I really know NOTHING about the American healthcare system other than that people are divided about how it should be.
I'm greatful to live in Canada where we don't really have to worry about it... pretty much any hospital visits are completely taken care of without any kind of insurance provider... our employers provide us with additional dental, optical etc. But they don't have anything to do with emerg. visits or procedures.
So here's my question. Yesterday I broke out in hives, which turned out to be a reaction from a new medication that I'm taking. My entire body was covered in them and they were ALL super itchy... I also have a nagging shoulder pain from a fall I took about a month ago, and thought I may have fractured something, so decided to get both things looked at.
By the end of the night, they had taken 4 vials of blood, gave me prednisone for the hives and had 8 x-rays taken. I had a fractured rib and they gave me a script for some painkillers and sent me on my way.
So breakdown:
- 4 vials blood drawn
- 1 prednisone pill
- 8 x-rays on shoulder, chest and ribs
- prescription for pain killers
- 2 ice packs to rub on skin
- 1.25 hours on-site
So the question is, what would this cost in the states with and without insurance (approximately obviously). Also, on average how much do you have to pay out of pocket for insurance and how much of a visit like this would be covered by them? Copay?
I know one of the biggest concerns in America about Canadian health care is not only the cost to the tax payer (it is quite high), the wait times are bad. I'll admit I've waited several hours previously for other hospital visits, like broken bones or illnesses with kids, but this trip wasn't bad at all. Like I said just over an hour. Is this standard in the US? Way faster?
Thanks