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From his comments defending not visiting ER given a recent unrelated health issue: The hospital billed $11,000 for a cat scan; the insurance paid 6k.'

Seriously, if you need a an elective scan and it's going to cost you more than a couple of grand after insurance: take a vacation, fly first class, stay in a 5 star hotel, get seen privately in a first class facility, have a relaxing rejuvenating break, and come home with change. Cost of a full-body CT scan in Europe?: < $1000.[1]

[1] http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/private-healthcare-services/d... Other parts of Europe (and no doubt elsewhere outside the US) will be much cheaper still.




Cost of full body CT scan may be greater than that - it would likely put you in Hiroshima-survivor radiation dose range.

Edit: did some reading. The risk is surprisingly low. For a 45 year old a single whole body scan has a mortality risk of 0.08%, and if the same person had one annually thereafter till 75, its a 1.9% lifetime risk. David, Brennee and Ellison in Radiology, 2004.




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