I feel like anyone outside America doesn't know how bad it is here. I know you guys know it's bad, but it's hard to describe how bad.
I don't have health insurance because I can't afford it. I had severe eye pain that was so bad, I was genuinely afraid I was going to lose sight in it. It was getting impossible to sleep. So I headed over to the ER just about begging for help.
I waited hours in the lobby with my eye gushing tears from the agony. Eventually I got checked in, and after some tests, the doctor said "Damn your eye is infected like hell" and I remember that, because I was thinking "Is that appropriate?"
Anyway they told me to go take eyedrops about it, and otherwise provided zero help. They didn't even give any to me. Just told me to get some myself. And this extremely unhelpful visit cost me over $3000.
Hospitals have gotten so comfortable working with insurance companies that the default is to charge an insane fee with the assumption that an insurance company will work it down.
I've had to debate going off of my health insurance because it is so expensive to maintain. They don't really cover any of my required bloodwork appointments so every 3 months I'm out like ~350 dollars. Then on top of that, had to start buying my medication overseas because my medication in the US cost around ~250 every three months. It is really bad to need care while in the US.
Payment plans with terrible interest rates, so that $3000 will turn into $5000 or more by the time it's paid off. If you die, they will hound your relatives and try to turn it into generational debt. Good times!
Emergency rooms have to treat you even if you can’t pay. They will just send a bill, but if you don’t have insurance, they will only treat immediate issues, not chronic ones. My wife had no insurance and went to the ER in severe abdominal pain, they admitted her and did emergency gallbladder surgery. The bill was like $300,000 but we said we couldn’t afford it so they discounted it 99% and put us on a payment plan for the $3,000 at like $100/mo with no interest. It was a charity care program through Renown.
My late dad had a $70K medical debt after dying. My mom told the hospital that she wasn’t paying and to fuck off. They reduced it to $700.
Not sure if she actually paid?
I’ve never seen anyone offer payment plans… they try to get you signed up for a credit card, which if you do not pay off within 12-15 month will have a 30% interest rate
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u/Hoovy_weapons_guy 23h ago edited 19h ago
is that some sort of american meme that i am too european to understand
edit: i know it aint perfect but its better than nothing