The key factors behind the high cost of healthcare in the U.S
Medical care for crewmembers in U.S. ports is extremely expensive. The Japan P&I Club has issued an article which briefly explains some of the key factors behind the high cost of healthcare in the U.S. Information obtained from a U.S. medical services coordinator, Sphere MD
Medical care in the U.S. is more expensive than in any other country in the world. This is because U.S. health care pricing is not set by the government. In fact, in most cases, hospitals and doctors in the U.S. are allowed to charge ANY amount they wish for their services. As most U.S. hospitals and doctors are private enterprises, they charge higher pricing to maximize profits.
Because hospitals and doctors set their own pricing, situations exist where hospital charges for identical medical services, may differ substantially from port to port. In fact, port-to-port cost variation can be 10 x or more. An appendectomy may cost $300,000 in New York, while the same surgery may cost $30,000 in Washington State.
Laws That Put Ship Owners at a Disadvantage
U.S. law is unique for both domestic and foreign crewmembers when it comes to medical care. In many cases, liability for medical care is unlimited and medical bills are NOT subject to any insurance adjustments. In fact, U.S. courts have ordered vessel owners to pay 100% of medical invoices. Therefore, even in the event of overtreatment ships owners may be required to pay the full invoice amount.
Use of Medical Brokers
Medical brokers are companies that make money by contracting with local hospitals to care for ships crews. Some medical brokers have arrangements to pay hospitals pennies on the dollar but still charge ship owners in full for hospital bills. Use of such dishonest brokers (especially in Gulf of Mexico ports) can create a situation where a ship owner will pay $1,000 for a test or procedure that only costs the broker 300 – 400 hundred dollars.
The U.S. healthcare system is the most expensive in the world. There are various, complicated factors that can lead to extremely high health care costs for crew members. The best way to avoid such high costs is to have a deep understanding of the U.S. healthcare system and fully understand how to mitigate those cost factors. |
Further details may be found by reading full article below:
Source:The Japan P&I Club