Medical Costs

Interesting article on the blog of my friend John Hunter at Curious Cat Management
here.

My own experience is similar.  When I lived in Thailand I could buy medicines that were manufactured in the U. S. in their U. S. manufacturers packaging and instructions in English for a fraction (less than half) of the cost of the same brand name (not generic) drug here.

An ultrasound administered there at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok cost about $200.  It was done by a radiologist (MD) on a Siemens state-of-the-art machine and I had the results that day.  In a hospital in the U. S. (nameless) the cost was over $500, and it was done by a technician.  So the usual explanation of lower foreign medical costs (inexpensive manpower) doesn’t apply here.  Same test, same machine and I had to wait a week for the results.  The cost?  Over twice as much.

An Echocardiogram done in Bangkok by a Cardiologist on the latest and best equipement.  The cost was about $600.  I had a second test done by a technician at a local hospital.  The equipment was not as modern.  The cost was over $4000 and I had to call to get the result after waiting for over a week to receive the result.