Rs 5.8 lakh for a crepe bandage! Indian man reveals how costly healthcare is in the US

Healthcare costs in the United States are known to be steep. Now, an Indian man has taken to social media to share his shocking hospital bill from New York.

In a video shared on X, the man said he injured his knee and visited a hospital in New York for treatment. He claimed he was made to wait for nearly 1.5 hours in the emergency room, after which doctors conducted an X-ray and applied a crepe bandage.

To his shock, he later received a bill of $6,354—approximately Rs 5.8 lakh. While his insurance covered $4,500, he was still required to pay $1,800 (around Rs 1.65 lakh) out of pocket.


Reacting to the video, one X user wrote, “Healthcare in the US is advanced, but it’s brutally expensive. You can’t survive without insurance, and even then, basic procedures like MRIs or specialist appointments can take weeks. We often assume the grass is greener on the other side, but it rarely is. In India, healthcare is far more cost-effective, though we deal with insurance scams and, at times, questionable competence and accountability among doctors. Every system has trade-offs. No country has cracked it perfectly.”



Another user commented, “For a country that calls itself the most powerful on earth, this kind of healthcare pricing raises a simple question: who exactly is that power meant to protect?”

However, another Indian living in the US offered a different perspective, saying, “Such incidents don’t happen every time. It completely depends on the type of insurance you have. I work in US healthcare, and while the system is excellent, it does have flaws, such as long waiting times for doctor appointments.”

Yet another user pointed out the stark cost difference, saying, “In India, this same treatment would cost between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000. America’s GDP may be large, but its healthcare system breaks the back of the common man. Rs 5.8 lakh could cover a complete knee surgery at one of India’s top private hospitals.”

Healthcare affordability remains one of the biggest challenges in the US. Costs rose sharply in 2026 following the end of additional Affordable Care Act (ACA) credits that had helped reduce monthly insurance premiums during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.