If you get your Hip replaced in the United States, the orthopedic surgeon who performs the procedure will earn, on average, about $4,000 from your private insurance company, assuming you have one.
A comparably educated and trained surgeon doing the same operation on a privately insured patient will get about $2,200 in England, $2,000 in Australia and $1,340 in France, according to a new study published this month in the journal Health Affairs.
If you're covered by Medicare or Medicaid in this country, the difference in price is considerably less, suggesting that Government programs are Better price bargainers than private insurance companies. But your orthopedic surgeon still will get more from Medicare for a first-time, uncomplicated hip replacement — about $1,600 — than surgeons typically earn through publicly financed health programs in the United Kingdom ($1,200), Australia ($1,000) or France ($700), the study found.
The research, conducted by two professors of public health at Columbia University, clearly illustrates what should be obvious about the disproportionately large percentage of the U.S. economy — 16% — that goes to health care.
We spend more in the United States for doctors' services because U.S. doctors charge Higher prices than doctors in other countries.
The new study also looked at prices primary care physicians charge for office visits and found a similar pattern, but with narrower differences. Under private insurance, U.S. doctors charge an average of $133 for an office visit, versus $129 in England, $45 in Australia and $34 in France. Under Public health systems, physicians in England actually get more than their U.S. counterparts on average — $66 as opposed to $60 — while Australian doctors earn $34 and French physicians $32.
The researchers found no evidence to support other explanations for higher prices in this country. "Higher physician fees — rather than the higher costs of practicing, the volume of services provided, or medical school tuition expenses — are the main drivers of higher spending for physician services in the United States," concluded The Commonwealth Fund, which helped pay for the study.
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