My friend is down in the U.S right now, he's a Helicopter mechanic and was brought down to work on the Helicopters fighting a recent fire. He got hurt in the job. Broke a few fingers I believe. He went to a Hospital to get patched up. Now my friend was completely aware that he was going to have to fork out some cash to get himself fixed up. What he was not aware of was how much he has to pay! He was going to walk out of the Hospital and drive back up to Canada. He just could not afford it, unfortunately he ended up having to pay and the Helicopter company covered most of the cost when he asked.

I heard it's 10-15,000$ just to have a kid in the U.S? I'm guessing insurance covers most of the cost. I hope.

Though in many other Countries you have to pay for Health-care also I believe. I'm not sure about insurance ext.
In Canada our Healthcare is free, we walk in with and injury do a few quick things. You get fixed up, relax and when you’re better you walk out and don't pay a penny. Of course you get taxed to hell but it's certainly allot better then the alternative. I broke my arm not to long ago never had to pay a cent.

So I'm wondering, lot's of people are not so lucky with Healthcare in there Country. What's it like there for you? Have you had any past experiences with injuries ext?

It may be like that for minor surgeries but it really svcks to be Canadian and go through things like cancer. The waiting lists are long and unless you know someone or you're bff's with your doctor, you can't really expect any short cuts.

You are right. A friend of mine has cancer. Went in for surgery but the wait was not long for him at all he was lucky. The only short-cut you get is if you have the money got to the states and pay so you can get the surgery right then instead of months later.

Insurance covers almost all of the expenses of a hospital visit. I had to get knee surgery and it cost 5,000 before insurance, I think we only payed like 200 of that.

Yeah waiting lists here are insane, unless your private, and you can pretty much get in straight away, i had a very minor procedure back in early 2000 and i waited 2 and a half years, now its minimum 5 years, if you get in earlier your lucky, government hasnt compensated for population rise, and left the current infrastructure for a smaller population limit. In 1991 i had time in hospital, the operation itself for 4 hours in surgery cost 10.000 dollars, ambulance cost 500 dollars to drive 2 blocks to the hospital.

Cost now have blown out larger than that, thankfully at the moment any injuries i have from my accident have to be payed by the government, otherwise id have no way of paying for hospital costs, but the way its going here so far their want to privatise hospitals.

Free public healthcare i.e. it's paid by taxes. There are also a few private hospitals if you want to skip the long waiting lists.

If you have good health insurance and its not a chronic condition, you're golden in the US. If you have a chronic condition that becomes too expensive your health insurance may very well cut what it will cover or cancel your coverage altogether. Not sure how the recent health care bill with affect that - if it survives the whims of the next election. If you're without insurance you're in big trouble if you have a serious illness. Substandard care and/or financial ruin. It can be very nerve wracking as I've been in both situations in my life (no health insurance and relatively good coverage). Most people will lose coverage immediately if they lose their job. That's a terrifying prospect. Wait lists for non-emergency surgery in a place like Canada may be frustrating, but its better than no coverage at all (which is what tens of millions face here).

Yeah, same here. Not actually aware of any private hospitals though, but they do supposingly exist in Stockholm and in a few other larger cities

In the UK we have the NHS. As far as I'm aware it was the first universal healthcare system and it's been copied (and probably bettered) many times.

It's by no means perfect but it's much better than being refused treatment because you can't afford to pay for it.

It's one of the few things we have to be proud of.

Aneurin Bevan, another great thing the Welsh gave to the world. From the cradle to the grave, not just when you are wealthy.

Here in the US - healthcare costs are through the roof. It's extremely difficult to get care without insurance, however - in any type of emergency situation, a hospital can not refuse you care. They'll still charge you waaaaay more then what the care is worth, but anyone without insurance tends to just not pay them. (And really, who can afford $8,000 for an xray?)

But, we can get anything we want done, at any time, without any waiting, if we can afford it.

Though I'll be honest... I have pretty good health insurance but there are times where it's actually cheaper for me to pay out of pocket then to use it. Doctors and in a limited fashion, hospitals will usually offer deals and discounts to people who don't have insurance (or who don't use it). Perfect example: b12 shots via insurance cost me $20... out of pocket, it's about $9.

The worst though, are hospitals and their billing... the one here sends you about 10 different bills for a single visit. I had to go there for a procedure and I got a bill from the actual hospital for a few thousand, a seperate bill from the doc I saw at the hospital for a few hundred, a seperate bill from the anesthesiologist for - are you ready for this - $4000, and then one from the pathololgist for another couple hundred. My insurance picked up 80% of all costs and I only was left with 20%... except the anesthesiologist, whom the insurance paid $800 and told them to stick it for the rest. But without insurance - who could possibly ever afford that?

Our healthcare system is for sure broken, but to date, no one has offered a solid solution on how to fix it. I hope that changes in the next few years though... because too many people are going without the care they need.

I believe people find the Dutch system pretty strange. I don't know that much about it, but IIRC we have private health insurance companies, but health insurance is obligatory nevertheless.

It's not free in Iceland but it's not that expensive either, unless you're always getting hurt like me

So... the hostpital buys a new machine for every X-Ray?

Anyway, public, tax-funded healthcare here, and the maximum wait to a treatment is regulated by law. Which has resulted in the lines becoming quite reasonable, last i heard (i haven't been in a hostpital since i had my appendix removed almost 20 years ago ).

Healthcare in the UK is a bit of a mixed bag. For non-urgent conditions it depends how much the local health authority likes management consultants: if it's a lot, expect long waiting lists. Emergency care is generally very good, when I had unfortunate need of them last year the house was full of paramedics in under five minutes, I was carted off to hospital and operated on the next day. All the staff involved were excellent.

I've also had private healthcare for about the past 20 years but unless you're prepared to pay out of your own pocket it's mostly useless: even if a condition's not on the massively long list of exclusions, they'll argue with you and try to tangle you up in procedure, and you'll generally end up seeing an NHS doctor anyway (though having met a few non-NHS ones this is probably a good thing.)

So what is the point in having private healthcare if you have to pay out of your own pocket to make it worth anything? Surely if you're already paying a monthly fee you shouldn't have to pay for the procedure anyway.

That's what I'm having to ask myself. It's often provided as a perk to make particular jobs more attractive so mostly doesn't cost me any extra, but I am paying for my other half to also be covered and I am wondering what's the point... I guess the more expensive policies have shorter lists of exclusions, but having witnessed them trying (and often succeeding) to wriggle out of paying for cover several times now, I don't have a great deal of trust for the insurers. Hmm, having considered those last few words, I wonder why I might have ever thought differently...

I once stayed in a hospital overnight for reasons. No surgery or treatment or medicine or anything. Just lying in a bed. In the morning I ate hospital breakfast, talked to some people, and then went on my way.

It cost $2700, $250 of which I had to pay out of pocket after insurance.

So, yeah, it's not that hot. My advice is don't get sick.

This. I feel sorry for people in other countries who are faced with enormous medical bills. Sometimes certain treatments aren't funded by the NHS in the UK (depending on your local health authority) but generally you will never have to pay anything other than than your national insurance contributions, which everyone who is working has to pay anyway. In some countries people even have to pay to see their doctor! I've had an operation, spent weeks in hospital with broken bones, my dad had multiple heart surgeries - and none of it cost a penny. Gawd bless the NHS.

I agree with this. Generally healthcare at GP level is pretty good, hospitals is a little more mixed, and you've got to question everything. Consultants particularly like to fob you off with medical terms.
My dad has heart problems and he's been in and out of hospital a lot. Some staff I've seen have been fantastic, they couldn't do enough for him and sorted him out quickly. Other times we've been passed from department to department because they mixed up test results or couldn't decide what was wrong with him.

Overall though, the NHS is a far better system than having to pay for healthcare. If we lived in America, I'm not even sure if we'd be able to get insurance for my dad.

Healthcare here in America is certainly better than Kenya . At least the hospitals are clean (for the most part). While not exactly perfect (as my fiance can attest to), I think that the system isn't all that terrible, except if you get sick with no insurance.

The UK, things are pretty good. As a Welshman I get free prescriptions too, and NHS care is generally really good. If you can afford it, you can pay for private care too for planned operations, if you'd prefer.

I'm pretty happy with the healthcare system that we have here in France
I don't understand, what's the point in having health insurance if it can be canceled right when you need it?? It doesn't make any sense.
that's a huge "except..."

Put it better than I ever could, re: the USA.
Many people have crap coverage even when they have it, and count themselves lucky to have that. Buying even basic, high-deductable insurance yourself (like if you're self-employed) is very expensive. Basic checkups/minor things aren't that much but if you need bigger/major or constant routine care or hospital stays, look out, heh.

But yes, even here in the US, it's a lot better than in some other countries.

We have a state insurance system called ACC, whereby any accidental injuries, workplace injuries and sports injuries are covered, as well as compensation payed out - in exchange we don't have the right to sue employers or whoever for costs and compensation. Hospital care is also covered, though you can get private insurance; funnily enough if you have private healthcare, you'll most likely still get treated at a public hospital, which are much better equipped.

GPs, prescriptions, etc are all user pays.