There's a number of reasons. - malpractice insurance - cost of living difference - government rationing of care in public systems - lower capit

There's a number of reasons. - malpractice insurance - cost of living difference - government rationing of care in public systems - lower capital expenses for nice looking buildings and top-of-the-line equipment - unpaid bills turn into higher prices Medicare/Medicaid have their own distorting effects. One doctor told me that, for certain billing codes, he was effectively making less than minimum wage because the government rate was so low. To make up for it, other billing codes had to be overpriced, or he had to stop accepting any non-private payments. Countries with socialized medicine have their own problems. It can be great for average people with average problems, but outside those lines you run into things that would be trivial in a US healthcare setting. Obviously, it varies by country, and there are plenty of things I hate about how healthcare works in the US.