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I'm a Canadian citizen if that makes any difference, but I've gotten sick while being in NYC without insurance and I wanted to know what are the services, prices etc. as a tourist seeking help. Is there a site with what sort of fees it costs to visit a doctor?

I'm a member of IAMAT if that's still valid and relevant.

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    The US is infamous for being very expensive for medical treatment, hence travel insurance companies usually recommend "unlimited coverage" compared to other countries where they might have a one million dollar limit. The good part in your case is if it's not too urgent but is too expensive you don't have far to go back home.
    – hippietrail
    Oct 23, 2013 at 9:06
  • I have edited the question to focus on a single question. The answer to your other question, "Do US doctors do house calls?" is pretty much always "No." The only exceptions I have ever experienced have been a personal family friend, or my uncle (who is a doctor) helping when they just happened to be at the house for a social reason.
    – Flimzy
    Oct 23, 2013 at 12:21
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    @Flimzy Some do make house calls but the pricing is usually prohibitive for most patients.
    – Karlson
    Oct 23, 2013 at 12:49
  • @Karlson: I suppose that's true; anything can be bought with enough money. :) Michael Jackson had his own private doctor.
    – Flimzy
    Oct 23, 2013 at 12:58
  • If you pay out of pocket for upfront medical costs in the US you may be able to ask your Canadian provincial health plan for some reimbursement.
    – Jacob Horbulyk
    Jul 22, 2017 at 22:39

2 Answers 2

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There is not a single site or even multiple sites where the costs will be published. Reason being is that most doctor's practices are private businesses and are not governed by any entity as far as cost is concerned.

From the past experiences of myself and many others the cost for a regular office visit runs $80-$200 depending on the physician. Urgent care visit runs $120-$250 depending on what they had to do, and so on.

Emergency rooms could get a lot more expensive depending on the care that they had to provide you and the hospital you visit.

So if you feel like judging costs of care you should probably start looking at review sites like YELP:

Where cost is mentioned in the reviews.

P.S. Supposedly the new Obamacare webiste is supposed to provide you with that information.

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  • Those figures agree with what Google says.
    – DJClayworth
    Oct 23, 2013 at 13:50
  • Is visiting the doctor one price and then is it another price if they have to write you a prescription? Are follow-ups charged the same as the first visit?
    – verve
    Oct 24, 2013 at 7:05
  • @verve No. Prescription is part of the visit. The issue is what they need to do during that visit. Follow ups are looked at as regular office visits. Any other work during the follow up may increase the cost.
    – Karlson
    Oct 24, 2013 at 12:21
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You should look into travel insurance. It should be around $80/week. One ER visit could leave you with $X,000+ in medical bills. Try World Nomads or Kanetix.ca. Before you decide on a company, you should do a Google search to make sure they don't give their customers a hard time with claims.

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