Health costs in the US

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Kicking, Sep 22, 2008.

  1. I am in Switzerland and I recently realized health costs were incredibly high over here. I was wondering how it compares to the US which I believe shares the highest health costs worldwide with Switzerland .

    I have lived in the US but never had to go to the doctor, I know however from anecdotal evidence that costs are very high and there are a lot of outrageous things going on such as doctors gaming medicare and using medicare patients as guinea pigs etc.

    Here the bastards charge you by the minute, there is no competition everyone charges the same, whether they are GP or specialists. How much is it ? About CHF 17 every 5 minutes !

    For example if you need to go to ER for a little problem, such as a urinary infection, and you just do a test and they give you a prescription , count on a $250 bill in the mail .

    A trip in the ambulance is CHF 400 per kilometer, a stay at the hospital is 1000 + per day (cheapest available)
    You go to the GP for a regular checkup , CHF 140. Absolutely outrageous . These people are ripoffs artists.

    Worst is they are subsidized by government as insurance is compulsory for everyone living here and you cannot get it from outside Switzerland which would be much cheaper. You cannot elect to undergo surgery outside Switzerland either if you want to be reimbursed. I for one pay insurance at 200 a month but the deductible is so high (2500) it's pretty much useless for all but the most serious health problems.