.jpg)
Yet another study is proving the value of travel insurance after research found an overnight hospital stay in some locales can cost more than a trip to a luxury hotel.
Recent analyses of World Health Organisation data revealed that Australian travellers may have to shell out as much as $3,500 for a night in hospital in certain countries.
Conducted by Finder.com.au, the research placed Monaco as the most expensive country in the world for hospitalisations with a price tag of $3,444 per day – more than three times the cost of a one-night stay at a five-star hotel at the same destination.
Somewhat more surprisingly, Luxembourg came in second place with a daily hospital cost of $1,813. Norway followed in third place at $1,343 per day. In contrast, a one-night stay in a five-star hotel in these destinations cost $273 and $240 respectively.
“Nobody wants to think about the worst case scenario, but the reality is that the cost of receiving medical attention in many countries is extremely expensive,” said Bessie Hassan, travel insurance expert at finder.com.au.
“It’s important to remember that these figures only represent the cost of the hospital bed,” he added. “They don’t take into account emergency transportation, medicine or surgery costs that can drastically hike up the price. Some medical practitioners may even ask for a sizeable deposit before they even begin a procedure.”
Also making it to the top 10 most expensive destinations to be hospitalised in were Qatar (with the average cost of $1,308 for a hospital bed for one day), Switzerland ($882) San Marino ($845), Denmark ($808), Ireland ($804), UAE ($727), and Netherlands ($711).
Research from Finder.com.au also showed that the average cost of travel insurance with medical cover for a one-week holiday to Monaco is only around $47 – that’s 73 times cheaper than the cost of a night in a hospital.
