americans confused by normal priced healthcare
 

"Hello I am an American who was traveling in Split for a holiday. Ended up drinking a little bit too much, blacked out and woke up in the hospital with an IV in my arm. Somehow the bill was only $240 kn.

Can anybody tell me why the bill was so cheap especially since I am a US citizen without Croatian healthcare insurance? Also did they notify the embassy of my stay? Just don’t know where my info is documented and ended up. Wish I could read my discharge papers but they are all in Croatian. Going to have to do google translate late."


:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh


man they ripped him off for $36 dude does not even get it :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

They are used to pay $40 for an aspirin tablet at a clinic and even an ambulance/reanimation is a paid service there. If you break an arm or a leg (need an X-Ray, pain reliever, plaster cast etc) or if you need an appendix to be removed, it will also cost money in the USA. You won't believe it but it's true. I mean the basic things that are free in any country of the world...

Now wait 5 minutes for AIDSwire with his supper duper pictures of poor Russian clinics and an HIV epidemic. What a miserable clown :1orglaugh

2AIDSwire: yes, the anti-HIV pills are also free in Russia ;)

I picked up a nasty case of the Pinkeye while in the USA, went and saw a doctor in Las Vegas, I wasn't sure if they took credit cards so withdrew 2k so I'd have enough cash on me I also had and always travel will full insurance, but didn't think this was serious enough to make a claim.

Nurses and doctor fussed over my eye for like 40 minutes, flushing out all that dirty bacteria

and finally I went to pay the bill..

$75 bucks

Australia has "Free" health care, visit to my doctor costs $85 before they do anything.

While I'm sure anything serious would of cost my house, for an incidental and common doctor visit, it was cheaper in the USA than Aus..

Last month I had a heart attack, needed an angiogram, one night in intensive care under public care and one night in recovery under private. Everything was free except for the private room which stung me $500 as that's my excess.

Follow up visits to the cardiologist are not free, and he stings me $480 a chat ;)

free..

You must be happy with that because as you said yesterday, your level of life is 2500x times better than in Russia. We are doomed to pay nothing to visit a doctor; to call an ambulance for any case (e.g. I fell pain in my stomach, or I have a temperature/panic attack/whatever, or I want to transport my pregnant wife to a hospital etc); to have surgery; to fix my broken bones; to stay in a municipal hospital (this also includes the therapy, pills and even food there). Too bad that our life is 2500x times worse than yours :(

So AU have more expensive healthcare then US? Suddenly i am glad my father escaped Australia :1orglaugh

Next time just boil water and let it cool of and than blink your eyes in it, just like you can do swimming. Or do it with camomile tea and you save yourself 74 USD. It works, done it a few times. Works also with cats with red eyes.

https://naturalnewagemum.com/how-to-...is-or-pinkeye/

BTW, if you don't want to wait in line for hours in a free municipal clinic, yo may go to a private one (yes, we also have super duper private clinics) and you will also have to pay to visit a doctor, but the price is much lower. For $85 you will be consulted with doctor, who is at least a Ph.D / professor of medicine. And that's not a joke, a standard price of a visit to a Ph.D of medicine in one of the Moscow's private clinics is 5000 RUB, which is equal to $78 USD. Note that Moscow is a rather expensive city. In other Russian cities the prices will be lower of course.

But, as you said already... your life standards are 2500x times better. What a shame for us :(

When I lived in Australia I was shocked at how cheap a doctor's visit, and lots of drugs, was.

America gets fucked bad on drug prices. Drugs that were $10 in Australia when I lived there were over $129 in America. The minimum wage in Australia is $18.93 an hour.

What's the average wage of those Russian doctors?

:) and that's where the difference is.

If I was on any sort of Government benefit here, then its basically free, or if I wanted to go through the free system, I have a private doctor and choose to see the next available specialist rather than wait for the next free one.

Aus in many ways has the perfect model for American health care, 60% still have insurance, but free is there and just as good for those that need it. For the rest of us insurance fees are a tax break. Everyone pays 2% tax for medical and that 2% is enough to give everyone free health care.

And also, when it comes to best healthcare system, that would be germany, as it's only country where doctors are paid well and you get quality service. They even give you blue light after surgery.

Low salary/a lot of overtime is huge problem in Croatia, a lot of doctors/nurses running away due it and there is huge risk of whole system collapsing.

i perfer to go to doctor in thailand.
I spend half of my day today in the best and most expensive clinic around here because I have a problem in my neck an my shoulder and i habd some strange spot in my face that did not want to go with cremes.

so what i got was

1. the normal standard bloodperssure, weigt, diabetes, heart-check
2. 40 minutes under an MRI
3. full body xray scan
4. local anesthesia and operation for taking the strange spot in my face
5. close the wound with laser
6. they will send it now to laboratory and I will get the result on friday (but paid it already today)
7. cremes and cleaning stuff for the wound

all in all 550 US-Dollars including the coffee they gave me on little waiting time and the drives with the golf cab through the hospital.

In germany I would pay like 5-6 times that price and would not even get the half of the service, time and kindness.

same as college tuition, went up when government loans became accessible however that doesn't stop your people from trying to sneak into the USA because it's better than the shithole live in . didn't trump even say your country was a shithole? not sure you guys were even noticed enough to make the list :2 cents:

wow!! look who's back!! you finally get out of jail for beating your wife?

Sounds like you comparing private clinics, private clinics quality is more less same everywhere with only difference in price . India private clinics would be best for saving money.

No, he said for Haiti and "some african countries" to be shitholes.

you are an idiot - but not your fault. shit happens when a donkey and a goat make babies

thank you, I seldom follow political stuff...

that's possibly funny in your 'mother tongue' but english isn't really translating to well :2 cents:

how was jail? you get to suck lots of dicks? blade boy wants to know!! :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

That was funny :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:thumbsup

you know obviously a lot about jails and dicks.
so tell us a bit how it is - or aren't they fucking some ugly miscarriages like you?

$75 for that visit is a very good deal. My regular family practitioner has a basic fee of $150 so it is that much just to walk in and see him more if they actually need to do anything to you.

Three years ago there was a mix up with my asthma medication and I found myself needing an inhaler refill and the doctor's office was closed. I ended up going to an urgent care center. I literally walked into the exam room, explained what was going on, the doc wrote me a prescription for an inhaler and I left. Total time in room about 5 minutes. The bill was $385. Not to mention then getting the prescription filled which was another $75.

I paid 20 euros for consultations with the top orthopaedic surgeon in our country...I had to wait 1 day to see him...no insurance...

Have no idea. It may be $1 dollar a month and he may live well because he pays 0.001 cent for taxi, and 0.002 cents to his dentist etc. It also maybe $1.000.000 dollars a month, but his dentist charges him $100.000 for a visit because he also wants to earn $1.000.000 dollars a month.

When you speak about earnings, you should also speak about spendings. So there is no difference. The only difference is if you have to pay for a medicine or if you haven't.

well, i tell you what - less grumpy/sad/agressive Russians and other Slavs, more sun, better standards - and yeah, life standard is really better...
it all depends on what you will focus your attention though.
some people are happy that they can buy cheap vodka, eat more or less healthy food, get free doctor visit for further pain of stomach, while the others...
prefer to stay in the sun, not corrupted country, with working democracy more or less and drive decent roads :1orglaugh:1orglaugh
paradise doesnt exist, and it does, only in one's head:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

and what would that be ? :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh uh ohhhhhh

Hmm doesn't make sense why all those migrants seem to pass Serbia right on by.

Why is that?

In Florida they had urgent cares that would see anybody for 20 bucks by all the migrant farms. It was nice. Dont know if that's still a thing.

i am paying 120 euro a month and can go anywehere in the world with own risk of 250 euro a year.
In Holland i would have paid around 350 euro a month so for illegals it can be free.

More sun? No, thank you. I know the skin cancer rate in Australia. Maybe a better environment, where very insect, snake or any other animal (even magpies) what to kill you? No, thank you again. Also Sydney and Melbourne are just too boring in comparison with London, Moscow or NYC.

The only plus I see in Australia is their extremely low level of corruption. This is good of course.

P.S. In fact, there is no lack in democracy in Russia. Everything you may consider as anti-democratic manifestations/signs, in fact is just a pure corruption. The police is corrupted and it go against people, fabricates fake criminal cases against those who don't support Putin. The same do regular people who are ready to falsify votes for Putin and his people because... they get paid for that. The courts that absolutely corrupted and they always on Putin's side. So if you will take out the corruption factor, Russia will be an absolutely democratic country. The people's mentality must be changed, but I don't know how to do it.

I employ a lot of programmers who do not want to go to the west...many people do not want to leave and go to shit hole USA...the USA dumps its inflation on the world and destroys the lives of billions of people so the only reason they run is economic...without the dump the USA is shit...this will end soon tho :thumbsup

to tell you the truth I would be sad living in the USA...it is an unsafe shit hole with a ton of faggots and ugly women and high prices...who the fuck really wants that?? I do not want to get shot by some gang banger or some crazy cop who is afraid for his life...I do not want to pay 100x for a house or 10000000$ for a surgery...

keep telling yourself you are better than others....war and inflation dumping is the only reason they move...

no that is the taste of american shit in your mouth....we have refugees as well and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more unemployed than holland and shit is still cheap...

illegals are a red herring....they have always existed but are suddenly a problem when the right wing needs votes :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I went for my twice weekly dialysis today and paid nothing, also got a couple of free prescriptions. One my normal medicine and the other antibiotics because I have a fever.

But don't be confused they are only free at the point of dispense. Since 1965 to 2008 I paid a higher tax bill plus a National Insurance bill to the UK and Czech, both countries have a reciprocal deal on health care. We pay pay for our pensions, healthcare here in Europe and as the government is in firm control of the costs, they keep those costs down. TBH the charges should be higher given the age and cost of modern medicine.

Unlike the private system in the US.

Which is, A joke.

I pay a fixed 6% tax for everything. That's why I live 2500x time worse than an average Australian :(

Yummy !!! :thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

In Holland the discussion is starting how much to spent on someone who is sick.
How much is a life worth. Can we afford people that need medicine that cost over 100.000 a year…
When must we stop operations and don't give a new heart/kidney/lungs. Maybe when they are over 75, 70, 65 or maybe 60...

That is because healthcare cost set a new yearly record cause of the baby boom after WWII. And people getting older, more medicine, more expensive operations possible.

How much does a (illegal) migrant cost in your country? In Holland it cost at least 1200 - 2000 euro.. Minimum 900 welfare and than free medicare, subsidised housing, childsupport, study cost, integration cost, etcetra etcetra.

This is a discussion we have to have. Because with so many costs going up and the wage bill stagnating taxing at the present isn't covering it. Also are the costs of all liberal schemes. Immigration needs to be looked at closely in terms of will he and his family contribute or take another man's job. Education, universities are too expensive for the state to fund unless the skill is needed by the country. Healthcare is too expensive full stop.

A simple way to see if the country is raising enough taxes is to look at it from GDP and comparing the part of GDP as tax revenue. The EU in general is facing a huge crisis as is America.

Unless you live in an oil rich country, you're conning your country.

Literally everything you said is true for serbia and we have waaaaaaaay more unemployed...waaaaaaaaay more...and we still get cheap healthcare...i bet we have 2x the unemployed as you do refugees and migrants total...

Funny to hear you of all people say this...comedy 10/10

But you can not only blame migrants, cause many things started costing more in Holland. Paying more for the EU (with the Brexit we will pay even more), house prices going up, we can not get all natural gas cause of earthquakes, etcetra etcetra. Makes that choices must be made how to spent it and they made everyone work longer. Cuttiing down coast of asylum seekers is just 1 part. Just see in a few years, 13 years ago people in Holland who made less than 33.000 a year only paid 35 euro a month, is now at least 110 and will only go up.

Cheap healthcare and low salaries in Serbia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Serbia

I looked it up :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erbkrank

Yes, that is what our government is doing. Now insurance companies can already stop paying for expensive medicines in some cases. They want to get some medicines out of the basic package, so you need extra insurance. A matter of time before there will be a bigger split between poor and rich.

Medicine for diseases like Pompe and Fabry cost 60 million to help about 100 patients. Also cancer medicine can be expensive (and only let you life a year longer).