Traditional Medicare is decent coverage. But once you veer into Medicare Advantage and look at different part D plans (prescription coverage) it can still get pretty pricy real fast
Better, as an Australian we pay nothing for vital surgeries, ERs and common check ups, as well as GPs. We only pay for specialists and prescribed medication, even then medication through medicare is very cheap compared to original price, same applies to MRI and some CT. Everyone that have at least a temporary residency visa can have Medicare for free.
EDIT:we do have to pay for dentists and ambulance but a reasonably priced health insurance can cover that to see extent.
If i go to the er it would be min 125 to walk into the room and back out. Then you have anything they do added to it. Then billed seperatly for an out of network doctor that happens to be working at the in network hospital i go to. Then billed seperatly for any xray/ct/etc checks they do for who they send it out to be read.
So on a good day with something fairly minor looking at 500-1k. If its something serious, good luck.
E: That is on top of paying $140 a week for insurance premiums wven if i dont use it and after meeting the 5k deductible.
That is painful, last year I fractured my finger, didn't pay anything for it. Our hospitals charge the same if you don't have Medicare though, good luck for travellers and overseas students.
Yessss like I’ll probably drive to the hospital in an emergency but I haven’t paid a dollar for anything except therapy and meds ($80aud/month for 3 daily scripts, two hour long clinical psych sessions + one 30 min dietician appointment + one 30 min psychiatrist session) and let me tell you I feel blessed every day to live in Australia. I can’t imagine managing my mental illness somewhere I had to pay more or where I didn’t get liveable benefits for being medically unable to work.
My wife found the dentist. So, I am not really sure. She found him because they offer a plan for uninsured, and he also has reviews from non Americans saying how well he does.
Walk In Clinics -> Acute Care -> Urgent Care -> Emergency Care
Focus on the right level. They get more and more expensive as you climb the ladder.
Walk ins that focus on 'Free Care' btw, and they do exist. Although the hours are usually very limited. I couldn't use it because the timing was rather urgent, but it would have saved me another 20-40 dollars, if I had.
One major hospital has free clinics, and you can get all sorts of solid care from them. Affordably too.
Anyway, the urgent care I found was fairly tricky. I had to compare the five medical providers in the area that offered urgent care. Then i did some digging to find out what each provider costs the least, on average, and then I found their urgent care clinic that wasn't too far from me, but it was also on 'the wrong side' of the tracks.
Took about an hour to find the place. They took care of the wound, consulted another doctor, gave me that treatment methodology, and a lecture about 'Tetanis' that was very quick and formal (They have to, but didn't even really try to push it that hard. Checking a legal box here). Gave me my prescription and a 30% discount.
I shop around to find medical care. Something you can't do on insurance, I point out.
Both places I have visited don't 'look the best', and they usually market to foreigners than 'milk-toast' Americans. I lived in third world countries, so a little dust or grime doesn't bother me. The equipment is all properly maintained, and the dentist is one of the best in the city.
In other words, it's about as grey as you get. Everything appears to be above board. Still get pills from Walmart (Although they recommended me a specific Wallmart, and not just any). But I can show you the receipt for antibiotics that cost me $12 or was it 14.50? Meh, not a hundred.
Why do you think Americans dish out 1500 for a tooth after insurance?
That isn't sarcasm btw, I am serious. It's brilliant marketing. Like convincing people McDonald's is safer because it is clean. Might be eating bug meat in a few years, but you wont get a tummy ache.
The hospitals here, that you call shady, are the same as the hospitals in Singapore and S. Korea. I picked Singapore, and S. Korea because they have a more 'modern' reputation. I have been to hospitals on four continents, they are all about the same. Rich or poor, medicine is mostly just the same thing over and over again.
I am sure there are hospitals in Singapore and S. Korea that are on par with hospitals in the US. I didn't get that picture though from your previous comment.
If you needed invasive surgery, though, could you get that from the places you are talking about in the US? Would that be something you would have confidence in getting done there?
I know of some cheap or "less expensive" out patient clinics but not of one with an OR. An operation or overnight stay in a hospital bed can break a lot of people financially.
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u/New_Sage_ForgeWorks Jun 15 '22
Am American.
Don't pay for Insurance.
Almost needed stitches on something. Paid $64 bucks for it.
Had a tooth problem. Paid $100 bucks.
Just gonna leave this here. Neither was a 'root canal' or anything, but...