‘Shut The Fridge!’ Brits Can’t Believe U.S. Health Care Costs In Viral Video

News website JOE asked Brits to guess how much some basic procedures or devices might cost in the United States. When they learned the true cost, they were shocked.

Publicly Funded Health Care Costs

The United Kingdom provides the majority of health care services for free through the publicly funded National Health Service. The United Kingdom is one of several countries, including Canada, that has a publicly funded system. So, when people learned about United States healthcare costs, they were stunned.

“Man, so if you’re poor, you’re dead,” one woman said after being asked about the cost of an inhaler. (1)

The news channel asked other individuals to estimate the cost of an ambulance ($2,500), childbirth ($10,000), 2 Epi-pens ($600). Numbers that seemed unreasonable to people used to free services.

“Shut the fridge!” the woman said. “$600? Why?” (1)

JOE began interviewing people amid fears that President Trump would open the NHS up to American companies once the United Kingdom has ended its Brexit process and left the European Union. Trump denies the claim, saying he will stay out of the election. JOE posted the clip saying, “Our NHS is not for sale, @realdonaldtrump.” (2) It has gained more than 9 million views within its 24 hours online.

Ambulance call out? $2,500. Childbirth? $30,000.

Our NHS is not for sale, @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/q9z4r6Ni6g

— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) December 3, 2019

US Healthcare Costs

In 2016, the United States spent nearly two times as much on medical care as 10 high-income countries but had worse results. The problem is not that there aren’t enough doctors and nurses, or hospital beds and diagnostic machines. In fact, the United States actually had higher utilization rates of diagnostic machines than most other countries. Where the problem lies is in the price of labor and goods, in medications and devices, and in administrative costs. (2)

United States doctors and nurses are paid double and sometimes triple that of physicians in other countries. Administrative costs involving planning, regulating, and managing health services and systems were 8% high in the United States. Pharmaceutical costs almost triple the average spending per capita in other countries. (2)

The U.S .had the highest percentage of overweight or obese adults. Of all the countries examined, life expectancy in the U.S. was the lowest and infant mortality rate was the highest. (2)

In other studies, the United States has the highest disease burden than comparable studies. Hospitable admissions for preventable diseases are more frequent in the United States than in comparable countries, and the United States has higher rates of medical, medication, and lab errors than in comparable countries. (3)

In 2016, 27.3 million citizens were uninsured, representing roughly 8% of the population. Even with insurance, people have high premiums and may still be required to co-pay for services on top of their premiums. There are some provisions for seniors, low-income families, and disabled individuals. However, out-of-pocket spending on health care accounted for 11% of healthcare costs for families in 2016. (4)