I live in Bali. I had some chest pains for a few months so saw a specialist. He tested with stethoscope and said sounded fine. He gave me the option of taking a CT thorax. Went downstairs to radiology. They could do the CT scan right away. They had a deal going for COVID of blood test + CT thorax for $120 USD (whereas the CT Thorax a lone would have been $170).

So I took the test and got the results 2 days later and saw the specialist. He showed me the full scan said it's all clear. He then asked if I had insurance. I said no... he walked me to the billing desk and said no charge. What a legend.

Turns out chest pains was from GERD.

I assume you're not an Indonesian local…? How does the hospital prevent frivolous checkups from hypochondriacs?

Yes I'm an expat. I'm not sure other than needing to see a doctor before the specialist to get a referral and needing to see the specialist before going to radiology.

Unfortunately had to leave the country for some time, will miss this chance for now. Thanks for the recommendation though.

In my country, the UK, it’s not unusual at all to have to wait 2-3 months for a hospital appointment. People shit on America’s health system a lot (and in many cases for perfectly valid reasons), but I think they don’t quite consider the alternative.

You can buy your way past the queues either per treatment or with private insurance in the UK and still pay far less than in the US.

Most of us wait because the prioritisation is by clinical need, and is usually 'good enough' and some because they can't afford it.

Are you paying less, all in? (e.g., taxes)

We are, yes. But the average American would be shocked at the "customer experience" the average patient gets from the NHS. No such thing as a free lunch etc.

And I think if you have private insurance (i.e: double paying), you'll probably be paying more than the average American. I don't know for sure though.

The per capita expenditure on Medicaid and Medicare in the US is substantially higher than the per capita expenditure on the NHS, but Medicare and Medicaid only cover about 20% of the US population.

On top of that UK private insurance is much cheaper because it is 'top up' - you're usually expected to see NHS GP's first etc. and use NHS emergency rooms.

As such while it is possible to end up paying more if you're very high income, very few people in the UK will pay more even with private insurance.

>double paying

You also have to factor in the (very large) public expenditure on healthcare in the USA. Americans also pay for part of their healthcare through taxes.

I am not sure what you mean by “average American” but millions of people in this country rely on emergency room visits for their health care needs. I suspect the NHS provides a superior “patient” experience.

Average usually refers to the mean or median. The uninsured folks you refer do not make up the majority required to reach “average” criteria.

You're not wrong, but here's a big raspberry for those (often the press) that use average to mean median.

Yes, the portion of my taxes that goes to the NHS plus what my employer pays in private insurance is less than what Medicaid and Medicare costs per taxpayer in the US.