The USA is the 3rd most populated nation in the world, and its 50 states offer an abundance of different cultures, laws and living costs. If you’re a tourist about to visit the land of the free, you’ll definitely want to consider travel insurance before your trip.
Overview Of American Healthcare
The USA spends over $4.5 trillion a year on healthcare. This works out at almost $15,000 per U.S citizen and makes American healthcare one of the world’s most expensive healthcare systems.
Despite this, the US is one of the most visited nations by international tourists. But for tourists travelling from nations offering free healthcare, these statistics might come as a bit of a shock to the system.
Travel insurance becomes imperative as a result. Here’s everything you need to know about protecting yourself from eye-watering medical bills when visiting The States.
Reasons For Needing American Healthcare
Accident or emergency
If you end up in an American hospital, there’s a good chance it’s the result of an accident, whether that be an accident in the air, on the roads, or just from a mistimed dive into the hotel pool!
It could be argued that those states with stricter road laws are safer for tourists. For example, Eastern States have slightly lower speed limits. And shockingly, some states have yet to enforce a complete ban on mobile phone usage while driving.
Pre-existing Condition
You also might want to consider the cost of needing treatment related to any pre-existing conditions.
That’s because travelling to America with a pre-existing condition won’t save you when it comes to paying for your treatment.
An emergency pregnancy scan could cost you $1,000 without insurance for example. Even replacing a lost asthma inhaler could set you back $300!
Crime Rates
The vast majority of tourists will only require care as a result of an accident or pre-existing condition, but a smaller cause of visiting an American hospital while on your trip could be the result of assault or street crime.
Places like St. Louis, Detroit, and Baltimore are considered the most dangerous in terms of crime rates. Although, it’s worth noting that tourists are generally not the targets of street crime. In addition, hotels housing tourists are generally away from the deprived areas where most crime takes place.
How Much Travel Insurance Do I Need For A Trip To The USA
The golden question is, how much travel insurance do you need when visiting the USA? The obvious answer is it depends on what you plan on doing whilst on holiday. If you’re planning a skiing vacation to Colorado, for instance, your insurance needs will be increased. Get ready and packed motorcycles backpacks for long trip.
But if you’re planning a regular family vacation, the expensive nature of American healthcare means you’ll still need to be covered for a high amount. Generally speaking, $2.5 million should be enough, but many policies will insure you up to $10 million. This might seem excessive, but when you consider the average costs of American healthcare services, it’s easy to see why.
Average Costs Of American Healthcare By Service
Ambulance: The average cost of an ambulance ride in America is around $450, although in some states, ambulance journeys can cost the patient over $1,000.
ER Visit: Visiting an emergency room in America will cost you $2,715 on average but it also depends on the length of your stay. If your condition is critical, you could be left with a bill of over $20,000.
X-ray: If you’re left needing an X-ray while vacationing in the U.S., you can expect to pay somewhere around $125, although in some states prices can reach the $500 mark.
Broken bones: If your X-ray reveals a broken bone, you can expect to be out of action as well as out of pocket. Non-surgical treatment for a broken bone can typically cost up to $2,500; broken bones that require surgery can cost up to $35,000 without insurance.
Emergency dental visit: Again, it depends on your required treatment but you can expect to pay $700 and $1,200 for a typical root canal treatment.
Average Costs Of American Healthcare By State
As already mentioned, one of the biggest factors in the cost of American healthcare is the state in which the care is provided. Talktomira.com produced data based on the cost of a visit to an ER with a moderate to severe condition without health insurance.
Maryland comes out as the cheapest state with the average visit to an ER costing $682, closely followed by Maine, West Virginia, and Montana.
At the other end of the scale, Florida—a popular tourist destination—is the priciest state for healthcare with an average visit to an ER costing just under $3,400. Other popular tourist states New Jersey, California, Colorado, and Nevada aren’t far behind with an average ER visit costing between $2,800 and $3,400 in each of those states.
Where To Get Travel Insurance For Trip To USA
These days, most travellers select their insurance provider online using one of the many comparison sites that exist to find travellers the cheapest insurance quotes.
Sites like comparethemarket.com, gocompare.com and moneysupermarket.com allow users to filter through quotes based on their needs. This could include the type of cover which ranges from single trip cover to long stay; the country the user is visiting; and optional extras such as gadget cover, winter sports cover and business trip cover.
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Alternatively, you may choose to use an insurance broker. Generally, insurance brokers will specialise in one area of insurance although larger insurance firms will offer everything from credit insurance to life insurance.
