Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Cate
G'Day Judy,
Fascinating! There must be two Australias... we've found the medical expenses here to be quite high. Not as high as in the USA, but well higher than your example. Could you tell us where that took place? Our experiences range from Tasmania up the east coast as far as Cairns, and have covered several surgeries as well as routine visits.
Cheers,
Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Iluke, NSW, Oz |
The
accident occurred in Mackay Marina and he was treated in the public hospital in Mackay. The first
emergency room visit entailed utilizing numerous doctors, specialists, nurses and x-ray technicians. That ER visit cost $189.50 AUD because we were not covered by the
Queensland public
medical coverage. All other ER follow-up visits in Mackay were at no cost because the visits and x-rays were all related to the first
emergency room visit for which we had paid.
After delaying our departure for 6 weeks while the arm healed, we sailed to Cairns, where we again utilized the local public hospital. This time did not require an ER visit. We went to the public doctor in the public hospital and waited less than 20 minutes before seeing a physician and having the final cast removed. Cost was $60 AUD -- the same
price anyone else visiting the public doctor would have paid if they did not have the public medical coverage.
Both hospitals told us that if we had been residents in
Queensland and had public medical coverage, then there would have been no cost or very minimal cost for either visit. Of course, had we utilized private doctors and/or hospitals for this incident, the costs would have been considerably higher. However, the quality of care our grandson received was superb in the public facilities.
As to another posters comments about poor quality of medical care in places outside home country, that has not been our experience nor the experience of any cruisers we have met, including people who have suffered strokes, heart attacks and one man who required extensive surgeries in
Ecuador. Thinking the US (or any other country) has the best medical care in the world is
buying into media hype. It just is not true. Get on line and do some
research for yourselves and you might be surprised by the mortality statistics in other countries vs.
USA. BTW, I know people who have gone from the USA to
Colombia for eye surgeries and also some Australians who came to
Malaysia for eye surgeries. Both because the quality of care was superb and the costs considerably less than their home countries. Also know one man who flew from USA to
Thailand for heart surgery. Care just as good as at home at a fraction of the cost.
As for cruising on 5k per month, of course you can do it for less and have a great time. Our best times have been spent in isolated
anchorages. It just has been our experience that around 5k monthly makes everything less stressful. That amount does not allow you to be frivolous with money, but also doesn't require you to worry over the cost of each meal or drink at the local bar.
Judy
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