What treating a broken arm costs: United States vs. other countries
An emergency visit, X-rays and a cast, with no surgery. No source publishes one comparable price for this, so each country shows the official fee or payment we could read and what it covers. The figures are not like for like.
What treating a broken arm costs in the United States and six other wealthy countries: the price paid to the hospital, what a patient usually pays, and the typical wait, each with its source. Prices come from different official sources and are labelled with what they cover.
| Country | Price paid to the hospital | What a patient usually pays | Typical wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $594 at a hospital or $477 at a surgery center: Medicare’s average payment for treating a broken wrist in a cast without setting the bone. The emergency visit and X-rays are billed separately (Medicare.gov) | With Medicare and no extra insurance: $95 at a surgery center or $118 at a hospital, on average, for the fracture care alone (Medicare.gov) | Not yet sourced |
| Canada | $67.75 in Canadian dollars, not converted: the doctor’s fee in Ontario for a broken wrist put in a cast. Hospital costs not included (Ontario) | No charge for medically necessary hospital and doctor care (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| United Kingdom | £116 to £574 for an emergency visit, depending on the tests and treatment: the set price paid to a hospital in England (NHS England) | No charge. NHS care is free when you use it (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| France | €30.10 to €51.40 for the emergency visit, plus €34.66 when X-rays are taken: set payments to a public hospital. The doctor’s fee for the cast is not included (ATIH) | National insurance pays 70% of an outpatient visit (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| Germany | €15.29 emergency fee, €12.61 X-ray and €18.35 cast: separate fees in the statutory insurance schedule, not added up (KBV) | Co-payments are capped at 2% of gross income a year (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| Japan | ¥20,400 for setting a broken forearm and ¥7,800 for the cast: national fees, not added up. The visit, X-rays and materials are separate (MHLW Japan) | 30% of the bill for most adults, with a monthly cap (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| Australia | $157.75 in Australian dollars, not converted: the schedule fee for the doctor who treats a broken wrist in a cast. X-rays and hospital costs are separate (MBS) | No charge in a public hospital (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
Where no sourced figure exists, the cell says so. We do not fill gaps with estimates.