US Health Care costs and the need for visitor health insurance

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US Health Care costs
Every year United States of America sees an increase in the number of international visitors. In this context, we often come across this question "What is the health care cost or medical expenses in the US medical facilities and hospitals?" Health Care while excellent is very expensive even when compared to other developed nations of Europe or Japan. Americans face astronomical medical care costs that seem to defy the law of economics. High healthcare costs which seem to continually rise are obvious difficulties with Americans paying much higher prices for specific services than those in other countries.

Given how expensive it is for Americans then it is quite unimaginable for visitors visiting US. Different international visitors visiting the US include visitors who are short term tourists on vacations or are visiting family members, international students enrolled in US colleges on the F1 visa along their dependents, Exchange scholars on the J visa on research or cultural exchange programs along with their dependents, new immigrants hoping to settle in the United States and non-immigrants working temporarily in the US like those on the H1b visa.
Rising US visa medical insurance premiums is an important factor in one's cost of living and has increasingly reduced the disposal income with a major portion of the income going to health care deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance. People cannot guess when a medical incident might occur and how expensive it is going to be and this causes financial stress in people which in itself is not good for one’s health.

The cost of routine physician visit is so much more expensive in the US that in situations where the cost is $176 in the US will cost around $11 in Spain. A person's echocardiogram costs $1,714 in Massachusetts, $5,435 in New Jersey while if this patient lived in Japan it would cost him $100. Americans pay a way too much for specific services compared to those of other countries. Obscene price increase for selected drugs such as the Turing Pharmaceutical decision to raise the price for Dara prim from $13.50 to $750 a tablet.

The cost of common ailments like Diabetes Mellitus with Hyperglycemia admitted to an emergency room would cost around $25,000. Stroke resulting in ICU for about 10 days would cost $120,000, Heart attack treatment with medical bills for ambulance, hospital emergency room, ICU, EKG and MRI heart scans and continuing care from cardiologists would cost about $20,000, The average treatment cost of acute kidney failure in the USA was over $22,000 in 2018.

While there is no easy explanation for these high costs, among the reasons is the high administrative costs involved in healthcare. The US insurance system requires a large number of billing clerks to be employed by hospitals and physicians on one side and the private insurance company on the other. Another reason is that the system uses more technology and expensive labor when compared to other nations. Yet another reason is the high cost of malpractice insurance in the US.

While there are several reasons for high healthcare costs, the fact remains that one cannot afford to be uninsured while visiting the US. This high price is unimaginable for visitors to pay out of their pocket. It is important for visitors to realize the importance of health insurance while visiting the US. This is where private insurance companies play a critical role and allow visitors to buy short term visitor health insurance which can put their minds at ease during unexpected sickness or injury while in the US.

There are several comprehensive visitor insurance and fixed benefits visitor health insurance plans available in the market which can be compared and bought online easily.
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There are pre-existing condition visitor insurance plans that also cover acute onset of pre-existing conditions apart from covering unexpected sickness and injury. Some plans provide limited pre-existing coverage benefit for travelers more than 70 years. There are international travel insurance that have medical evacuation coverage, sports coverage, repatriation cover... Each plan has unique benefits which can be compared using the compare visitor insurance facility.

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