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I’m going to discuss healthcare overseas and in our neighbor to the North. These will be from personal experience, experience of others I know or from news stories I have read. Please feel free to add your own. Of special interest are countries that have superior healthcare according to the United Nations.

Tip: make sure you have the proper heath insurance when you travel. Air evacuation is an important feature.

Cuba:

The father of an acquaintance recently took a cruise around Cuba. He came down with an sudden illness while on board. He deteriorated to the point that the Ship doctor wanted him in a hospital. At the hospital in Cuba, he was put on life support. The doctors there told his wife he was dieing and to prepare for his death. With the help of the US Embassy in Havana, the wife somehow figured out how to get the visas, and clearance for a life flight jet from the US. He was air lifted to Florida where he did not die and is fine today.

Colleague was on a business trip to Poland (circa 2002). Had a small accident and cut their head. Needed a few stitches. Arrived at Polish hospital. Was required to pay CASH up front for services. US insurance not welcome, no credit cards.

They did a nice job on the stitches. Only a small scar on the forehead near the hairline. Overall, very good service, I was told. Just not free.

Been buying Medicies in Mexico and Canada for years. Its cheaper even when insurance -or Medicare pays most of the bill. I don't understand why American drug companies charge Americans more than anyone else. When our government pays much of the cost for developmnt.

I don't understand why American drug companies charge Americans more than anyone else.

that's a multiple choice question :-)


1. profit
2. greed
3. power
4. because they can
5. all the above
6. other countries have more regulation (read: price control)
7. maybe it is as expensive in other countries but its hidden under that 'free' umbrella

ghostrider wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 6:18 pm

I don't understand why American drug companies charge Americans more than anyone else.

that's a multiple choice question :-)


1. profit
2. greed
3. power
4. because they can
5. all the above
6. other countries have more regulation (read: price control)
7. maybe it is as expensive in other countries but its hidden under that 'free' umbrella

In the US it’s what the market will bear.

Generics are dirt cheap here.

Name brands different story.

They have to make back their costs in a relatively short period of time till they become generic.

Foreign governments can negotiate a lower price than the US consumer or insurance company because of volume.

Poor countries can get a lower price because congress doesn’t allow those drugs to be reimported back to the US.

One of the issues with a nationalized medical system here in the US is that innovation will stop.

because our government doesn't pay for all the drug development, they may pay for some, but we do, by paying the companies who then do the research. In other countries it's the governments who do pay for some of the research, and put a false ceiling on the price, sooooo, we're paying for THEIR meds also.

SewTexas wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:17 am because our government doesn't pay for all the drug development, they may pay for some, but we do, by paying the companies who then do the research. In other countries it's the governments who do pay for some of the research, and put a false ceiling on the price, sooooo, we're paying for THEIR meds also.

I’d disagree with this as big pharma is multinational.

What you are paying for here in the US is all the lawyer ads on TV and multimillion David vs Goliath cash for life settlements.

This is going to continue until we graduate more doctors then lawyers.

My wife's best friends brother-in-law had a heart attack while on vacation at one of the resorts in central america last year. He died on the operating table and the hospital would not release his body to his wife until she paid the full amount of the services. They would not accept their insurance. Fortunately she was able to do so.

Say hello to the

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philip964 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 6:57 pm One of the issues with a nationalized medical system here in the US is that innovation will stop.

When socialists complain about the cost of pharmaceuticals in the United States, I often ask why they don't take the miracle drugs invented in countries with socialist medicine instead.

Canada:

I traveled to Campabello Island in Canada to the Summer home of FDR. Its very near the tip of Maine. In the gift shop, the young woman behind the counter asked any of the Americans in the shop if they wanted to know about the Canadian health system, since at the time the Congress was debating Obamacare. It was all over the news at the time.

Many in the shop said yes. She said it is great. She said she was a single mom with a 9 month old at home. She said that her pregnancy cost her nothing out of pocket, it was great. She loved the Canadian health care system.

I asked her where did she have the baby. Oh, in the US as there were no nearby Canadian hospitals.

And there is a Sarah Palin quote about using the Canadian system. Fact is the line gets blurred in border communities and you can always find point and counterpoint in these discussions

Traveling, get you some travel insurance, or read the fine print on your existing policy. Doesn’t matter what border you cross, things changes why would you be surprised they don’t take your local policy...or why should they. It works like this on both sides of the line

Let me preface this by stating I don't want any nationalized health care system. I wish we could go back to a simpler time - before Obamacare, and before employer-provided insurance was the norm.

But not every place in the world outside of the US is a horror story.

Early 2012, I was headed home after a three-day trip to Duri, Indonesia. My route had me spending the night in Singapore, which was great with me - I love the place. I'd lived there for a year and a half back in '10 and '11, and had lots of friends there.

But I was sick as a dog from the moment I arrived. Something I'd eaten back on the island of Sumatra wasn't sitting well with me. I tried to rest it away, but my body wasn't having any of it. I've traveled a lot, and I have a pretty strong constitution (ask the guys from the Houston SW Breakfast: I usually tell the waitress to surprise me and I'll eat whatever they bring - I do the same the world over. But this time I was in a pretty bad place. I finally got out of the bathroom in my hotel around 6pm, and I called my family physician's office from when we'd live there, hoping to get an after-hours number.

To my surprise, the doc answered, and told me, "come on in, we're open until 8pm, like we are every Sunday". I hopped in a taxi, and took off for Serangoon Gardens to see the doc.
I was in the office no less than 5 minutes when I got called back. He did his exam, and quickly wrote me a prescription. I took the prescription to the front desk, and the nurses there filled it for me, and charged me a total of $75 SGD, which was the equivalent of about $61 USD at the time.

$61, for the Sunday evening doctor's visit PLUS all three prescriptions. Not a bad day at the doc's office, I tell you.

Another time, when I was still living there, a colleague of mine called me while enroute to Singapore. He'd taken the direct flight from Houston to Singapore with a quick stopover in Moscow for crew change and refueling. Shortly after takeoff in Houston, he bit down on something and broke a crown. He called me in Moscow to tell me what's up, and I told him I'd get him taken care of on the ground when he landed. This was Sunday afternoon Singapore time, and within 20 minutes I had a dentist on the line with me telling me she'd be able to see him when he landed in the morning. Before he took off in Moscow, he received an email from me with an early morning appointment time, and a reservation from the hotel to the dentist's office (arranged by the dentist, not by me) via taxi to get him there after checking.

I don't know how much he paid for it, but he seemed EXTREMELY happy with the service and the financial arrangements.

Medical care is the places I've visited in Thailand is just a good - I can personally attest to that.

And suing doctors is not a sport in those places.