Topic: Hospital bill from Germany for appendectomy
NanaDubo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14794
posted
Someone asked me a while back how much it would end up costing me for having my appendix out when I was in Germany. It won't cost me anything due to insurance but...
I did get the bill a couple of days ago. The total for surgeon, anesthesiologist, etc. and 2 days in the hospital was 2000 Euro!
That's about $3000 depending on the going rate of the dollar. I suspect if I had my appendix out in the US the anesthesiologist alone might have charged almost that much.
Makes you think. They did a great job too!
Posts: 1129 | From Maine | Registered: Feb 2008
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posted
My son had his appendix out almost 2 years ago and the bill was @ $18,000..thankfully the insurance cut it way down. But like you said, we had to pay the hospital, ER copay, CT Scan, Anesthesia, Surgeon...and it added up. He was even out the next day.
posted
i had 2 surgeries in germany in august 2006...total for hotel stay (private hospital- really nice) + surgeries + pre-op exams and tests + 4 post -op visits in the usa = $11,000.
i might have gotten the sugerie here in philly (my only other option) and it would have cost me over 80,000 in the end. i could not even get a proper diagnosis over here for 18 months prior to surgery. the german diagnosed my injury in 2 seconds with her fingertip and no imaging studies.
plus the surgery in germany was less invasive and more advanced.
our health care is sub par for so many reasons, in my opinion. i don't trust it one bit.
-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
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posted
Jake had his appendix out about 7 years ago and the cost was $12,000. This year he had a VP shunt put in and the cost was $66,000.
-------------------- Peggy
~ ~ Hope is a powerful medicine. ~ ~ Posts: 2775 | From MN | Registered: Apr 2001
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Angelica
Unregistered
posted
One friend suggested I get all my mercury fillings out in Germany instead of the USA. I wonder what the savings would be. I guess they have good dentists over there that know how to correctly deal with mercury?
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tdtid
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10276
posted
Wow! I guess if you were going to have to have your appendix out, that was very well timed.
Does your insurance from our country cover that or did you have travel insurance?
I would say it was still a good deal since just having my port installed as an outpatient was 7000 just for the surgery and had to pay just under 2000 with insurance.
Sounds like you also got good care there from a post on another thread, so I'm glad things went well.
Cathy
-------------------- "To Dream The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha Posts: 2638 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2006
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
Thanks for replying, NanaDubo.
It's just amazing... seems medical outsourcing is the way to go!
There was an interesting show on Frontline about healthcare in other parts of the world. I think Groovy posted it a while back... it's worth watching.
Really makes you wonder about the system we have here! What will it take for things to change?
Angelica - if you do have your mercury fillings removed - how does it work? Do you just make an appointment, show up, & pay cash or does it go through your insurance (I don't know if you have it)...
Do you get extra traveler's insurance when you go? Is the traveler's insurance just for an emergency? Can you get traveler's insurance if you don't have regular health insurance?
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
my left hip surgery last year was $50,000.
i paid $800 deductible; rest medicare/bcbs paid!
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Angelica
Unregistered
posted
I have zero dental insurance. I think anyone can purchase travel insurance.
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Thanks so much for posting this Nana, I think it was me who was wondering about the cost.
Posts: 56 | From SouthWest | Registered: Jul 2008
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charlie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25
posted
outsourcing is fine if you can do it...we go to the dentist in Mexico and buy all meds there...for example Jenny got a porcelain crown as good as any you can get here for $300 total, and generic z packs cost around $6.
Charlie
Posts: 2804 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
As much as I hear people warning against changing our health care sytem ( that is falling apart while the gov't has looked the other way ) I have to look at people I have met from other countries who LIKE their programs.
I have known folks from Germany , Scotland , and Canada who are pleased. I do not think allowing the "free markets " to compete has done anything good with health care . I do believe that all capable people should pay into a system , thus it will not be "free " health care . However , the system we now have is geared toward making companies and providers wealthy , not really caring for people .
I do not think health care should be a for profit commodity .
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