Australians were shocked to learn that an American patient was being required to pay for his medical care using a credit card machine brought directly to his hospital bed.
Bay was rushed to the emergency department of a hospital in Florida last week after a medical episode.
Bay shared a video on his social media account that showed them lying on a hospital bed and attempting to tap his debit card on a portable credit card terminal placed nearby.
“From my point of view, you almost died, but you live in America,” Bay wrote.
Bay claimed they had just regained consciousness when a nurse told them to tap her card to pay the co-pay.
In the United States, a copayment is a fixed fee that patients must pay in advance for medical services, as specified in their health insurance plan.
Bay said they were horrified by the experience and claimed that EMTs found their wallet and placed it in their lap before they woke up.
Social media users around the world shared their shock at the US healthcare system, with many claiming that Bay should have refused to pay and instead asked the hospital to send them a bill.
“My Aussie brain is so grateful we don’t go to hospital and have to worry about paying, it’s all free,” said one.
Bay shared a video of them sticking his debit card into a portable credit card terminal on the side of his hospital bed.
‘I’m in Australia. I don’t have health insurance for hospital visits, but I don’t need it because of the public health system here,” added a second,
Australia’s Medicare system provides universal health coverage to all Australian citizens and permanent residents, while the United States lacks a universal health system, meaning not everyone is automatically covered.
Most Americans rely on private health insurance provided through their employers or purchased individually.
The government operates limited programs such as Medicare for seniors and Medicaid for low-income people, but they do not cover everyone.
A patient with a broken leg could pay up to $7,500 for treatment, while the average cost of a three-day hospital stay can potentially cost around $30,000, according to the US government’s healthcare website.
In Australia, by comparison, even privately insured patients can claim up to 75 per cent of their treatment and surgery costs through the Medicare Benefits Scheme.