‘Over ₹5 lakh…’: Indian man’s viral video exposes shocking US healthcare costs after short hospital visit

An Indian man living in the US has drawn widespread attention to the country’s high healthcare costs after a brief visit to an emergency room in New York left him with medical bills amounting to several thousand dollars.

Parth Vijayvirgiya shared his experience in a now-viral video titled “The Crazy Cost of Healthcare in the US. A Real Incident,” explaining why so many people see the US as an expensive place to live despite high salaries.

“Bohat log kehte hain ki America bohat mehenga hai. Examples aapko main dekar samjhata hoon kis tarah mehenga hai. Main yahaan rehta hoon,” Vijayvargiya said in the video, which translates to: A lot of people say America is too expensive. I will explain with examples how expensive it actually is. I live here.

Recalling the incident, Vijayvargiya said he injured his knee on December 25 while ice skating in New York with his wife and sister. According to him, another skater collided with his knee, causing severe pain.

“I thought I hurt my knee or broke it,” he said.

Concerned about the injury, he decided to visit the hospital emergency room. However, he chose not to call an ambulance because of the cost.

“Main li khudse kyunki taxi, ambulance ka kharsha buhat ziada hai yahan. So, that was out of the question,” he added, explaining that he took a taxi instead.

Vijayvirgiya said he spent about an hour and a half in the emergency room, where doctors took X-rays, examined his knee, and diagnosed the injury as a muscle problem. A crepe bandage was applied and he was discharged shortly after.

The financial shock came weeks later.

“After three weeks, he just got $1,800 in insurance,” he said, noting that his out-of-pocket expenses amounted to $1,800 (about Rs 1.5 lakh).

He also claimed that his insurance company paid an additional $4,000-$4,500 to the hospital, bringing the total cost of the short emergency visit to about $5,800-$6,300 (about $4.8-5.2 thousand).

“This is why the cost of living in America is high and salaries are high here,” concluded Vijayvargiya.

The video, which includes clips from inside the hospital and images of medical bills, sparked widespread discussion on social media. While some users expressed concerns about health care costs in the United States, others pointed out differences in earning capacity and cost structures between countries.

One user commented: “Jobs in the US pay great salaries, until life sends the bill.” “You earn there and spend there, you can’t compare it to India,” another wrote, highlighting the broader debate over the cost of living and affordability of healthcare.