4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Take a guess at average annual income - then google …
Come close?
Come close?
Hospitals in Jamaica
- Thread starter Doc8404
- Start date
Another thing to remember is that up to 80% of the tourist industry there, (hotels and beachfront resorts, restaurants, casinos, amusement parks, cruise ship infrastructure), is all built with foreign investments. Not "citizens" tax base. Not even close.
Take that away and the whole place turns into Haiti in no time. Simply because no one in their right mind would want to go there.
Take that away and the whole place turns into Haiti in no time. Simply because no one in their right mind would want to go there.
So you know for a fact that those hospital charges are customary and usual for a non-Jamaican with a mere elbow injury?
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JHZR2
Staff member
How much would it be billed for in the USA? I’ll bet $75k, then the scam doctors/administration/insurance would claim a “discount” of 85% (and use that to write off as a loss on taxes), while laughing all the way to the bank.
Reality is that the approach to billing is downright awful. And I’d bet borderline legalized criminality.
But to circle back, third world hospitals?
I know the hospital in St. Thomas, USVI, a US territory is insolvent. They get reduced support compared to a stateside hospital. They can’t pay to have bodies and amputated parts removed from the premesis in May situations. PR, where family members have had to get care because it’s better than the VI, you actually need to bring your own pillows and sheets to the hospital. That was pretty interesting when my MIL had to run to Marshall’s to go shopping because of this.
No, I wouldn’t want to get caught in a third world hospital, even on a US territory.
JHZR2
Staff member
You can’t even get a straight answer on costs of care in the US. Why do you think there’d be a straight answer anyplace else?
JHZR2
Staff member
Maybe in some places, not all. Some areas it is the local pension fund. But with less and less onshore spending, that’s hurting too.
Google shows the average cost of dislocated elbow treatment in the US is $15-30k so looks like the price is right for those saying that cost is unfair.
Not to mention US Medicare scams where doctors will do a bunch of useless tests to grab more money from the system.
Not to mention US Medicare scams where doctors will do a bunch of useless tests to grab more money from the system.
What they bill, and what they are actually paid are 2 completely different things.
Just as much as you think they aren't....
Yes and no. This is core to the issue of the health insurance (not healthcare - IMO, the US has world-class care capabilities) billing.
Have you ever driven five miles out of the cities on any of these islands?
It isn't nearly as third world as you seem to believe it to be although not as affluent as the US.
Haiti is an outlier and is the way it is largely through decades of bad government.
Yeah, I'm sure it's all photoshopped. They've got to be just drowning in tax dollars.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pov...bIHALgHAMIHAzMtMcgHCYAIAA&sclient=gws-wiz-img
Take away the tourists and their money, and it's a 90% stinkhole.
"Wealth is heavily concentrated among a small percentage of the population".
"Some reports suggest that less than 10% of the population is considered middle class".
"In contrast to the affluent minority, approximately 20% of Jamaicans live below the poverty line".
"Some estimates suggesting over 90% of the population earns below the upper-middle class bracket".
"The economic structure in Jamaica is characterized by high inequality, where a small, affluent minority holding a significant portion of the country's assets".
https://www.google.com/search?q=wha...j33i671l4.34772j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
"Wealth is heavily concentrated among a small percentage of the population".
"Some reports suggest that less than 10% of the population is considered middle class".
"In contrast to the affluent minority, approximately 20% of Jamaicans live below the poverty line".
"Some estimates suggesting over 90% of the population earns below the upper-middle class bracket".
"The economic structure in Jamaica is characterized by high inequality, where a small, affluent minority holding a significant portion of the country's assets".
https://www.google.com/search?q=wha...j33i671l4.34772j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Now do the US.
Very good point!
I'd say that looking at things online is no substitute for actually going to the islands and driving around if you want to see reality as opposed to hyped up images of squalor. Easy enough to find the same thing in any US city.
So Jamaica has less concentration of wealth than we do here?
Good to know.
Google does this really amazing thing.... When you search for something specific, it shows you exactly what you want to see !
The epitome of confirmation bias.It's sad, but I've seen this same comment made here many times by many different people.
Wrong
Direct tourism related income (travel tax, passenger levies) = 4%. Room/hotel tax = 0.4%. While the tourism industry is big for them, it's also not possible to directly attribute how much more income really comes from this, i.e. hotel and restaurant works and their payroll tax and so on.
