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Comment by testing22321 | Hacker News Reader

Cripplingly Expensive healthcare is only an issue in one country in the world.

I’ve been to the ER in Ecuador, Mali, Angola, Australia, Canada. Even as a tourist it was so cheap I didn’t bother using any travel insurance ( less than $50, including prescriptions)

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I went to the ER in Canada (BC) a couple years ago, and they charged $950 to my credit card just to walk in the door. Everything else was extra, and charged at rates not wildly different from what I’ve seen in the US. And I’m a Canadian citizen! (I had temporarily lost my free healthcare eligibility because I lived outside the country for a few years.)

Can’t comment on all the other countries you listed, although I can add that urgent care in Germany was pretty reasonably priced.

It seems unlikely that there is not a single other country with “cripplingly expensive healthcare” besides the USA. I’m also of the opinion that there are more than 6 countries total.

Please name one with cripplingly expensive healthcare.

India

An "ER visit" can be a completely benign and simple thing that happens after-hours but really you just needed a nurse/doct, OR it could be a life-changing set of multiple surgeries and tests and treatments and and and. Let's not dismiss how very-real emergency costs can be, just because we don't like the messed-up american healthcare billing mess. I've been to an emergency room in South Africa, as an example, and off the bat it cost about $100. That's almost monthly average salary of a huge portion of the population here!

Lucky that you happened to be in need in countries with a low cost of living. I needed an ambulance, stitches, and an MRI in Germany and it cost me $2000 USD. I wish I had travel insurance then.

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