| Surgeon | USD | 1,600 |
| Assistant | USD | 400 |
| Anesthesiologist | USD | 400 |
| Pediatrician | USD | 400 |
| Hospital (24 hour stay) | USD | 1,980 |
| Total | USD | 4,780 |
Not too bad, for no insurance, and a C-section. I've seen reports of total costs such as $25k in the US.
We were happy with the quality of service, and found the professionalism comparable to what we would expect in the US.
Why no insurance?
Folks have asked why we don't have medical insurance. Well, we sort of do. We have access to the public system, we just pay out of pocket for private health care.
Costa Rica has one of the best health care systems, in my opinion. There's a system of public hospitals that's available to everyone through social security. We pay a significant amount for social security every month, so we have access to that. However, we prefer to use the services of private hospitals. Private hospitals charge rates much more reasonable than in the US, so we can afford to pay out of pocket.
If we lived in the US, where you can expect to go bankrupt if you lack insurance and need medical care, we would definitely be insured. But the US is probably the only country where, if you're not insured, you can expect to be charged a factor of 5 times more than what the fair cost would have been, if it were charged to your insurance instead.
Bonus photos!
I'm sure the grandparents will want to see these. :-) (More photos earlier)
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