New York : An Indian man living in the United States has claimed that a short emergency room visit following his knee injury in New York resulted in medical bills amounting to several thousand dollars. Parth Vijayvergiya, in a now-viral video titled, Insane healthcare cost in US. Bohat log kehte hain ki America bohat mehenga hai. Main aapko examples dekar samjhata hoon kis tarah mehenga hai. Main yahaan rehta hoon (Many people say that America is very expensive. I will explain with examples how expensive it actually is. I live here), he said.
While ice-skating, someone hit his knee very hard, which caused severe pain: I thought I had injured my knee or suffered a fracture. Concerned about the injury, he visited a hospital’s emergency room but avoided calling an ambulance due to the high cost. Maine taxi li khudse kyunki ambulance ka kharcha bohat zyaada hai yahaan. So, that was out of the question (I took a taxi on my own because the cost of an ambulance is very high here, so that was not an option), he added.
However, the financial impact of the visit became clear weeks later. “After 3 weeks, mere insurance ne mujhe bataaya, ki aapko $1,800 dena hai (After three weeks, my insurance company informed me that I had to pay $1,800 {approximately Rs1 .5 lakh]),” he said. He also claimed that apart from his own payment of $1,800 (around Rs 1.5 lakh) for the brief emergency visit, his insurance provider paid an additional $4,000–$4,500 (approximately Rs 3.3–Rs 3.7 lakh) to the hospital, with the total bill amounting to roughly $5,800–$6,300 (around Rs 4.8–Rs 5.2 lakh).
This is why healthcare affordability matters more than technology, because a simple injury should not feel like a financial punishment, a user said. Another commented, It’s true. I literally had to go to India for a wisdom tooth removal, and the entire trip plus procedure cost less than what they were charging here. Others highlighted what they described as a harsh reality of the American medical system. That’s the reality of the US healthcare system — world-class treatment, but shockingly expensive. A simple X-ray and bandage shouldn’t cost a small fortune, a user said.
India may lack a lot of things, but it is very affordable, especially when it comes to healthcare and public transport, one comment read. In terms of availability and affordability of healthcare facilities, we Indians are much more blessed than we care to admit, another added. Advanced medical infrastructure and technology in the US often come at an overwhelming financial cost.
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