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Given that you are quoting the price in Euros, I suspect the funding mechanism for your hospital is very different than the hospital costs the parent was talkin

Given that you are quoting the price in Euros, I suspect the funding mechanism for your hospital is very different than the hospital costs the parent was talking about. I know nothing about how the financial side of European hospitals work though... but I assume they still have internal costs that are tracked and tallied. Your kids' deliveries may not have cost you, but there was a total cost somewhere in the system. It probably wasn't anywhere near $38k, but even that isn't a fair comparison due to the substantial differences between the medical systems and the way indirect costs could be covered. (I'm not trying to defend one system or the other, just pointing out that the systems are different so direct comparisons like $38k vs €0 aren't that straightforward. It gets even less straightforward when you factor in the US medical insurance system.)

yoz-y 8y ago
In France a 1 day stand in hospital is billed around 1000€, of course it is almost entirely covered by insurance. You have to pay a fee of 17€ a day if you have some standard insurance package. If you 'stay' at the hospital then all costs are bundled in this price, if you only follow exams they can actually get more expensive in total (usually they offer you to stay the night if you have exams that would cost more than a "full-pension") This was a few years ago so the prices may have changed.
- mbreese 8y ago
  Thanks for the insight into how things work in France. Like I said -- I don't know much about how non-US healthcare systems are funded. But, I think the main question I was trying to get at is -- how much are the French (or Japanese from a different thread) hospitals subsidized by the government. I expect for there to be indirect costs that might have to be covered by direct billing in one country, but not another. For example, electricity bills (or the cost of the building, etc)... is this covered by the 1000€ bill, or is is paid for by some other means? I recognize that US hospitals also get some level of subsidy, but there are hidden costs that aren't always apparent. This is what I was trying to get at... that direct comparisons of costs aren't always that straightforward when comparing different systems. A 2000€ or $2000 bill might represent only a fraction of the actual cost of treatment. And given the opaque nature of heathcare billing, it's very hard to know.
  - ABCLAW 8y ago
    > Like I said -- I don't know much about how non-US healthcare systems are funded. Then shouldn't you read up on that before expounding upon how a 38k price tag for a scheduled routine procedure is reasonable? Healthcare billing isn't that shocking when you travel outside of the states.
baq 8y ago
I agree completely. I simply believe that not becoming broke by a scheduled or unscheduled medical procedure is a human right and it's realistic to achieve. I'm not saying it should be free - I pay quite a bit of medical insurance to the state, but it's mostly transparent as it's included in the income tax deductions.

yoz-y 8y ago

In France a 1 day stand in hospital is billed around 1000€, of course it is almost entirely covered by insurance. You have to pay a fee of 17€ a day if you have some standard insurance package. If you 'stay' at the hospital then all costs are bundled in this price, if you only follow exams they can actually get more expensive in total (usually they offer you to stay the night if you have exams that would cost more than a "full-pension") This was a few years ago so the prices may have changed.

mbreese 8y ago
Thanks for the insight into how things work in France. Like I said -- I don't know much about how non-US healthcare systems are funded. But, I think the main question I was trying to get at is -- how much are the French (or Japanese from a different thread) hospitals subsidized by the government. I expect for there to be indirect costs that might have to be covered by direct billing in one country, but not another. For example, electricity bills (or the cost of the building, etc)... is this covered by the 1000€ bill, or is is paid for by some other means? I recognize that US hospitals also get some level of subsidy, but there are hidden costs that aren't always apparent. This is what I was trying to get at... that direct comparisons of costs aren't always that straightforward when comparing different systems. A 2000€ or $2000 bill might represent only a fraction of the actual cost of treatment. And given the opaque nature of heathcare billing, it's very hard to know.
- ABCLAW 8y ago
  > Like I said -- I don't know much about how non-US healthcare systems are funded. Then shouldn't you read up on that before expounding upon how a 38k price tag for a scheduled routine procedure is reasonable? Healthcare billing isn't that shocking when you travel outside of the states.

baq 8y ago

I agree completely. I simply believe that not becoming broke by a scheduled or unscheduled medical procedure is a human right and it's realistic to achieve. I'm not saying it should be free - I pay quite a bit of medical insurance to the state, but it's mostly transparent as it's included in the income tax deductions.