When I saw this tweet from my bro few days back, I thought it might be just another sarcastic joke of his. It took few hours for me to realize that it was actually true. 4 day hospital stay for the treatment of malaria relapse with just Intravenous medications, few tests and handsful of tablets has generated a $50,560 bill for my sister-in-law. That roughly translates to Rs.23 Lacs in Indian rupees. Can anyone explain how in this world would someone be able to ‘account’ for such a bill in a hospital ?? Even if she was being put up on a 24 ct gold bed, fed with platinum enriched IV fluid or diamond crusted tablets, it wont amount to $50k. Brother has apparently talked to hospital and they have confirmed that the figure is actual and it was not a spelling mistake. They have sent it to insurance company for refund verification and as she was rushed to hospital through emergency, there is a good chance that we will have to pay a chunk of that bill all by ourselves.
This small example shows the real face of America. How people are living in an illusion that they are covered under one of the best healthcare system in this world. No, definitely not….its a vicious cycle where only insurers and doctors/hospitals benefit and soon this bubble is gonna burst for sure. I started admiring and respecting Indian healthcare system after comparing it to this, coz when I had same malarial replase last year I took 1 course of Primaquine tablets after consulting a doctor who prescribed just one blood test to validate it. Total cost = Rs. 250 (~ $6) with a full recovery in 5 days. Now thats what it actually cost to treat a simple malarial infection.
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