One scary comparison: One night’s hospital stay in the U.S. vs. rest of the world

We probably didn’t need another study to tell us that health care in the U.S. is expensive. But we may not have realized just how expensive until now.

Data released Thursday by the International Federation of Health Plans points out it costs more — way more — in the U.S. for common drugs and procedures than in eight other developed nations around the world. According to the report, the average cost of one night’s hospital stay is $4,293 in the U.S., nearly double New Zealand’s $2,491 and more than triple Australia’s $1,308. 

Argentina and Spain were the other two countries highlighted in that one-day hospital cost comparison with respective prices of $702 and $481.

Among the study’s other  findings:

  • A heart bypass in the States is a whopping $75,345, compared with $42,130 in Australia, $40,368 in New Zealand and $15,742 in the Netherlands.
  • A normal baby delivery in the U.S. costs on average about $10,000 while it’s $8,307 in Switzerland and $2,251 in Spain. If that delivery becomes a C-section, the cost in the U.S. increases to $15,240 on average, but would cost $5,492 in the Netherlands.
  • Drug costs can also be quite different. Celebrex, used for pain relief, might cost $225 in the U.S. — and $51 in Canada. Cymbalta, commonly used for depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia, costs $194 in the U.S., but it’s $46 in England. Industry publication Vox presented some of the findings in an interesting way, pointing out the acid reflux prescription drug Nexium costs $215 on average in the U.S., more than 3.5 times the cost in Switzerland and almost 10 times more than what Dutch people pay.

The price comparisons are interesting in light of new recommendations released Wednesday from industry stakeholders pushing for health care price transparency, as The Washington Post reported. The group’s recommendations call for specifying who should be responsible for providing pricing information to patients, they said.

Though, that’s if we want to know how much it’s costing us.

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