would get elected. Your F’ed up system means that Medicare for all probably won’t be a thing until you fix gerrymandered districts and finally elect a left leaning president rather than moderates like Biden
@@lukas97671 Dude, we had a chance to elect a left leaning president in Bernie Sanders but unfortunately corruption chose Biden. Also gerrymandering needs to die but we can do Medicare for all even without banning gerrymandering. Also we have a few politicians who support Medicare for all in congress but they are too scared to challenge Nancy pelosi on it who is against it
I'm so glad and thankful for our NHS! They saved my life on at least 3 occasions( 3 brain aneurysm operations with stand's including a burst one with massive bleed) plus 2 kidney transplants and dialysis treatment for 3 years inbetween. And 10 different and very expensive medicines I have to take daily for the rest of my life. Cost to me £ 0.00 I don't dare imagine what that would have cost me in USA. Thanks to NHS I'm able to see my 11 year old son grow up. And that is PRICELESS!!! ❤️ NHS ❤️
US citizen here: went to the er in another state because I cut my finger while cutting potatoes on vacation, insurance didn't cover it and ended up paying $8000 out of pocket for something I honestly probably could have done just as well a job myself wrapping up and waiting for the bleeding to stop. The US healthcare system is a joke. Even with insurance, I am terrified of falling ill and going into debt.
As an Englishman I just can’t get my head around you paying that much for medical treatment it’s just madness. The last thing you need to be worrying about when ill is how much is this going to cost. 2 years ago I had a 6hour operation and spent 3 weeks in hospital a bed 3 meals a day and all my medication all for free
@@busking6292 My anxiety is through roof because I’m always worried that I might get hurt or get sick. I don’t even dare do some things that I want to do because I don’t want to go into debt if I get hurt.
I had an ovarian cyst rupture when I was out of town once and was so scared of a high emergency room bill, that I just laid in pain in my hotel room. Luckily I had no further complications when I got an ultrasound years later- but it goes to show in the US how scared we all are because hospital bills are so high.
That is so scary and I'm so sorry that happened to you. So many people have to stay home out of fear, or try to practice "frontier medicine" on themselves. I know a few people who have stitched themselves up, and one guy that goes to a veterinarian he knows, under the table. The risks are overshadowed by potential costs of seeking care.
I turned 60 last year. A couple of weeks after my birthday I got an NHS Bowel Cancer Screening test kit through the letterbox. I didn't ask for this care, and it was free.
In Australia we get this from age 50. Women receive free breast cancer screening every two years from age 50 as well, and men receive free prostate checks from age 50. Also at age 50 your GP encourages a full workup blood sugar etc etc again, like in the UK, all free.
We in Australia also get the kit And free breast screening for women over 50. My daughter 27 had a little lump on her breast had a needle biopsy ultrasound etc.. and bill = $0 God bless Australia. My question is if you're poor what happens to you if you get sick and can't afford to pay hospital bill , do they still treat you ?
And that's how my dad's cancer was found this year. Esp grateful as if bowel cancer is found when you're symptomatic, it's in an advanced stage. Also grateful that NHS does this
I’m from the US but have been living in Taipei, Taiwan for the past two years. They have national health insurance, where they cover 90% of the cost. I have several severe chronic illnesses that because of how expensive it was in the US I would frequently not go to doctors because I couldn’t afford to add to ever mounting medical bills. Here in Taiwan I go to PT twice a week (which I will need virtually forever), and this is covered in my once a month doctors visit, which also covers me for my meds for 3 months. I go to the top hospital in Taiwan, and the doctors visit, 3 months worth of medication, and month of physical therapy cost me about 500NTD or roughly $18 USD(at smaller hospitals or clinics this can get as cheap as $3 USD)… my health insurance is about $29 USD a month… paid annually. I’m just so incredibly glad that I can get the help I need and not be constantly under the crushing pressure that medical debt makes you feel. In Taiwan’s stated reason for their healthcare system they said that they didn’t want anyone with a chronic illness to have to go bankrupt because of it. Healthcare should be a basic human right. I’m not someone who gets angry at many things, but the US healthcare system is just… a disgusting business that has absolutely no desire to help people in need. It’s there to just make money off people’s misfortune.
My husband's family is Taiwanese - even though we are in Australia and covered by Medicare (they are dual citizens), the healthcare is so brilliant in Taiwan his parents fly back for certain treatments.
American with multiple chronic illnesses here. I had to live with family for many years as an adult, because literally everything I earned at a full-time but low-wage job had to go towards healthcare costs. (Couldn't finish university because of health problems.)
I live in third world Philippines where our “sort of” government funded health care (PhilHealth)-my monthly contribution for PhilHealth is about 10usd- is sooo corrupt but atleast they still cover a portion of our hospital bills if we ever get confined and hospitals dont charge for skin-to-skin contact. If you work in big companies, they also provide private health care that will shoulder the remaining bill PhilHealth wont cover.
@@HJBL1964 no convenient bus routes for me. A 20-25 minute drive turns into 1 hour 30 on the bus + waiting time. Not something that’s nice to do before and after a 12.5 hour shift especially if you are in the next day as well!
@@HJBL1964 That's a bit of a dismissive remark. I would argue it's disgraceful that people pay to park to work in the first place, especially as many healthcare professionals are underpaid.
I remember being with my friend in labor (in the USA) and wanted an epidural. We had to call her insurance to make sure epidural is covered. No way she would be able to afford it otherwise. -insurance covered it. She was so relieved.
I will never stop enjoying Evan’s utter shock at how “cheap” the costs of NHS procedures/drugs/surgeries are. Or his disbelief at how generous the NHS is. Though it’s no wonder considering the US charges you to touch your baby for the 1st time (omg).
I had reconstructive surgery on my feet as a child so I could walk and I remember my mama showing me the bill because it was covered by insurance but she was explaining that if we didn't have insurance it would have been well over 4 million dollars for each foot. It's INSANE
I'm German, we are historically and presently very docile towards our government, famously so even. And I wonder how the fuck US Americans haven't already burned their entire country down over this shit.
I'm a Swede, and I "had to" get an AKG. Called at 8 in the morning, got an oppointment at 11. Went there, the nurde did the EKG, then a doctor had a little chat and a general check-up, did some blood tests and then I went home. Total cost for me? 10 bucks.
My husband had a medical emergency and had to be life flighted - insurance didn’t pay all of it and I had to appeal the bill was almost $50,000, insurance finally paid it. After being in the hospital for two weeks had to be taken off life support the total of everything was almost $300,000 and I had to pay almost $8,500. Having to deal with a sudden loss and then deal with months of calling about bills and etc is beyond frustrating (especially when trying to figure out financials if you can afford where you live etc because you don’t have their income either).
This is perhaps the worst thing about the American system - that people have to worry so much about money while they're already going through a physical and emotional crisis. It's like "oh, you're going through something horrible? Let's add to that". I'm very sorry for you and all other Americans who have to go through things like that.
That's so sad, and unnecessary, too. My mother was airlifted back to our town from the city in an air ambulance and it cost us nothing. I always feel sorry for Americans struggling with healthcare. But not for the ones that imply Australia is a Communist nation for having a free health system.
@@shoutforit tbh if you didnt count the 1% and adjust for cost of living US would be among the poorer developed maybe even going into developing territory.
Me as a scientist: a box of PBS (lab equivalent of saline), probably £50 or less. And we’re paying for the brand labelling! So the US is so ripped off!
a bag of saline in the up costs 75 pence. Cost price in US is one dollar, or 2 dollars for the branded version! How are they charging the customer so much?!!
@@emilygee3122 They claim part of it is dispensing it-hooking up an IV. I get dehydrated easily and sometimes get migraines and they just give me one or two bags. I'm in Canada so I never see a bill. Yes it's paid by taxes but everyone is treated equally.......
I lost my insurance a week before I needed an emergency gall bladder removal. My hospital bill was $48,000, which did not include the anesthesiologist or surgeon, or the follow-up care. I despise the US “healthcare” system. It’s despicable. I don’t expect anything for free. I just want the system to make sense and be reasonable and fair.
The hospital is forced to give away care for free due to EMTALA. They swear that the high costs are to offset that. However, the nonprofit large organization around me spend tens of millions of dollars a year to have their names on the local football teams. Odd, isn’t it?
I had my gall bladder removed last october, with everything from emergency room visit to doctors visits, surgery with all that comes with that and removal of staples afterwards I paid 1100 swedish kronor. That's about 127 USD. $48,000 is absolute madness! I really do hope that your system can be fixed, no one should risk going bankrupt to get the treatment they need :(
That is insane. I had emergency gall bladder removal about 18 months ago, which included 6 nights in hospital. I can’t even imagine having that much debt as a result of essential surgery! I didn’t even pay for the antibiotics or pain relief I took home, as anything they send you home with from the hospital is not charged for!
I live in Aus. I had my gall bladder removed in 2019. It wasn't urgent so I went through private healthcare and I payed $250 as a premium. If it was urgent I would have payed $0
This happened to me as well. I was working as a tips-only server at the time while going to university full time and taking care of my three year old daughter. They quoted me 30k for the procedure, which also didn't include the anesthesiologist or surgeon or pre/post op appointments. Sad, isn't it?
Hi Evan, I’m a clinical/medical coder in the UK. We’re basically responsible for generating the invoices for treatments (in all countries). Difference in the UK is that our price groups are sent to the government for reimbursement- as opposed to the actual patient. If you wanted a price comparison with a true result, PM me with your scenarios and I’ll send you some screenshots. 👍
There is some definite illusions about costs with this JMO bless his innocence 🙂. I manage a trauma unit and often hear of the costs that non residents have if they are in a major accident.
@@karenfolan56 definitely! I had a little chuckle when he thought CT scans only costed £100 😬. Standard CT starts at £1000 and goes up from there based on time taken and number of body areas.
I did wonder that. As i work in uk private health care and i believe we charge about 300 for an ultrasound per area. I think it includes the radiologist fee as well. But not the consultants
I’m American and ended up in the ER in London during a business trip. I either had food poisoning or a stomach bug and couldn’t stop throwing up. My British friend says I went to one of the best hospitals in London, which is a bit scary based on the waiting area and check in process. Once I was seen by a doctor, services were great. And I wasn’t charged anything.
The amount of people in the UK that will go to Doctor or A&E unnecessarily is unbelievable. I remember one occasion that I popped in to A&E to ask about nearest walk-in centre and staff said just come in here - I was seen pretty quickly - I think partially because I was asking about non-A&E. I would have been happy to go to walk-in. Thank you to NHS and their Docs & Nurses
I know I had a seizure and fell down the stairs and busted my face open and I was put in a room with another 3 people and one was there for a sore toe?? SMH
It's important to note that the 'cost of a scan' is the cost of the device divided by the average number of lifetime uses plus the energy cost, plus the operator cost plus any consumable materials plus maintenance costs. If the machine is bought and the staff paid for already then you turning up to get a scan doesn't cost the NHS anything (less those consumables and power costs). If anything, you are ensuring they get more value for their money by using it.
@@deinnydoes5356 hmm.. this effects if you live or not..so it is definately a human right. If there is a large amount of people disagreeing with the high prices, I would think arguing about if it's a right or not is pointless. Its already something a mass amount of citizens are asking for.
"Forcing people to become doctors and treat patients is slave labor and making someone else a slave to ensure your 'human rights' is reprehensible. What about the doctor's human rights?" I have gotten that response multiple times from people when I bring up governmnet funded healthcare. That being said, it is a minority of people who are crazy like that (and probably either foreign agents trying to stir up shit online, or those who have been duped by them). The USA has an actually decent health care system for retirees and the elderly (its basically government run insurance that charges based on a sliding scale). Over 70% of American citizens support removing the age restriction and making it available to everyone. Exactly 2 federally elected politicans openly and enthusiastically support that position. The real problem in America is that our politicians have learned that they can change the topic of conversation every few years and we will give up fighting for before we can make any headway.
@@justincenter4061 the worst part of slavery was the ill affected and it been non consensual. People who choose to be drs get paid and supported so it cant be compared. If the elderly who paid their taxes are been cared for, what change does doing that for everyone affect? Drs are paid, people are irrefutable helped so they live better lives and less money is squandered to help the economy. I think the strangest thing is how this is brought into politics with only 2 people fighting for a major impact that every single person from a newborn baby is affected by. Politics isnt for things like this since its not a fighting issue. If they were arguing about the tax rates that would make some sense.
You've used an idea that Americans don't universally believe, that healthcare is a right instead of a privilege. Too many Americans are brainwashed to think taxes are evil and theft and that they shouldn't have to help anyone without the ability to say no on a case by case basis, especially if a religious zealot deems you to be an "evil sinner" and that there should be no negative consequences for saying no.
My mom was on a respirator for 3 weeks and almost 5 weeks in total in the hospital. She had CT scan, blood test weekly, they had to take a sample from her lung, they did use some kind of camera thing to see what's wrong with it as well, they were measuring her oxygen levels daily as well. It cost almost 100 dollars.
between paying for college and healthcare, my brain can’t comprehend how there is such thing as well off Americans. Not the super rich ones who probably live off big businesses or inherited money, but just you’re average family who own their own home
Thankfully I went to a state university in the 80s before even the cost of that became ridiculous. A young person going to college today is pretty much guaranteed to be paying off student loan debts for much of their working life.
You know I live in Australia and studying here isn’t cheap either. It’s actually around as expensive to study as an international student as in America. Thing is.... it’s way cheaper for domestic students. The degree I’m looking at (nursing and psychology) is around 34000 Australian dollars (25k American Dollars) for international students. It’s 6000 aud (4500 us$) for domestic students per year. But Australians also earn more than americans an average Full Time worker makes 79 000 aud (58 000 us$). It’s 43000 in America. Oh and we have free public health insurance that pays for a lot. Yeah we pay for it I’m taxes but for example I didn’t pay anything this year because I only came to Australia halfway through the tax year and didn’t pay any taxes because I didn’t earn enough. Oh and we don’t pay that much in taxes for it. Usually 1-1.5% America is a disaster honestly. I don’t get how anyone can survive financially.
Generational wealth that supports you (both living rent free longer and inheritance), smart/lucky decisions that keep you at the lower end of costly experiences like college and luck not getting sick or having chronic costly issues. We def have to pull ourselves out of debt at the start of our work life and it has caused people to push life changing decisions back in the new generations bc not being able to afford it yet. A lot of helpful ways to start out properly and stay afloat are not taught in schools so it is up to your research now on the internet and your parents' wisdom.
Partly it’s generational. My husband and I both had parents who could pay for our undergrad degrees. His graduate degree was funded by the university and my law degree was paid for partly by my parents and partly by loans. So between us we came out of school with a Ph.D. In a STEM field, and a J.D. (law degree) and $40,000 in debt. We were both highly employable. When we had kids I wanted to work part-time, and we decided he would need to move from an academic position to a corporate job to make more money. A college education is roughly $250,000 per kid these days, and we just got done paying for that. Now we think we can retire in middle class circumstances when he reaches 68, six years from now. So that’s the answer: It all started with our parents ability to pay for education, and we were able to pass the same privilege to our girls. Generational modest wealth. I don’t know how anyone moves up in the world, financially.
I sat in A&E for well over 4 hours. I was later told I was lucky to be alive. So yes it’s frustrating to be waiting for people who don’t need to be there. Ended up in hospital for 10 weeks, multiple ops and CT scans. So thankful for the NHS goodness knows what that would have cost, I’m guessing some 100s of thousands if not more.
The $200 “audiology test” mentioned is the “hearing screening” for the newborn baby. Checks for deafness or hearing issues in a newborn. If baby fails, they get it a second time (usually in hospital) and if they fail again they get a referral to see a specialist and additional follow up testing in a few months. Was a former L&D and maternity RN in the USA so I am quite familiar with all these terms 😬😉
Yep, this young lad is a junior doctor in a&e, he’s probably 1st or 2nd year and too young to have had kids so he’s almost certainly never seen the testing of the baby’s hearing
I had a migraine that presented like a stroke when I was 23 and refused to go to the ER because I was uninsured. Then a couple years later had a miscarriage completely at home because I was still uninsured. Having my state expand Medicaid has been so awesome for me finally getting the care I need, but it should be for everyone and I’m dreading having to go to the hospital now that my job provides insurance (which we all see how that worked out when over 40 million people lost their jobs suddenly in 2020 and also lost their insurance).
I had natural birth on the NHS. I had my own delivery room with mood lighting, DVD player, music, water bath (for the birth or just to relax in)... It was awesome.
The doctor looks like a young James McAvoy. In Argentina medical assistance is also "free" in general for the citizens. We should all appreciate doctors and hospital workers more. 😔
111 is a gods send! You usually have to be on the phone for a while but it’s ultimately so worth it! They give you expert advice and tell you what to do next if further action is needed, even organise out of hour GPs to call you and book appointments for you at A&E if necessary - it’s bloody amazing and saves the NHS lots of money
Maybe I'm a bit naive, but where does all this money go? In US hospitals, I mean. These costs are in no relation to labor costs of medical personnel or the manufacturing costs of the stuff that is used like medicine and bandages.
Your assumption is spot on, all this money goes to the CEOs of the private hospitals and to the pharmaceutical and private health insurance companies who make money off of people’s suffering which is suffering. And they are legally allowed to do this because they buy politicians so they don’t change this by not implementing universal healthcare
This is my own unresearched reply, but based on what I remember from high school. Basically everyone assumed that insurance was paying most of the costs and so they created inflated prices with a belief that the common patient didn’t actually pay that cost. However with the amount of Americans who are uninsured/underinsured Medical costs end up bankrupting people. But also in the last few decades insurance companies have been pulling back on what they cover so even insured people get bankrupted. It’s like, legal fraud?
Administration and pharmaceutical and medical devices all have inflated costs in the us- both on the insurance and the hospital side. So you’re paying a lot of salaries of people that move around paper and code care to decide if insurance will pay for your care. Hospitals here are nonprofit corporations but health insurance companies are some of the richest corporations as are pharmaceutical makers, medical device manufacturing, and contracted medical services.
And nonprofit doesn’t mean you don’t make money, it just means you have a social mission. They also don’t pay taxes. And plenty of hospitals are for profit in the us. The cost of med school is quite high so medical professional salaries are also quite high partially to compensate.
In Germany the insurance pays around 600 € for cardiac catheterisation and stent implantation regardless of the number of stents or the procedure‘s length if an outpatient doctor performs the procedure. If you do it in a clinic as a stationary patient it costs around 2000 € excluding all fees for the bed and nursery etc. Governmental regulation of prices can be a good thing especially in healthcare.
My mother died a few months ago. She had been having a few small symptoms (difficulties doing things that were once easy for her like styling her hair. Shortness of breath when she was previously able to easily able to walk multiple laps around the park.) and her partner had been encouraging her to go to the GP. She didn't want to go and was convinced it wasn't serious enough to be worth the cost. She had insurance but not very good insurance. She eventually ended up with a several day, low grade, fever and was able to be talked into going to the hospital. She spent 10 or 11 days in the hospital before she insisted that she wanted to go home. She was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer that had metastasized into her lungs. Her insurance didn't cover cancer treatment and she didn't want to start treatment without coverage because she didn't have the money to pay out of pocket. We started applying for government funding and I put my life on hold to take care of her for an average of 10 hours a day/5 days a week so my aunt (who my mom lived with) could go to work for the next three weeks. Her pre-approval for state coverage came through and we submitted it Friday, Mom also went back into the hospital. Saturday I signed her DNR. Sunday she died. Monday they called to say that the state would cover that particular cancer center and we could schedule her treatment. The woman on the on the other end of the line gasped so loud it was almost funny in such a dark time. She apologized and quickly hung up. I felt kind of bad but at the same time, I was having a pretty bad day myself
I live in Italy and the system is pretty much like the NHS. A personal example: my wife went through regular preventive breast-cancer screening, a strange lump was found, it got tested on the spot, 10 days later she found out she had a small but potentially serious cancer. Within 30 days she'd gotten through the operation, and all subsequent check-ups were already planned for the next year. All for free. I am very willing to pay taxes that cover other people's operations, if this means that my life can be saved within making me poor.
Im a british pakistani so born in the uk but my parents were born in pakistan. My first born was born at home but 9 weeks premature the main reason he survived was due to me having a steriod injection during the pregnancy when complications began which made his lungs grow faster so when he was born he was able to breath. This one injection is worth about 4 thousand pounds but i never realised how lucky i was until i went to pakistan and he had a chest infection and the child specialist told me this. I feel if in britain we were made aware of the cost of treatment and the resources which are given to us feely we'd appreciate it more. I kept declining the steriods and only after a lot of pressure from all the doctors and nurses did i agree but i didnt realise its worth until 3 years later. Had my son been born in pakistan we wouldn't have been able to afford the injection let along 2 months of care in a neonatal unit.
The nhs is amazing! I’ve got two kids and both times in all the appointments and then my labour and delivery the staff have been amazing. Us brits are amazingly lucky to have the nhs.
As someone who married an American and is planning on moving there from the U.K, this TERRIFIES me! I can’t imagine having to pay so much for general health care! I have American friends that tell me the price of their monthly contraception and I think it is disgraceful!
@@MayaBishopStan In terms of health care and worker's rights, yes it is. The US charges you nearly a million dollars for curing the venom of a snake bite and denies you any access to preventative care without insurance, which costs ridiculous amounts of money to have. However, the uk made it illegal to have any object on you for self defense and outlawed basic self defense items like pepper spray and stun guns. You can get charged jail time for using pepper spray on an attacker or keeping something to defend yourself on your person. Pros and cons, my friend.
Depends on the state you move to. Contraceptives will soon be illegal in 23 states as it's unchristian for you as a woman to have such medication. Also be prepared to this inalienable fact you are worthless; you are to be abused and treated like a product. If you disagree then God hates you. If you demand more rights or speak of healthcare in any socialist terms you can be insulted or worse... Welcome to America! Land of Jesus and Capitalism.
an little understood part of the NHS is colective purchacing power, instead of putting out a "hey we will pay you X for one unit of Y medication" to lots of companies, socialised medicine is able to say "hi, we want to use Y type of medication for our whole country, can you give us a bulk discount?" the medication companies (and a lot of others in ppe etc) are able to give a lower overall price per unit because they have the stability that having a large contract brings
Ive just had a hysterectomy through keyhole surgery and was given choice of three hospitals - one of which was private. I choose the private hospital where I had a wait time of around 5 months from initial assessment to the operation. Upon checking the private health prices this should have cost around £8000, however this was paid for by our NHS system. Thankful for our NHS!! X
I’m in the UK and broke my hip just before the very first lockdown and was taken to hospital by ambulance and underwent surgery a couple of hours later (I was 59 so wasn’t given a hip replacement, but instead had a metal bar put in; unfortunately it didn’t work and, because of the pandemic, instead of it being a period of six weeks before having a scan to see whether the surgery had worked, it was six months and then I was told the surgery hadn’t worked, but because of the pandemic they could not re-admit me into hospital as I would have caught COVID, so it was 17 months later that I had the hip replacement. At no point have I been expected to pay for any treatment whatsoever. The NHS is the best - thanks NHS!
I needed a fetal echocardiogram for my baby. It took about an hour and I talked to the doctor for about 5min. My insurance got charged almost $4000 and the dr charged me $240 for telling me everything was normal. 🙂
my brother just moved to arizona when he ended up yellow and in pain. he had to stay at hospital filter his blood and have his appendix removed. this is the amazing thing. because he didn’t work yet and had no insurance. the hospital covered all costs. that was the only experience i had with something good regarding medical on american soil lol
I’ve had three babies. Never paid a cent. Hubby cut his finger through tendons with a chainsaw never paid a cent. Got to love living in Australia. Don’t even notice the money taken from our wages that go towards covering it.
Same great system as Uk. Unfortunately Americans don't like it because it's "socialist". They don't realise that Education and Police are paid for in a Socialist way too.
Ditto. My husband had an industrial accident in Melbourne losing fingers and his ability to use his right hand for a period of time. Not only did WorkCover cover everything, including 5 operations and 3 years of physio, but we were compensated by the company's Insurance which paid off our mortgage.
@@lemming9984 As someone from the United States, I WANT healthcare for all, I WANT what you, Canada, Australia, etc. have. It's mostly the stupid Republicans that think being progressive and socialist is "too much" and "we're not ready for it" blah blah blah. A lot of us really wanted Bernie Sanders for president but nope, it was between Trump and Biden... It sucks dude, I really want us to be better. I have epilepsy so god forbid I have a grand mal seizure for the first time and probably have to pay a lot for a hospital stay and ambulance fee. I live in California and I have one type of insurance for low-income people called Medi-Cal. I pay $0 for my medication, $0 co-pay, and $0 for any other doctors visits I've had. Because I haven't gone to the hospital ever, or yet, idk what it would translate to in hospital terms (meaning how much would Medi-Cal cover if I end up there). Our country is so backwards and outrageously selfish. I don't even want to start on our cost of living too...
I broke my ankle a couple of months ago. I was seen immediately on arrival, x-rayed (twice) and plastered up. Over the next two weeks I went back about three times to check on a fracture blister and to check swelling for surgery. I had the plaster changed once. I then had a metal plate and 8 screws put in and, of course, a new plaster cast. My stay for surgery was overnight, and for that I was in a private room (I think I just got lucky there). Two weeks later I was given a black boot to replace the cast and four weeks after that I was back for another x-ray. In total I've had four casts and five or six x-rays. This was all on the NHS. The staff have been universally wonderful, and my treatment has been faultless. I can't imagine how much my bill would have been in the US and not having surgery wouldn't have been an option. I'm so grateful we have the NHS and those few right-wing Americans who like to point out that we pay higher taxes (actually not much higher) should know that there is almost no one in the UK who resents paying for the NHS with their taxes. Because we all pay towards it, we can all afford to have treatment.
I remember when I had to go to the hospital for a burst appendix and after I came to my mum was there and I was still a little bit out of it. So I asked how much was it going to cost, and she looked at me and said it’s free with a weird look on her face. Man, it just made me appreciate the NHS more.
If I hadn't been a disabled veteran, for everything from the start of pregnancy to when I took my baby home would've cost over $50k. And that's on the low end. The genetic test on my baby alone was 12k. But I paid nothing, and the great thing as a disabled veteran mother, is they covered all costs, provided maternity bras, clothes, toys and other supplies for my baby, and provided a super nice breast pump.
Don't get me wrong with this I'm about to say but it's really terrifying and horrible that you only got that help just because of being a DISABLED VETERAN. You HAVE to be so screwed up just to get some frigging help. My gosh I really wish the best for you my man, I really mean it. ❤
My father was almost killed in an industrial accident in 1996. He had to be airlifted from a remote island, had multiple surgeries and spent three months in hospital followed by loads of physiotherapy. Just over a year later I suffered a major stroke which required a similar level of care and inpatient time, including dozens of invasive procedures to determine why a teenager had a sudden stroke. Because we live in Scotland, we were not bankrupted by our terrible luck. I would genuinely give my life to protect the NHS because it has given my family so much.
I had to visit a doctor in the US while on vacation and was absolutely shocked at the bill. The travel insurance company and my Provincial Health wanted a breakdown of the total. Was stunned to see they what they charged for band-aids, the cotton balls, etc for just a shot! Had to visit the doctor again the next day and found out I had shingles (was a bit stressed at the time…needed a vacation). The cost of 32 tablets was $603.00. The cream I was asked to use was in a 2 oz tube that was $26 (one day’s use of this size…). This was a few years back…. The doctor’s bills were three times what we spent on the vacation. I never travel without insurance! It was an eye opener when The first question asked was did I have insurance not what was the reason for visiting a doctor….
UK national, similar experience in US . I had a wound that was being treated by my GP before I went away, using a particular healing process, and was worried about it. My travel insurers arranged for me to see a local doctor - small town, no choice - who was a charlatan. Told me I had an MRSA infection, treat it differently, prescribed an antibiotic and some ointment. The former was for something banned in the UK because of its awful side effects, and I had to stop taking as it made ma so ill. The tiny tube of ointment cost $200 and can be bought over the counter in a British pharmacy for £8. When I got home my doctor said there was no evidence of an infection and his suggestion had delayed healing.
@@missharry5727 Hi! So sorry to hear about what happened to you. To tell the truth, I was scared to visit an American doctor after watching reality ER shows. Hopefully you and I won't have this experience again! Take care and stay safe!
Dude, I've had really bad asthma since I was little and with insurance, my albuterol costs between $65-$150 depending on the raise and drop pricings that go between the pharmacy and the insurance company. My online friend in the UK has asthma as well and gets an inhaler for 8-9 pounds, and he said that the reason it's so high is because of the tax.
Interesting discussion and very informative. Thank you. For those who, like me, don't have a ton of experience around hospitals or missed the second where they explained it, A&E is accident and emergency.
I live in Germany. I had an emergency c section and I was in the hospital for 5 days. The hospital also provides everything for the babies (diapers, wipes, clothes, food) I paid 50euro in total. I had a scan every 4 weeks didnt cost anything.
The fundamental difference is that U.K. system is predominantly operated as an essential public service and is run at cost to provide healthcare for the population. While the US system is a collection of private businesses that are designed to make money, and also provide healthcare for the customer.
You are absolutely 100% correct. Healthcare in the US is a FOR PROFIT endeavour. American accept defence, roads, the national airspace system and many more programs as acceptable and necessary. But then the GOP throws in the 'communism' card and the sheep that watch Fox, fall for it hook line and sinker when it comes to healthcare which is a basic right in so many other countries.
