₹47,000 in India vs ₹22 lakh in the US: Man says Instagram post influenced his decision to move countries over healthcare costs

Summary:
An American named Yuvaan Ibañez Garware, who grew up partly in Pune, said on Instagram that he plans to move to India, citing his personal healthcare experiences. He described receiving prompt treatment, extensive tests and a private room in India for about $500, while claiming that a later hospital visit in the US following severe chest pain resulted in delays and a $23,000 bill, of which he paid $7,000 despite having insurance. Based on these experiences, he said healthcare was the main reason he did not want to settle permanently in the US. 

While discussions about leaving India are common online, an American with an Indian mother and Colombian father has shared why he does not want to make the US his permanent home. Drawing on his own experiences, he compared healthcare in the US and India and described what he believes is a major difference between the two systems. He praised his experience with healthcare in India while arguing that, in America, “you are literally punished for being sick.”

In an Instagram post, Yuvaan Ibañez Garware, who says he is from Seattle, announced that he plans to move to India. He had previously spent 16 years growing up in Pune.

In the video, the 23-year-old explained, “I am moving back to India from America because of one word: healthcare. Let me explain with two simple examples, one in India and one in the US.”

He described a previous incident in India when he was briefly hospitalised for basic medical care. According to him, he was immediately given a private room and access to a doctor. He underwent a detailed examination, received a diagnosis and was provided with treatment, with the total expense coming to about $500, or ₹47,690.25.

“A few years ago in India, I fainted multiple times. I was immediately taken to a hospital and got a private room right away with zero paperwork. They did everything—ECGs, MRI, CT scans, full blood work. I could even talk to the doctor whenever I wanted. After a few days, they gave me a clear diagnosis of what happened and a proper treatment plan. The total bill for all of that was 500 USD,” he said.

Yuvaan Ibañez Garware then described what he said was a very different experience with healthcare in the US. He claimed that he experienced a minor heart attack there but avoided calling an ambulance because of the potential cost. He also described delays at the hospital and said he was unable to speak with his doctor promptly.

“Now fast forward to America. I was playing basketball when I suddenly got this really bad chest pain. I couldn’t call the ambulance cause here it costs thousands of dollars so I literally had to drive myself to the hospital, driving in pain, and when I arrived, I had to wait over an hour and a half in a waiting room so that they could process my form and paperwork for documentation. Once I finally got in, they told me I had a mini heart attack,” he said.

He further claimed that he did not receive a clear diagnosis or a follow-up treatment plan. According to him, the hospital bill reached approximately $23,000, equivalent to around ₹21,93,751.50. Despite having health insurance, he said he personally paid about $7,000, or ₹6,67,663.50, toward the hospital expenses.

“They shoved me in a room and started running tests, and whenever I asked to see the doctor, they just told me that he’s too busy and he would come at a later time. On top of that, a nurse missed my vein so many times while taking blood that I screamed, and she told me to shut up cause I was being too loud. After days of all of these, the conclusion? We don’t know what happened, and they sent me home with zero follow-up plan, and then the bill came; it was 23,000 dollars and even with top insurance I was paying thousands of dollars for, I had to pay $7000 dollars out of pocket.”

“Sure, weather’s great, infrastructure’s great, but this is why I will never settle down here,” he concluded.