Colonoscopies are an especially good bargain here, but hip replacements are only more expensive in the US.
Price comparison website Compare the Market has turned its attention to the cost of surgery in six countries, finding Australia is cheapest in some, but not all cases. Unsurprisingly, the US is mostly the most expensive, but not for nose jobs.
The company looked at the average cost of six surgeries (appendectomy, cataract, colonoscopy, gastric bypass, hip and knee replacement and rhinoplasty) in six developed nations (Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the US, and the UK).
Importantly, the Australian dollar numbers quoted don’t describe what the patient pays out of pocket (various amounts may be covered by public health care and/or private insurance). Nor are they necessarily inclusive of every service received in conjunction with the surgery (diagnostics, anaesthetist, etc).
Colonoscopy (a relatively inexpensive procedure compared to the others) is cheapest here. Appendectomy, cataract surgery, gastric bypass and rhinoplasty are also fairly well priced.
But the cost of a hip replacement, though in the same neighbourhood as New Zealand and the UK, is twice the German price and significantly more than in Canada.
The website reported the following prices, which it said were sourced from governments where possible, including Medical Costs Finder in Australia, insurance companies, various business and medical industry publications, and averages from quotes from multiple clinics.
| Australia | Canada | Germany | New Zealand | USA | United Kingdom | |
| Appendectomy | $6,185 | $6,737 | $12,018 | $11,679 | $29,779 | $4,937 |
| Cataract Surgery | $4,700 | $3,818 | $14,939 | $4,495 | $6,186 | $4,937 |
| Colonoscopy | $2,050 | $2,502 | – | $2,783 | $4,700 | $5,332 |
| Gastric Bypass | $14,300 | $11,994 | $13,993 | $24,037 | $39,723 | $21,014 |
| Hip Replacement | $25,600 | $19,033 | $12,018 | $26,411 | $44,755 | $22,087 |
| Knee Replacement | $23,200 | $17,680 | $29,667 | $27,041 | $55,612 | $21,014 |
| Rhinoplasty | $10,300 | $11,488 | $9,054 | $16,845 | $9,525 | $13,839 |
