Brits Try To Guess How Much US Healthcare Costs, React With Great Surprise When They Hear The Real Prices

Thanks, I will. I think it's easy to be complacent. I'm aged 33, fit and healthy. I'm currently paying in more to our system than I take out in treatment. But things will change as I get older. I just hope when I reach my parents age there is still an NHS to provide for me. That is why I will NEVER vote for a Tory.

Go bankrupt and possibly end up homeless, as well...

Alpha- the UK income tax system is marginal- you only pay tax on the portion above a certain amount. So someone earning GBP75,000: Everyone has a tax-free allowance of up to £12500, they will pay 20% on eveything between 12500-49,999 and only pay 40% on the part above £50,000. You can earn up to £125k before you lose your 12500 tax-free allowance. If you earn over £50,000 you don't pay 40% on the whole thing! By way of illustration my wife earns £60k gross, but she only pays about 3k more each year in tax than I do.

On top of what everyone else is saying, I'm sorry but how do you know that you will never be stabbed? It happens, even in domestic disputes. Most of us in the UK probably won't ever be stabbed (statistically speaking), but oh wait, Trump said the UK is overrun by non-whites with kitchen knives, didn't he..?

Sales tax (Value Added Tax) is generally higher in the UK than the USA, but quite a lot of sales of goods and services are exempt from VAT. It's not a blanket tax like it can be in some US states. For example- there is ZERO sales tax on pretty much every food product, almost all children's products, ALL medical products, ALL social services, ALL financial and insurance products.

Hi Alpha, Apologies- I converted all the figures to dollars already because I thought that would be helpful- I earn about £48,000 (GBP) annually- which is about $63,000 at current exchange rates. This puts me just below the UK's highest rate of income tax. Sure, You're right- I'm only 33, I'm fit and well. I'm undoubtedly paying in more to our system than I take out. But one day that could change- a good friend of mine at the same age died from cancer last year after 10 years of battling it. I could walk out my house and get run down by a car tonight, or (with a bit of luck) I'll remain fit and healthy for another few decades. In which case I will pay my way, and sleep easy knowing that my tax pays for people who are not as fortunate as me to access healthcare based on their NEED, not their ability to pay. It's a thing that over here we call "society". Comparing the provision of universal healthcare to running a cheap car loan is, in my view, absolutely monstrous analogy.

Each state in the US is different. And then there can be county taxes on top of that. And if you are unfortunate enough to live in California, they are so large they have county and regional taxes. I moved from illinois (very tax heavy) to indiana (very low taxes) recently. Most food is taxed in Illinois, but only junk food is taxed in Indiana. Property tax is cheap in indiana and expensive in illinois. If you rent in indiana you get a renters credit back at tax time like you would if you had a mortgage. Illinois doesn't even have a renters credit. When I tell locals about it, it blows their minds. Their reactions are similar to the Brits in the video.

Yes you will be fed and given medical treatment if you need it but you will be detained while your case is reviewed and then, as in the majority of cases, sent home.

Happened to me Chris... got a bill for an ambulance after a car accident.

Chris without the surname... It is the Injury Costs Recovery Scheme which allows the NHS to recover the cost of treating an injured patient - it's usually used where the injured person is claiming compensation from an insurance policy after a RTA.

There is an NHS Injury Cost Recovery Scheme in the UK. The fundamental principle behind the ICR scheme is that those responsible for causing injury to others should meet the cost of NHS treatment. "NHS costs are recovered only where personal injury compensation is paid, for example by an insurance company after a road traffic accident". Funds recovered come primarily from a third-party insurer. Basically it means if an insurer makes a legal claim against another party's insurance for causing their client injury, they are legally obliged to tell the NHS too, so that the NHS can use the claim to recover the cost of the treatment they provided against the at-fault party's insurance. You can read the full detail here- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-injury-cost-recovery-scheme/guidance-on-the-application-of-the-nhs-injury-cost-recovery-scheme-for-2019-to-2020

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Err... That's not even remotely true.

Fact is that going to a hospital for whiplash is pointless. Usually the worst of the injury isn't felt on the same day due to the damage to soft tissue and all you can do is ice, painkillers, neck brace if recommended (can cause problems so not a given) and a GP or doctor in your doctors office can tell you about that. Sadly something I am very, very familiar with. People keep driving into my car - beginning to wonder if it's invisible and I just haven't realised. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Google the treatment if you don't believe me but I went to a hospital after the first accident and left with nothing more than advice that is on the internet. After that I've just dealt with it myself. The first accident was a high speed impact one on a motorway and I was off work for weeks - still nothing that could be done to actually treat the injury.

Sorry to hear that Kim. Misfortune is exactly that- you can't predict it, you can't avoid it. It happens to you whether you like it or not and it doesn't care for your plans or whether you've had some big bills that month already. I am fit and healthy 33 year old, but something like what happened to you could happen to *tomorrow* through no fault of my own. And that is why we need our socialised healthcare system so much in the UK- Because good people get hurt through no fault of their own. I rest easily at night knowing that I have paid into a system that makes sure people less lucky than me will get the treatment they need when they need it, not only when they can afford it. I place my trust in a system that one day, through no fault of my own, I might have to call on. This requires a sort of faith. A faith in something called "society". I believe in it.

Yeah, it's sad. People here have gotten used to crowdsourcing funds to cover medical expenses, losing along the way. A lot of homeless here, especially out here in California, aren't drug users or "crazy people" like the media portrays. They are former working and middle class (sometimes higher tax brackets) who lost it all because of financial issues, mostly medical costs. If you get into any kind of accident (even if you're not driving or you're cautious) or come down with a major illness (cancer, heart attack, etc), you could be out of pocket for thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Even if you die, your family is left to cover those costs most of the time. I love my country, but there is so much wrong with it and either people here are aware and their hands are tied or they aren't aware until something happens to them or a family member. It's sad

I learned my lesson after I paid $2500 (deductible, it was charged at 4800) for less than 2 mile ambulance ride. So I will be calling anything but ambulance when next time I need it. My monthly insurance premium is 1200 for family of three (Actual monthly premium is 2400, my employer pays 50%).

I'm very sorry to hear that Kim, glad that you had some financial support. I'm from Portugal and this kind of cost comparisons keeps appearing now and then, I still cannot believe how much someone could get so deep buried in debts just to stay alive or in good health.

Yes. I have sever asthma and have driven myself to the hospital on more than 1 occasion. The doctor yelled at me, but what else could I do at the time. It's crazy here.

If you don't need paramedics as the situation isn't an emergency - why are you going to hospital? Why not see your doctor? Unless you have a broken bone or something - then you need the hospital but you still wouldn't need an ambulance. My mother in law in her 90s fell and broke her arm and she was told to find her own way there by getting a lift from family/friend/taxi/uber... Though seeing Spikey Bunny's comment - yes, an ambulance for asthma as you should be able to get treatment from paramedics from the moment they reach you and I'm sorry you are put in that position. Reality is that most people go to A&E or ER and really don't need to. Asthma is very different so DO go!