The Slippery Slope of Spiraling Health Care Costs
“If health care were an Olympic sport, the U.S. might not qualify in a competition with other high-income nations.”
I’ve been living outside of my home country, the USA, for over 4 years now and so my observations are biased towards health care costs based in Indonesia. As time goes on my reactions to news reports of health care costs in the USA have become more exaggerated: from being not especially surprised to outright, jaw-droppingly shocked.
Recently there was a health care study of high-income countries using 71 performance measures that fell under five categories: access to care, the care process, administrative efficiency, equity and health care outcomes.
“The U.S. health care system ranked last among 11 wealthy countries despite spending the highest percentage of its gross domestic product on health care, according to an analysis by the Commonwealth Fund.”
REACTION: not especially surprised
Child Care / Toddler Care: Rich countries contribute an average of $14,000 per year for a toddler’s care, compared with $500 in the U.S.
To be honest, Norway spending $81 USD a day for your average snot-nosed toddler seems a bit excessive. On the other hand spending $1.37 USD in the USA is nothing short of criminal.
That’s because, according to Elizabeth Davis, an economist studying child care at the University of Minnesota:
“The science of child development shows how very important investment in the youngest ages are, and we get societal benefits from those investments.”
REACTION: Deeply disturbed
A new study finds that health care in the USA has become the largest source of debt in the massive collections business. Those debts are largest where Medicaid wasn’t expanded.
Total USA Medical Debt: $140 billion
The $140 billion in debt does not count all medical bills owed to health care providers, because it measures only debts that have been sold to collections agencies.
You might argue that the amount is only $400 per person on average, but the reality is that most debt falls to lower income folks.
According to Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut:
“I understand that hospitals have pressures to squeeze every dollar out of their consumers,” Mr. Murphy said in a recent interview, “but I think they should refrain from the most aggressive debt collection practices.”
In other words the status quo is OK as long as the debt collectors are not too aggressive.
REACTION: Extremely annoyed
Average cost of hospital care in the USA for COVID-19 ranges from $51,000 to $78,000, based on age
COVID-19 patients without insurance or who receive out-of-network care varies greatly by age – from $51,389 for patients between 21- and 40-years-old to $78,569 for patients between 41 and 60 years old, according to updated cost analysis data from FAIR Health.
Hospitalized between 1-5 days:
Uninsured patients between 41 and 60 years old paid the most for their stays in this category, an average of $40,204. Those over 60 paid the least amount of $34,743.
Hospitalized between 6-10 days:
They could expect to pay as little as $89,874 if they were above 60 years old and as much as $155,619 if they are under 20-years-old.
Hospitalized between 11-15 days:
Patients under 20 continued to pay more than their counterparts. The average amount for this group was $324,285 compared to $152,388 for patients over 60.
Hospitalized over 15 days:
Patients aged 21 to 40 paid the most for these longer hospitalizations, on average paying $980,821. The over 60 age group paid the least – about $460,989.
REACTION: My jaw dropped so low I couldn’t find it
Now for some local heath care news:
A New Hospital to Open in Bali with Famed Mayo Clinic
The new Cancer Hospital will be located near the Grand Inna Bali Beach Resort (GIBB) on Sanur Beach in a tourism zone covering 41.3 hectares.
As you can see from the above photo, the location is very pleasant. Of course at this moment we don’t know about patient health care fees at the proposed hospital and whether it will reflect cost of living adjustments aligned with Indonesian standards. (Probably not, but should be in line with more reasonably priced medical tourism fees throughout southeast Asia.)
In general it is good news, especially for expats considering Bali. We already have several good quality private hospitals in Bali, but partnering with the USA-based Mayo Clinic will be a game changer.
Samara Residences
More progress is being made on rendering the architectural drawings of our Samara Residences project into snazzy imagery that is a better fit for your consumption. We now have the beginnings of a website, and these:
So really, how is it looking?
Later,
Neill