Health · Healthcare & Policy · 2 hrs ago
US patient says Malta’s lower-cost health care comes with trade-offs
An American with multiple sclerosis and a history of breast cancer moved to Malta partly because health care in the United States was becoming unaffordable.
In Malta, they pay 38 euros a week for care and medications, including a drug that costs $80,000 a year in the United States.
Their local general practitioner works from a small office and takes blood samples by appointment, with lab forms handled on paper.
In the United States, the patient had access to specialist doctors and a $6,000 annual out-of-pocket limit, but their family’s insurance plan cost $26,888 a year.
When their husband considered leaving his federal job, they looked at buying insurance themselves and found a mid-level plan in New York would cost about $30,000 for the year.
The move was a choice between high US costs and Malta’s lower-cost system, but the patient says they miss the convenience of a patient portal.
An American patient says Malta’s lower-cost health care has come with less convenient services, including the absence of a patient portal.
The patient pays 38 euros a week in Malta for health care and medications, including a drug that costs $80,000 a year in the United States.
The patient says a mid-level insurance plan for two people in the United States would have cost about $30,000 for 2026.
The patient describes receiving specialist care in the United States but says its cost had become unaffordable.
In Malta, the patient gets bloodwork by appointment at a general practitioner’s home office in Mellieħa.
- Who
- An American patient who moved to Malta and has multiple sclerosis and a history of breast cancer.
- What
- The patient describes the lower cost of Malta’s health care and trade-offs including a less convenient system and no patient portal.
- When
- The article was published on November 4, 2026. The doctor’s bloodwork appointments are Tuesdays at 7 a.m.
- Where
- Mellieħa, Malta, and the United States.
- Why
- The patient says the cost of health care in the United States was becoming unaffordable and was a major reason for moving.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The patient says they have had multiple sclerosis since this year.
The patient says the cost of U.S. health care was becoming unaffordable and describes a 2026 mid-level plan costing about $30,000 for two people.
The patient attends a bloodwork appointment at their general practitioner’s office in Mellieħa.
- Cost in Malta
- 38 euros a week, about $2,300 a year
- Medication cost in the United States
- $80,000 per year for one medication
- U.S. plan cost
- $26,888 a year for the patient’s previous plan
- 2026 exchange plan estimate
- About $30,000 for two people
- Doctor’s office
- Basement of a general practitioner’s home in Mellieħa, Malta
What people are saying
I miss my portal.
My American doctor’s office had a water feature.
My Malta doctor does bloodwork by appointment only, Tuesdays at 7 a.m.
I pay 38 euros a week here — about $2,300 a year — and it covers me and my medications, including the one that costs $80,000 per year in the U.S.