What You Need to Know About Healthcare Costs in the United States
People often warn visitors to America to purchase a health insurance plan before their trip because of horror stories about healthcare costs in the USA. They talk about outrageous bills for the uninsured party who finds themselves in trouble. But these dramatic stories don't really reflect the cost of healthcare in the United States - or do they? Here’s what you need to know about the cost of healthcare in the U.S. to make the best choices for your trip.
Despite its mixed reputation, healthcare in the United States performs exceptionally well in many regards. For instance, it has the best outcomes in the world for surviving a heart attack or stroke. However, it does not do well when it comes to chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma.
Waiting times, a concern in many countries with advanced health care systems, are less of a problem in the United States. Preventative health care spending is only slightly lower than in other industrialized nations. Overall, the standard of healthcare in the United States is very high. But so is the average cost of healthcare in the U.S.
US Health Insurance Plans Coverage and Costs of Insurance in the USA
People often warn visitors to America to purchase a health insurance plan before their trip because of horror stories about healthcare costs in the USA. They talk about outrageous bills for the uninsured party who finds themselves in trouble. But these dramatic stories don't really reflect the cost of healthcare in the United States - or do they? Here’s what you need to know about the cost of healthcare in the U.S. to make the best choices for your trip.
Despite its mixed reputation, healthcare in the United States performs exceptionally well in many regards. For instance, it has the best outcomes in the world for surviving a heart attack or stroke. However, it does not do well when it comes to chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma.
Waiting times, a concern in many countries with advanced health care systems, are less of a problem in the United States. Preventative health care spending is only slightly lower than in other industrialized nations. Overall, the standard of healthcare in the United States is very high. But so is the average cost of healthcare in the U.S.
US Health Insurance Plans Coverage and Costs of Insurance in the USA
What Is the Cost of Healthcare in the US Without Medical Insurance?
Below are average American healthcare prices for common procedures and services. These are estimates. The actual costs will vary depending on the healthcare facility providing the services. The infographics below will give you a good overview of the costs you may incur when visiting a doctor or hospital without insurance. These are the prices a visitor to the USA may face if they do not have a travel insurance plan or international health insurance plan.
These infographics list some of the typical, routine or unforeseen medical services that people require, along with their average costs. Much of this data comes directly from U.S. hospitals, which are required to list the cost of 300 of the most common medical procedures. As you will see, the cost of a doctor's visit or the average cost of a hospital stay in the U.S. varies widely depending on the services you need.
What Is the Cost of an Emergency Room Visit?
If you become ill and in need of emergency care, American healthcare prices will start adding up right away. An ambulance to take you to the hospital will start at $400. If you need tests, typical additional costs are $100 - $500. Should you need to spend the night, an additional charge of $5,000 might be added to your bill. With medications to treat your illness, the total cost of an emergency room or ER visit could be $6,000 or more!
What Is the Cost of Cancer Treatment Without Insurance?
Having cancer is enough to make anyone feel anxious about the uncertain road ahead. So any unwelcome medical costs will only add to those stress levels if you are uninsured. And, unfortunately, the costs for treatments in the U.S. \come with a high price tag. Nearly breaking the million-dollar mark is a bone marrow transplant. It could cost more than an eye-watering $900,000+. Prices start at a still pretty extortionate $638,000.
Brain cancer treatment costs anything from $50,000 to a lofty $700,000+, while breast cancer costs range from $48,500 through to $300,000+. The price it takes to tackle pancreatic cancer starts from $31,000 through to $200,000+. And melanoma treatment can be anywhere from $1,700 to $152,000+.
What Are the Costs of Common Lab Tests Without Insurance?
If a doctor is trying to diagnose your medical problem, common lab tests are important. But this is another area where the cost of healthcare in the US is high. An MRI scan will cost from $500 and up to, if not beyond, a costly $7,850+. A blood test, one of the most frequent lab tests, could be a seemingly low $40 but can ramp up to a staggering $3,000+. A cholesterol test at a walk-in clinic can be $50 to $130+ and $40 to $75+ for an at-home kit. An X-ray can cost between $200 but might also creep up to $3,000+ or more, depending on the circumstances.
What Could Prescription Drugs Cost?
American healthcare prices are also high when it comes to prescription medication. If you have diabetes and need insulin, you could be facing a cost of $530 to more than $1,100+. A year’s worth of allergy shots will set you back $600 to $2,000+. If you require cholesterol medication, you could see a $30 to $130 bill. Asthma inhalers cost between $60 and $70+. Prescription drugs can become a big part of a patient's budget.
What Is the Cost of Family Planning Without Insurance?
If you require pre-natal care, the average cost of a doctor's visit is between $100 and $2,000+. This adds up to a big total throughout even a single pregnancy. Should you go into labor and need assistance delivering your baby, this will cost anything from $2,700 up to and over $40,100.
Surgery in the form of a cesarean section costs between $10,600 and $50,500+. A postpartum check-up costs between $100 and $3,100+. If you have any birth complications, this tends to cost $3,000+ per day. And the average length of stay in the NICU is 20 days, meaning that you could potentially face a $60,000+ bill at the end of all your troubles.
What Does It Cost to Have Surgery Without Insurance in the USA?
Surgical procedures without a doubt save lives and improve outcomes. With health care costs in the USA, there's a high price to pay for the privilege. That's why we have broken down the ramifications for you. As you can see, the wide range of fees makes the average cost of a hospital stay in the U.S. hard to pin down. Coming in as the most expensive surgical procedure is the coronary artery bypass, which costs, at a minimum, $21,500 up to an astronomical $254,000+ or more.
Appendicitis attacks tend to come on quickly and require urgent attention, and that emergency appendectomy costs anywhere between $1,800 and $82,000+. Gallbladder removal costs between $8,000 to or even above $54,000. A hysterectomy starts at $8,700 but can shoot up to $40,000+. Cataract surgery is between $330 and $12,000+. That's the same as the uppermost cost of a tonsillectomy, where the lowest prices are a more reserved $790.
What Is the Cost of a Broken Bone or Sprain?
It could be an innocent tumble on the sidewalk, right through to a dramatic sporting injury. Whatever the scenario, breaks and sprains happen all the time and they are expensive for the uninsured.
A hip fracture starts at $16,000 for treatment, and goes up to $53,000+. A sprained or broken ankle could cost $300+ if surgery is not needed. But it soon jumps to a rather more unpalatable $17,000 to $20,000+ if a trip to the operating room is involved. A sprained or broken wrist costs $500+ on a non-surgical basis and leaps to $7,000 to $10,000+ if surgery is required. The resulting physical therapy will also cost you, coming in at $120 to $350 per session.
How Much is a Doctor's Visit in the United States?
A visit to the doctor's office is relatively affordable. However, if you are ill, additional costs will become expensive quickly. An initial consultation with a doctor will cost around $100 - $200. Visits to specialists are typically more expensive depending on their specialty and the nature of your visit. On average, specialists will charge $250 or more for a consultation.
What Is Behind Healthcare Costs in the USA? Why Are Medical Prices So Expensive?
Whether you are a local or a traveler, you cannot deny that the average cost of healthcare in the U.S. is expensive. According to USA Today: “The total costs for a typical family of four insured by the most common health plan offered by employers will average $28,166.” In terms of real dollars and earnings, these prices are keenly felt by the average person.
The cost of deductibles and premiums has grown at a faster rate than income. Deductibles (the amount you pay before your insurance starts to pay for covered services) grew 68.4% from 2011 to 2021, to an average $1,669, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. In addition, insured people are even more likely to have deductibles in their plans – 85% versus 74% in 2011. On top of that, premiums grew by 47% while worker earnings grew by only 31%. These figures alone prove how expensive healthcare in the USA has become and why even residents have a hard time paying for hospital bills.
The high average cost of healthcare in the U.S. is not the result of one particular challenge but rather a combination of factors that all contribute to increasing the bottom line. As CNBC noted; “...drugs are more expensive. Doctors get paid more. Hospital services and diagnostic tests cost more. And a lot more money goes to planning, regulating, and managing medical services at the administrative level.” These factors, when put together, create a situation that makes it hard for the ordinary person to pay for medical care, especially when they do not have any health insurance in America to cover their expenses.
The Cost of Medical Care in America With Insurance
If you never go to the doctor, you won't experience these high costs. Some people feel comfortable taking that risk. But for the majority, the risks are too high.
For an expat or visitor in the USA, the best way to offset that risk is to purchase an international health insurance plan. Although a plan requires you to pay a fixed amount even if you never go to the doctor, it will cover your costs for the services detailed in the policy. A high-quality health insurance plan will cover all your costs, minus a deductible, excess, and/or co-pay (the fixed amount you pay for a covered service such as a doctor's office visit - even after you've met your deductible). Plans with higher deductibles and co-pays tend to have lower monthly fees, and vice-versa.
Depending on the plan you choose, all your costs could be covered without limit. But there are certain plans that will put a cap on how much they will pay for your medical expenses. This is called a medical maximum.
Choosing a health insurance plan in the USA with a lower medical maximum will lower your monthly premiums but you will take on additional risks in exchange. If your medical bills exceed the maximum, any additional costs will be your responsibility.
Due to all these factors, the cost of health insurance in America will vary. The cost of an international health insurance plan will be much greater than the cost of a travel medical insurance plan because the former offers more comprehensive coverage. Typically, our clients pay an average of $500 per month for comprehensive global medical health insurance. Compared to paying a $10,000 medical bill out of your own pocket, you can deduce that these premiums are reasonable.
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- The flexibility to tailor a plan to suit your individual needs
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Common Costs in the USA Compared To Other Countries
How do the high average cost of healthcare in the U.S. impact the price of common medical procedures and treatments? Let’s look at the cost of an MRI, a frequently used diagnostic tool. All costs listed are from the most recent survey by International Federation of Health Plans, done in 2017. It's important to note that the costs listed below are lower than current U.S. prices; as noted earlier in this article, United States healthcare costs have gone up significantly since 2017.
The average cost of an MRI in the United States, according to the 2017 report, is $1,430. In Holland it's $190 while in New Zealand the price falls in the middle at $750.
The average cost of an angioplasty, which inserts a stent in a blocked blood vessel, was $32,200 in the United States at the time of the report. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, famous for both its high cost of living and its near-perfect health care standards, it's only $7,400.
When you take all of these into account, a common malady among travelers like abdominal pain suddenly becomes very costly. It will require diagnostic imaging and 24 hours of observation, which as discussed above is astronomically expensive. This is just for the diagnosis. Add in treatment and care, and the price goes up further. You can see why the average cost of a hospital stay in the U.S. is so high.
If that abdominal pain is found to be caused by an inflamed appendix that requires immediate surgery, it will cost you an average of $15,200 in the United States, according to the 2017 report. If you are in cost-friendly South Africa, it will be a meager $3,200. On the other hand, things will be a bit more expensive in the UK at $5,100 - that is still over $10,000 less expensive than getting the same treatment in the United States!
On the more dramatic end of the scale, both in terms of pricing and health risks, a bypass operation costs an average of $78,100 in the United States. In The Netherlands, it will cost only $11,700, according to the 2017 report. Either way, the cost of the operation is still far too expensive than what the average person can afford. Getting treated in The Netherlands, however, will be far less likely to cause medical bankruptcy compared to when you undergo the same procedure in the USA.
How Can You Cover Your Medical Costs in the USA?
So what can a frugal traveler or expat do? How do you reduce the cost of receiving proper health care without sacrificing quality or convenience?
Firstly, reassure yourself that common over-the-counter medications and first aid supplies are widely available and very affordable in the United States. Headache medication, mild heartburn medication, muscle cream, sinus decongestant pills, and skin ointments are all available for under $25; sometimes they're as cheap as $5.
A chat with a pharmacist is always free and they can provide sound recommendations for treating non-urgent, minor conditions. A bad cold is no more costly in the United States than it is in most other countries.
Secondly, make sure that you have health insurance in the USA. As you've seen up above, if you are traveling and fall ill, a relatively uncomplicated problem like an inflamed appendix can cost several times more than the trip itself. For non-residents, there is health insurance in the USA for foreigners that can greatly reduce costs of medical services, especially when you need them.
You do not need to face a life-threatening problem and then get slammed with sanity-threatening costs after. There is a wide variety of insurance products and packages designed for travelers. They range from the extremely comprehensive and inclusive to the more streamlined option, with a focus on coverage for the most serious and expensive of emergencies.
There is also health insurance for non-residents that can provide basic coverage for the most common ailments. This could be very helpful since healthcare in the USA is some of the most expensive in the world.
A medical emergency is stressful enough when you are traveling. You do not want it to ruin your life as well as your trip. Get health insurance in the USA to avoid headaches and astronomic costs.
If you're moving or planning to move abroad or going on an international trip and require insurance, then please consider choosing us. Here at International Citizens Insurance, we provide consumers with a resource to research, compare and purchase plans for their relocation abroad or international trip.
Through our website, we can offer some of the very best international health insurance, travel medical insurance, group insurance, and travel insurance policies to people from all around the world.
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- For Foreigners in the US or US citizens abroad
*Disclaimer: the information shown in these infographics is directional to help decision-making. Medical costs and charges are subject to change at any time and vary greatly from one geographic location to another and from one insurance plan to another.
