I remembered this old meme the other day and it got me thinking; can you actually travel to Europe as a US citizen exclusively to take advantage of the more affordable healthcare?
I remembered this old meme the other day and it got me thinking; can you actually travel to Europe as a US citizen exclusively to take advantage of the more affordable healthcare?
It varies per country. If you would go to the Netherlands, you’d still need health insurance. You can only get it if you are a Dutch citizen in some way. The costs of this are about 180/month. Plus you have what we call your own risk. If you need healthcare you pay 385 maximum yourself. If you can’t pay that, there are installment plans. And if the 180 a month is too steep for you, there is support from the Belastingdienst (IRS) that is dependent on your income.
So example: if you need an operation that is covered in basic Dutch health insurance and you would live here for a year on work visum, you might pay 2400 a year in insurance costs and 385 own risk, totaling to 2785. If the operation would cost more than that in the US, you’re in luck.
This is all provided you can get health insurance in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, as a Dutch citizen, health insurance is mandatory.
Bro one drug I’m on is $3500/mo. A common surgery I had a few years back was $15k.
Yep the issue with our system is that people who never see a doctor or a hospital pay for the ones that have been dealt a rough hand or live unhealthy. The idea is that being ill is not the standard. You should be able to do a Pareto analysis of costs and it might check out.
In my job I’ve seen American ambulance bills that cost more than that. And if they used a helicopter or even just a fixed wing medevac it’s usually at least 10x as much.
Hell, I’ve seen routine injections billed higher than that come to think of it…
I take an injection every four weeks, they cost 600 each. Add up a few visits to the dentist, GP and a check up at an academic hospital and I’d pay about a third of the actual cost.
Then again my dad never has any ailments, lives a healthy lifestyle with a lot of exercise and he pays the same.