Certain medical procedures in the USA

[panamania79 2]

My best friend just went to Colombia to get his lasik sugery on his eyes.It cost him only $500.00.Why is it way more expensive here ?

[Flames9_RN 358]

Columbia is actually a world leader in eye care. When it comes to expenses, Probably a lot more wealthy people in the USA, thus more $$$$$$$$.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Because the medical profession in the US if profit based and those involved in the process like lots of profit. If the market will pay it, they will charge it.

[sparkofcreation 0]

Probably something to do with the fact that the average salary in Colombia is 1/15 the average salary in the US. So if the doctor, nurse, etc., only make a fraction of what they'd make here, they still make more than enough to live on in Colombia. Whereas a doctor charging $500 per surgery here in the US wouldn't be able to pay for housing or food or anything like that.

OTOH, medical care in Mexico costs approximately what it costs here in the US, but our salaries in the US are between 10-20 times higher in the US. I have a friend whose wife got sick (some sort of respiratory infection) while visiting there and the doctor's visit plus medication (for a fairly minor problem) was $200 ... which is about a month's surgery for most people in Mexico. (And people wonder why Mexicans come here to work when their family members get sick!)

[Amby 490]

my sister had surgery 2 weeks ago and the first bills have arrived and so far they're $37,000. good thing she has insurance!

[panamania79 2]

my sister had surgery 2 weeks ago and the first bills have arrived and so far they're $37,000. good thing she has insurance!

Thank GOD for insurance,I don't know what I'd do without it.

[kim&james 0]

Yes, James had a op last year and total cost for the day surgery was around 27k, we only had to pay around $300, thank heavens for good insurance.

[MrsCat 6]

my sister had surgery 2 weeks ago and the first bills have arrived and so far they're $37,000. good thing she has insurance!

That just made my heart skip a little. Yikes! How do people without insurance pay for surgery? Do they file for bankruptcy?

[MrsCat 6]

my sister had surgery 2 weeks ago and the first bills have arrived and so far they're $37,000. good thing she has insurance!

That just made my heart skip a little. Yikes! How do people without insurance pay for surgery? Do they file for bankruptcy?

[GaryC 7]

A lot of the problem is the law suit happy nature of Americans. All procedures carry risks and there will always be a certain percentage of those that go wrong. It's a lot of peoples first reaction to sue and cash in if something goes wrong. That results in massive malpractice insurance premiums for doctors. That cost must be figured into the cost. It's also the reason why some types of doctors are in short supply. Finding a OB/GYN doctor to take care of a high risk pregnancy for example is a daunting task. It also causes doctors to try to "cover their azzes" and order tests that would normally not be run in an effort to reduce their risk of something unforeseen as the cause of a condition. Another reason is the government regulations involved. The reasons for the regulations are to protect us but it also runs up the costs.

[MrsCat 6]

It's a lot of peoples first reaction to sue and cash in if something goes wrong. That results in massive malpractice insurance premiums for doctors. That cost must be figured into the cost. It's also the reason why some types of doctors are in short supply. Finding a OB/GYN doctor to take care of a high risk pregnancy for example is a daunting task. It also causes doctors to try to "cover their azzes" and order tests that would normally not be run in an effort to reduce their risk of something unforeseen as the cause of a condition. Another reason is the government regulations involved. The reasons for the regulations are to protect us but it also runs up the costs.

Good post and point Gary.

[SnowyTater 0]

People without health insurance just...are screwed, basically. I think if you end up having to have a major procedure without it, the best you can hope for is getting out and just having to pay the minimum payment every month and being in debt for the rest of your life.

My grandma's had about 30 surgeries in her life so has thousands and thousands of dollars in medical debt, but as long as she pays the minimum every month (and it can't be too exorbitant, she only draws social security) they don't bother her. I think debt collectors work with you lots of times, but yeh, you're just...gonna be in debt forever, I guess

I saw a feature story awhile ago talking about why prices are so much higher in the US than other places, and it kind of made me mad and I guess it made sense. According to the story prices are higher mainly because the US is the key, number 1 place for medical research. All our $50 pills (that you can get for $20 from Canada, etc) are going to fund our medical research. US leads the world in coming up with new treatments, cures, drugs, therapies, whatever else I guess, but something has to pay for all that.

The tiffy thing about that is while the rest of the world, I guess more developed countries I'm targetting like European and Canada, pay much lower medical costs, they also benefit from all our research without having to chip in for the costs of it. So that kind of bothers me. Like you'll hear Europeans or Canadians going on about how great their socialized medical system is, but then when they get really really sick, oftentimes they'll fly into the US because we have more cutting-edge treatment than their country.

I'm under amazing insurance just now, my mom works at a BMW plant and they're really really decent to their employees; but as soon as I graduate I'm screwed. I guess the lesson is prioritize the heck out of your health insurance, it's a must in this country.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

The commodity-based pricing schemes and the litigious-happy American public go hand in hand, though. Part of the reason that people feel they have a right to sue is directly related to how much people pay for health care. Can you blame someone who has shelled out thousands of dollars or more for a procedure for wanting compensation if something goes wrong? This isn't to say that a universal system that doesn't cost individuals so much would eliminate malpractice suits, but it would certainly decrease them.

There is a lot of misinformation about how medical research is funded. It is true that Americans pay more for drugs, for example, than just about anywhere else, and that's because other industrialized nations have price controls. The pharmaceutical companies (not just American companies, mind you) jack up the prices for the U.S. market because they can. And the difference between what we pay and what Europeans pay doesn't necessarily go toward research: this money goes toward administrative costs, huge salaries, shareholders, advertising and marketing, etc. Pharmaceutical companies get tons of funding from governments and in the form of private investment. The profit margins of drug companies are absolutely staggering. The costs get even crazier when you start looking at the prices of medical devices and equipment. It's nuts. Have you looked at the prices of basic wheelchairs lately? Some cost as much as a car. It's all about profit. As Kathryn said, if someone will pay it, they'll charge it. If a drug company can charge $100 a pill and two people will pay for it, the company is better off than offering the same pill for $20 to more people. Despite all their "We care" bull$#it, they're in it for the money.

Six of the 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies are European. It's simplistic to say that because a lot of R&D takes place in the U.S., the American public is somehow subsidizing medical research for the rest of the industrialized world. It's not unexpected that the richest country in the world and the largest industrialized nation would lead the world in medical research; it's a simple question of numbers and wealth. Other countries' governments contribute significant funding to medical research as well. International consortia are also key contributors. Many of the scientists working on new treatments and drugs are from elsewhere (and educated elsewhere at the expense of taxpayers in their own countries) but come here to offer their expertise. There is a lot of international collaboration. The main difference between the U.S. and other countries, it seems, is that our government has little say regarding who is allowed to benefit from these treatments in the U.S.

It's true that people come to the U.S. from all over the world for specialized treatments that aren't available anywhere else. But it says something about the U.S. system that people who can afford it are treated here, no matter where they come from, while American citizens who are uninsured are not. Caring for the U.S. population first has never been a priority, that much is clear. It's all about the money--or perhaps who has the most compelling story if the care is provided free of charge.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Because the medical profession in the US if profit based and those involved in the process like lots of profit. If the market will pay it, they will charge it.

What I find interesting is how quick so many people are to jump on physicians (most of whom have absolutely no say in how health insurance works, as it tends to screw them over too) for actually wanting to make a profit. Since when, in our capitalistic society, is wanting to earn money and make a nice living a crime? As far as I know, that's been one of the main goals in American life since the creation of this country and why so many people came here -- and are still coming here to this day!

I think there's this wide-eyed, romanticized and somewhat idealized notion that physicians (and anyone else in the medical industry) should "do their job merely for the sake of helping others and whatever pay they get is unimportant." That's highly unrealistic. These men and women have lives and families, just like everyone else. If they couldn't earn a living doing their job, why would they do it? To help others? Yes, most want to; if they were only looking for profit, they could make a lot more as the CEO of a corporation, but helping others won't put food on the table or pay for a home and utilities, will it?

Many will say that physicians earn too much. How much they make depends on what specialty they are, how many patients they see and what the insurance provider of the patient they see wishes to "give" them. What a physician charges is very rarely what he or she actually makes. In addition, as Gary pointed out malpractice lawsuits are everywhere, so every physician must have lots and lots of malpractice insurance, which can range from the so-called low price of $80,000 anually to as high as $200,000 per year. Then to even become a physician, you must not only have outstanding marks in school to get into medical school and make it through your residency (all of which costs a ton), but takes years.

I'm not going to say there aren't bad people in the medical profession. There are and unfortunately, they have the potential to do some real harm. However, most physicians are just looking for a way to earn a living while treating their patients effectively and not getting the pants sued off them in the process. Under the current system, that's not an easy task.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Because the medical profession in the US if profit based and those involved in the process like lots of profit. If the market will pay it, they will charge it.

What I find interesting is how quick so many people are to jump on physicians (most of whom have absolutely no say in how health insurance works, as it tends to screw them over too) for actually wanting to make a profit. Since when, in our capitalistic society, is wanting to earn money and make a nice living a crime? As far as I know, that's been one of the main goals in American life since the creation of this country and why so many people came here -- and are still coming here to this day!

I think there's this wide-eyed, romanticized and somewhat idealized notion that physicians (and anyone else in the medical industry) should "do their job merely for the sake of helping others and whatever pay they get is unimportant." That's highly unrealistic. These men and women have lives and families, just like everyone else. If they couldn't earn a living doing their job, why would they do it? To help others? Yes, most want to; if they were only looking for profit, they could make a lot more as the CEO of a corporation, but helping others won't put food on the table or pay for a home and utilities, will it?

Many will say that physicians earn too much. How much they make depends on what specialty they are, how many patients they see and what the insurance provider of the patient they see wishes to "give" them. What a physician charges is very rarely what he or she actually makes. In addition, as Gary pointed out malpractice lawsuits are everywhere, so every physician must have lots and lots of malpractice insurance, which can range from the so-called low price of $80,000 anually to as high as $200,000 per year. Then to even become a physician, you must not only have outstanding marks in school to get into medical school and make it through your residency (all of which costs a ton), but takes years.

I'm not going to say there aren't bad people in the medical profession. There are and unfortunately, they have the potential to do some real harm. However, most physicians are just looking for a way to earn a living while treating their patients effectively and not getting the pants sued off them in the process. Under the current system, that's not an easy task.

I don't think too many people take issue with doctors earning good money. Anyone in a highly specialized field that requires 20-something years of solid schooling deserves to earn a good living! Most new doctors graduate into significant debt and, as mentioned, malpractice insurance is very expensive, shockingly so for certain specialties. I think Kathryn was referring to the entire health care system in the U.S. being profit driven. That's really at the root of the skyrocketing costs that have put insurance out of reach for so many. I think peejay just posted a thread about how hard it is to get individual insurance. The pricing is absolutely crazy; no wonder so many people decide to risk going without. In some cases, premiums alone would eat up half your paycheck, and that's before copayments--if you're lucky enough to get a policy at all. If you have a chronic condition, forget it. If you've had cancer within the last few years, good luck. Only a profit-driven system would allow for this type of scheme.

It's the facility (hospital) charges that make people gasp. If you look at a hospital statement, the doctor fees are likely a fraction of the total bill.