Comparative private healthcare costs in expat destinations

For those not on corporate reassignments, the availability, quality and cost of overseas healthcare plays a major part in decisions as regards expat destinations.

The total number of international migrants has soared over the past decade, with the increase showing no signs of slowing down. More businesses than ever before are cultivating a global workforce by sending employees overseas, more people are emigrating as a form of political protest, and more retirees are deciding to quit an uninspiring lifestyle for a place in the sun. One deciding factor as regards the best place to settle down is healthcare and its relative costs and quality. A recent survey of the cost of healthcare in 25 countries has shown a huge differential in the prices of common operations as well as prescription costs, and includes private healthcare costs in the UK.

Beginning with the basic cost of a colonoscopy, the UK was the most expensive by far at an average of around £2,500, with Spanish hospitals charging some £450 and Australia even cheaper at around £290. The reason for the massive difference wasn’t suggested! An abdominal CT scan costs £860 in Britain and just £70 in Spain. Switzerland’s reputation for high prices across the board didn’t seem to apply to healthcare, as its cardiac catheterisations are the cheapest at £140 compared with the UK’s £3,390. As for giving birth, the USA charges a massive £8,500, with South Africa the least pricey at around £980.

Hip and knee replacements in the USA are the most expensive anywhere at over £20,000, with Spanish private hospitals charging just £500 or so for a knee and slightly more for a hip replacement. For bypass surgery, Spain is the place at around £20,000, but you’ll pay some £60,000 or more in the USA. For overnight stays in an Italian hospital, you’ll be charged £500, with slightly more in China and Singapore, but a Canadian hospital will rip you off for £2,000 or more. Accidental injuries such as a broken ankle in Italy will set you back some £3,000, but a Hong Kong hospital will charge twice as much. If the survey does nothing else, it shows the motivation behind the majority of private hospitals in general – the end game is all about the money!