A man has stunned social media users by revealing how much the medical bill bill was for his wife to gave birth in a hospital in Finland.
Here in the US, medical costs certainly aren't cheap and having a baby is sadly no exception.
But it turns out it isn't like this across the pond in Europe.
Posted on the ‘Damnthatsinteresting’ board, a recent post by a Finnish resident has garnered over 5,000 upvotes and has over 1,000 comments.
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The post shared an image of the total hospital bill and its breakdown.
With many Americans being used to prices in the thousands it costs for childbirth, some Reddit users were shocked at how little other countries, such as Finland, have to pay.
In the US, the cost of giving birth can be just shy of $20,000, with the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health System Tracker reporting that giving birth costs US citizens an average of $18,865.
While insurers will regularly front the majority of the bill, those without insurance can expect a hefty bill. And to make matters even worse, the type of birth and location within the country can also impact the overall cost of the hospital stay.
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But not in Finland, clearly.
“The € is almost the same over a $. My wife and I spent three nights at the hospital, were served food four times a day, all three days, and while in labor she got every drug available," the Reddit user posted alongside an image of the bill.
"Epidural etc. The total cost of the whole process was under $300."
While some praised the Finnish health system due to the low cost, other Reddit users remarked that in other countries, the process is even cheaper or free.
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“In Canada I got a bill for $55 for staying a third night (which I didn’t, we left the hospital before the cut off time for it to be considered an overnight stay),” one Reddit user added.
“I argued it away and didn’t pay. That was the closest I ever got to having a hospital bill for the birth of any of my three kids.”
“Just had a baby here in Australia and though the birth was $0, I was expecting a hefty parking fee as the only spot I could get was in a $10/hr car park with no daily max, and we parked there for over 2 days,” another user commented.
“I noticed that if you lost your ticket, however, the cost was only $75. So when leaving I just buzzed the operator and said I'd lost my ticket, fully (and happily) ready to pay the $75 fee. Turns out the operator didn't give a s*** and let me leave without paying anything.”
Topics: Money, Parenting, US News, World News, Health