The rising cost of healthcare has become nearly impossible to keep up with for most families all around the world. U.S. healthcare costs alone have risen 274 times since 1950. As a result making it extremely difficult for individuals without healthcare to get the proper treatment they need.
Approximately 70% to 75% of all of the $2.8 trillion spent on US healthcare is invested in treatment of preventable diseases or conditions. However, less than 5 percent of the budget is used towards chronic disease prevention, keeping the nation sicker and the cost of healthcare rising.
Cost of a Doctor’s Visit
In the United States, the average visit to a doctor costs approximately $175. That is just for a quick check-up and without medications or treatments. In Chile, visiting a doctor will run you approximately $38. In Canada, $30. Spain doctor visits are approximately $11. Argentina having the lowest cost of $10 per visit regardless of whether or not you are currently a carrier of health insurance.
The Cost of Procedures and Treatments
For example, getting a bypass surgery in the US costs about $150,515 per patient. Which is more than double than the next highest costs around the world. Australia’s bypass surgeries often run about $43,230 and Spain’s, $17,437. Some of the lowest costs for bypass surgery come from Chile. In Chili it is approximately $12,401 for the surgery.
Taking prescription medications is even more expensive if you are a citizen living in the United States. To take the drug Lipitor to help lower cholesterol in the United States, patients are required to pay about $145 just for one refill. In Chile, the medication costs about $60. However, Spain provides Lipitor for just $13, and South Africa, $11.
Comparing the costs of healthcare from around the world is truly an eye-opener and can give you additional insight and perspective into your own healthcare and where you should go when you are in need of treatments.
Source: Human Resources MBA