Hospitals & healthcare access

The United States scores 60/100 for healthcare in the guide and the site data alike, with life expectancy of 79 years — and it is the one country in this set where the guide states there is no public option, pricing childbirth by insurance status instead. It names no individual hospitals, so this page covers the costs and the insurance budgets the guide actually gives, and says plainly where its detail stops.

The rating context: 60/100, life expectancy 79

The United States scores 60/100 for healthcare, in a 58/100 liveability score overall — its career dimension is the outlier at 98/100, while healthcare sits mid-table. Life expectancy is 79 years. The guide presents these as editorial estimates for planning, and its closing note says its figures “were current at publication in 2026” and are not medical advice.

Public and private care, as the guide presents them

The guide's clearest statement is about childbirth, and it has no public side: “No public option; insured $3,000–5,000 out of pocket, uninsured $15,000–30,000.” Its other care prices are private or unlabelled: a private doctor visit is $150, an emergency room visit is $1,500 — the steepest ER figure in this set of guides — and dental is listed as $150 / $250 (the guide does not label what the two dental figures cover).

Neither the guide nor the site data names a public system, gives public user fees, waiting-time data, or eligibility rules. The Retirement plan template's phrase “until public-system access” is the only public-access wording in the guide, and it sits against the numbers page's “No public option” — this page follows the country-specific numbers page.

What health insurance costs in the guide's plans

Every move plan carries a first-year health insurance budget, and the range is the guide's real insurance data:

• $1,750 — Affordable plan (“basic international cover through to premium global plans”)
• $2,900 — Mid-range plan
• $6,350 — Luxury plan (the Luxury timeline specifies premium global cover with medical evacuation)
• $5,750 — Retirement plan's separate private health insurance line for age 60+, described as comprehensive cover until public-system access (the Retirement plan also lists the $2,900 general line — see the Retirement page)

The Affordable timeline also tells movers to arrange basic international health insurance during the paperwork stage — before arrival, not after.

Using care once you arrive — the steps the guide builds in

The guide's practical healthcare steps are embedded in its scouting and settling advice. On a scouting trip the Affordable plan says to visit a clinic alongside a supermarket, a bus route and a coworking space. Retirees get the fuller version on their six-week scouting stay: register with a GP or clinic, visit the hospital, and price a pharmacy run. The Retirement checklist adds bringing prescriptions and medical records for a year, with a translated summary, and quoting private insurance for your age with pre-existing conditions declared.

Frequently asked questions

One labelled partner per page. Paid placements never influence the United States of America liveability score, safety rating or warnings.