An Indian man claimed that America’s medical treatment is expensive as he had to pay $1,800 for one and the half hour visit to a hospital. In a viral video, a man, claiming to be living in the US, said that while doing ice skating with his wife and sister, his knees got injured. Instead of an ambulance, he chose a taxi because of the price. “Many people say that America is very expensive. Since I live here, let me explain with an example how expensive it really is. On the night of December 25, Christmas, we were in New York and went ice skating. I was with my wife and my sister. Someone hit my knee very hard, and the impact caused me a lot of pain. I thought I had injured my knee or maybe even fractured it. I went to the emergency room. I stayed there for about an hour and a half. I took a taxi on my own because ambulance charges here are extremely high, so calling an ambulance was out of the question. If you can walk even a little, you try to avoid it,” the man said. “In the emergency room, they kept me for about an hour and a half. They took an X-ray, checked me, and one doctor examined me. They wrapped my knee with a crepe bandage, which is used for impact injuries and muscle pulls, and then sent me home. A week passed, then two weeks, and after three weeks my insurance informed me that I had to pay $1,800, which is more than ₹1.5 lakh. The hospital charged me $1,800 for just a one-and-a-half-hour visit. Apart from this, the insurance company paid the hospital around $4,000 to $4,500 more. And that’s why America is so expensive—and why salaries here are high,” he added. The post ignited question regarding the expenses in the US. One of the users commented, “1.5 hours in a New York ER. One X-ray. One crepe bandage. Bill: $6,354. Insurance steps in – patient still pays $1,800. For a country that calls itself the most powerful on earth, this kind of healthcare pricing raises a simple question: who exactly is that power meant to protect?”Another user commented, “The healthcare in the US is advanced, but it’s brutally expensive. You can’t survive without insurance, and even then, basic things like MRIs or specialist appointments take weeks. We often assume the grass is greener on the other side, but it rarely is. In India, healthcare is far more cost-effective, but we deal with insurance scams and, at times, questionable competence and accountability among doctors. Every system has trade-offs. No country has cracked it perfectly.”A user said, “Welcome to American healthcare 2025 edition $6,354 for 1.5 hours, one X-ray + a crepe bandage… and still $1,800 out-of-pocket after “good” insurance. Meanwhile in India: same thing would probably cost ₹1,000–3,000 max (including consultation + medicine), and no one would bat an eye. In Canada (single-payer): free at point of service, wait might be longer but no surprise $2k bill. The real injury here isn’t the knee — it’s the wallet. US system really excels at one thing: turning minor injuries into major financial trauma.”
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