8 hours ago
Map reveals where surging medical costs are leading people to early preventable deaths
Fresh data has revealed the most expensive countries to get routine medical care — and it's bad news for Americans.
The report found US residents pay the most for 21 out of 24 common medical procedures — including a C-section, an ambulance ride or a night at the hospital.
For each procedure, the cost in the US was compared to that in 24 similar countries, including Australia, Denmark, Sweden and South Korea.
Among the most stark comparisons was that for an angioplasty, a minimally invasive 2.5-hour procedure carried out 1.2million times a year where doctors open blocked or narrowed blood vessels to slash the risk of a heart attack.
Americans are slapped with a bill of $281,500 for the procedure, according to the report, about 727 times the $388 billed for the care in Australia, the cheapest country.
Other examples include the daily price for a hospital bed, where the US was also the most expensive country at $6,500 — more than six times the bill in Denmark at $935 on average and 31 times that in Latvia at $200.
And a hip replacement, for which the US charges on average $40,300, or more than five times the $7,800 charged in Turkey.
With healthcare so expensive - both preventative and emergent - people may opt to skip life-saving care and treatment because they can't afford it, which could lead to a host of early and preventable deaths.
The costs are based on data pulled from healthcare websites like — which tracks surgery costs — and — which tracks healthcare prices in several countries. The researchers say these are the latest numbers available.
The report, from insurance company William Russell, says they reflect the total cost of a procedure, rather than only the amount paid by patients after health insurance.
Out of the 24 procedures examined, the US was found to be the most expensive for some of the most common, including a heart valve replacement, a hip replacement, removal of hemorrhoids, and an MRI scan.
There were only three procedures the US was not the most expensive: An appendectomy, which is more expensive in Colombia, cataract surgery, more expensive in Austria, and gastric sleeve surgery, more expensive in South Korea.
Colombia charged $66,320 for an appendectomy, or appendix removal, which was about $20,000 more than what is billed in the US.
Austria charged $7,880 for cataract surgery, compared to $3,000 in the US, while South Korea charges $17,970 for gastric sleeve surgery, compared to $16,00 in the US.
It wasn't clear why these procedures were more expensive in these other countries compared to the US.
But Colombia has a large private hospital system, which may drive up costs, while both Austria and South Korea will send foreigners to specialized centers for treatment that are more expensive.
While the dataset revealed the stark difference between the US and other countries, some data was incomplete, with each country only compared to a select number of others rather than the full 24 countries.
A spokesperson for William Russell said: 'The US is consistently the most expensive country for medical events, recording the highest cost for all but three of the 24 procedures we examined.'
For over two decades, the United States has consistently had the highest healthcare costs in the world—largely due to its fragmented, predominantly private insurance system, where prices are often negotiated behind closed doors and vary widely depending on the insurer, provider, and location.
About 26million Americans, or nearly one in 10 people, do not have health insurance because of the prohibitive costs.
In many other similar nations, health systems have been nationalized or countries regularly negotiate with big pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices.
Most recently, President Donald Trump is trying to bring down the price of medications under his most-favored-nation request, or request health insurance companies to price their drugs sold in the US at the same level as the lowest price paid in a select group of developed countries.
It comes after a survey warned that a record number of Americans are now struggling to pay for basic healthcare, while insurance company profits reach new heights.
Over a third of US adults (about 91 million people) could not access quality healthcare if they needed it today, based on the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index.
It also found that about four in 10 adults are saddled with debt from unpaid medical or dental bills, while 70million say they avoid visiting the doctor out of fear of high costs.
