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Everybody deserves to be healthy because being full of energy means leading a good life. However, health becomes a real issue if you have to pay your weight in gold whenever you need to go to the hospital.
When US Senator Bernie Sanders asked his Twitter followers what the most absurd medical bill they’ve ever received was, the floodgates opened. The stories were shocking, to say the least. So here is a compilation of the most ridiculous medical bills that Americans were presented with. Get ready for your jaw to drop and your eyes to pop because some of these are unbelievable. Upvote the bills you found the most shocking, leave us a comment and remember to share with your friends.
More info: BernieSanders.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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#1
Isle_of_stressed_pilots 5 years ago
I have a huge lump in my throat from reading the ones where babies die. I can't possible imagine what you went through
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#2
Some of these bills reached tens-of-thousands and even hundreds-of-thousands of bills. I’ll be honest with you, when I saw them I genuinely thought I was either seeing things or that somebody accidentally added a couple of extra zeroes.
#4
Daniela-Iulia Balaciu 5 years ago
Is anything in that country for free? Can you breath for free? Or... maybe you went for the stitches removal to an all inclusive 5stars resort?
#5
Andres Tejeda 5 years ago
That is a shame, I swear I think doctors request test just to run up the bill.
#6
Daniela-Iulia Balaciu 5 years ago (edited)
If people have an word to say in that country, they have to change sòmething. It's very wrong. How it came to this situation I cannot imagine. The life itself has the rating below money.
The harsh reality is that healthcare is incredibly expensive in the United States, and plenty of people always wonder: “Why?” Investopedia explains that healthcare in the US is “about twice as expensive as it is in any other developed country.” However, despite the cost, the US healthcare system is only the 37th in quality, according to the World Health Organization.
#7
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
Ah, but the eggs they do so you can sue them for $12K or more.
#8
Sterrinatu 5 years ago
I hear ya. My bill for a UTI was $6,000. They didn't even diagnose me. I walked and told them what was wrong what antibiotic I needed. What am I paying $6,000 for?
#9
Iris Engler 5 years ago
How is it that a human life obviously has no value in this nation? How can America ever be "great" again, as long as this madness continues?
Harvard economist David Cutler told Investopedia that the main reason why US healthcare costs are sky-high is this: “The administrative costs of running our healthcare system are astronomical. About one-quarter of healthcare cost is associated with administration, which is far higher than in any other country.”
What’s more, the cost of medical drugs in the United States is far higher than in other developed countries. Meanwhile, American doctors are afraid of litigation, so they practice what’s called ‘defensive medicine’ — they order lots of different tests even when they know what the diagnosis is.
#13
Suzi Gauthier 5 years ago
Fight all bills. They know some people will just give up. I fought & they paid it. It may not work 100% of the time, but something like this definitely. Also, take the complaint to Facebook.
#15
Daniela-Iulia Balaciu 5 years ago
Aren"t the ER acțions/operation free of change? Or ER is considered as privat hospitals? You are not paying taxes in that country, to have state hospitals? Just wondering... anyway, strange medical system.
What do you think of the US healthcare system, dear Pandas? Have you ever had any massive medical bills? Share your thoughts and experiences with us in the comments.
#17
Vex Boxx 5 years ago
The ambulances in the US are insane. I have flat out refused to get into one when necessary because I couldn't afford the bill. Asked my friend to take me to the hospital from the Urgent Care instead of the ambulance they had "called" for me. Luckily, she is no stranger to the US Healthcare Mafia.
#19
Mia Cardenas 5 years ago
Pharmaceuticals are big business and could care less if your life is at risk because you cannot afford medications. Cost very little to make these treatments compared to the bill you get. They justify this on the bases of "research". This is another vile industry just like insurance. No compassion
#20
Andres Tejeda 5 years ago
Didn't you know there is a $900 speaking fee, plus $75 eye contact fee. Then another $25 just for walking in the door?
#23
KT Trondsen 5 years ago
That doesn't sound right. EHS crews will always take you to the closest hospital in a life threatening emergency
#24
Daniela-Iulia Balaciu 5 years ago
Do you have to make a credit to afford a child? Or paying rates after the birth? That country is not right.
#25
Kirt Carson 5 years ago
My wife had endometriosis. Her doctor worked with our insurance to make certain the procedure was covered. We called ourselves early on, and just before going under the knife and was assured we had coverage. We started getting bills in the mail from the doctor asking for the full costs of procedure. We contacted the insurance company and they informed us that there is a process of sending a formal letter with a specific question, and they would answer within so many business days. Their first several replies were 'coverage exhausted' without much else. Every month another letter came asking for payment in full, and every month we got the same short answer from the insurance company. Eventually we learned the policy I was paying into for my family at a steep price every check had an annual total inpatient coverage of $1,500. That's fifteen hundred dollars; which was nowhere near the total cost. The company I worked for was owned by my insurance company.
#26
Daniela-Iulia Balaciu 5 years ago
That's a sick country. I am not reffering to peoples' health, but the medical system is sick.
#28
Mark Kelly 5 years ago (edited)
My bro was rear ended here in Canada and had no bills and even received almost 10 grand
#29
Andres Tejeda 5 years ago
I'm mean did the doctor make eye contact? that's already a$ 75 charge just for that.
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What do you think ?
martin734 5 years ago
I am from the UK and 10 years ago I suffered a very severe motorcycle accident where I was hit by a disqualified and uninsured driver. I was taken from the accident to hospital by air ambulance. At the first hospital they realised that my head injury was worse than they thought and that I needed to be taken to a specialist neurological unit. I was transferred by air ambulance again to the specialist hospital where I spent 3 weeks in a coma. In addition to my head injury I suffered a smashed left hip, broken pelvis, broken left arm and shoulder and a shattered left wrist. I had to have 6 different operations and over two years of Physiotherapy. None of this cost me a single penny and every single one of the NHS employees I encountered was absolutely superb and totally professional from the Medics and Neurosurgeons who saved my life, to the hospital porters. Since then I have had a career change and I now work as a Physiotherapist and I love every day at work.
Hallie 5 years ago
I really, really wish people would appreciate our NHS more. I wish people would fight for it more, it's an amazing thing, but we won't have it this way for much longer I'm sure. Reading this list of bills is insane, as a fellow Brit I have paid for nothing but dental throughout my life.
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Rachael Marrast 5 years ago
I don't understand all the down votes on peoples comments. Everyone is right. The american health care system is garbage. Almost everything about this country is garbage and getting worse day by day. I wish I didn't live here. (don't say, well move, because if I could I would)
Cindy Snow 5 years ago
Same. Most of the world is going to s**t one way or another. Ours is astronomical bills.
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Kjorn 5 years ago (edited)
so glad i'm in Canada and Don't get that s**t. Shame on america for having more people fighting for the right to having guns but not to the right of healtcare!
CP 5 years ago
This is for Scott. Is it better to have access but have to wait a little bit or have no access at all? People keep pointing out wait times (not sure how true wait times are), but never point out that many people in the US don't even have that luxury.
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Angie Ma 5 years ago
As a person living in the EU.... WTF?! This is inhumane, I can't believe some of the things posted here O.O
Dan Woo 5 years ago
Not as bad in Asia. Some countries here won't let you in if you have no money.. at least they fix you in US
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kurisutofu 5 years ago
I think the American government just doesn't like people. Guns to kill them? Ok. People go to prison for no reason? OK. People killed by the police for nothing? Ok. Help to avoid suffering or death? Not ok. ... Yeah, great country.
CP 5 years ago
Not to mention Republicans trying to prevent people they don't like from voting every chance they get.
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Jeff Requier 5 years ago
What would happen if ALL of you just didnt pay them after the treatment? In Canada I do my taxes every year and always get 90 - 100% of it back due to having kids, and if the kids have a disability i would get even more a month for Child tax benefits. We used to have to pay a small amount a month for health care, but than it just went into taxes that we barely notice
Whatever... 5 years ago (edited)
Unfortunately, it affects our credit score. In fact, some medical providers immediately give credit collection agencies the bill so they don't have to deal with it. My score went from a constant 760 to mid 500s
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JeannevB 5 years ago
So I live in Belgium where most medical costs are paid by the government. So I don't relate to these stories. But they get to me. What I don't get is when an insurance doesn't cover some illness or accidental injury, how much have you already paid to be insured in the first place?
JeannevB 5 years ago
And before you downvote me: of course I pay taxes for medical health. But these costs are a small percentage of what I cost when I get in an accident or when I become ill.
Load More Replies... Andres Tejeda 5 years ago
These bills are the main reason we need to do two big things in our country. Limit the influence of big money in politics, and have universal healthcare. Big money in politics is allowing for health insurers and big pharma to continue to price gouge and exploit the American people. Until that changes, this will keep happening.
Dr.Scott 5 years ago (edited)
CP, it wasn't necessarily a dream I was communicating. It was just a statement that our problems aren't due 100% to privatized health insurance. Our problems are due to lobbyist. Companies like BCBS are just going to follow the money. Really, they have a wish list of what they want out of a repeal of ACA when it wasn't that long ago they were virtually writing the damn law. Now you're right to say they won't go anywhere and I have no allusions they will. My point with the comment is that we are in a mess we're going to have a tough time getting out of. Even with universal care.
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comboplush 5 years ago
If you really want to do this, I wish you much success! You definitely aren't alone with that. Europe really should start to offer medical refudge for Americans, it is ridiculous!
Load More Replies... Martha Meyer 5 years ago
Dear Americans, I really hope you'll soon have a president who manages to straighten this mess out.
Christian Nicholes 5 years ago
Dear Martha, I hope you'll soon have a prime minister who didn't wear blackface to a party.
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Waqitos 5 years ago
I want people to read my comment so they can know how big of scam healthcare in the US is. I was living in Italy as a resident, not as a citizen when out of nowhere I was diagnosed with a critical heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in which heart muscles thicken, stops beating, causes sudden cardiac arrest and in some cases leading to sudden cardiac death. It's so serious that my dad and grandpa died young due to the same condition. Anyway, I needed two surgeries, the first one cost 20,000 euros (USD 22,099), the second one included implant of Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. SICD from Boston Scientific. The S-ICD cost 48,000 USD while the surgery and hospital stay cost 20,000 Euros. In total, both surgeries cost more than 90,000 USD (I didn't include medication expenses here). Now guess what? they didn't charge me a dime, the didn't ask me for a single penny. I owe my life to Italy. Thanks God I wasn't in the US.
littlesaresare 5 years ago
I'm so glad I wasn't born in the USA. I was born with a serious disease and all the surgeries, hospital stays, tests, consults, meds, etc., no doubt would have racked into the tens of millions. My mum would be bankrupt and I'd be dead. Why do Americans think that mass preventable death and poverty is a good thing?
Joshua Walters 5 years ago
The only issue is, this problem is semi-unfixable. In order to fix it without making medical a horror show or destroying the doctors, is to have a more regulated hospital business system. Giving free health care solves nothing. My grandmother died in another country with free health care because the literal ambulance broke down on the road. If you've seen the hospitals in some places, it feels like a psychiatric facility. Patients are rarely visited, people die due to lack of care from the staff. I hope America never has to have this issue. I realize different cultures handle things differently but the only issue is that America is much bigger and in much more debt than it can reliably handle. America is a selfish country, on based on the self, it would not handle a system like this, and there is close to nothing that can be done. Disclaimer: I totally get if you don't like what I said, If you wanna help me learn your side better, I'd love to hear it.
Joshua Walters 5 years ago
To Mike Greco: That is the difference between America and Canada. They are both different cultures, with very different circumstances. We have different legal systems, different ethical and public beliefs, different societal rules. Comparing countries are like comparing apples and oranges. You can't blame one for having skin or blame the other for having seeds.
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Moose Face 5 years ago
We Canadians and Brits and others who get free (yes I know it's not "free" but it's efficient and paid for rationally) always pipe up to say, "I've never even seen a medical bill!" We say it not to gloat or rub it in but because we know you Americans can do better, and we hope you do. Stop listening to lobbyists. Start voting for people who want universal healthcare because it's not impossible, especially not for a country as rich as the US.
Callie Ge 5 years ago
I’m Australian, 20 years ago I had Meningococcal Septicemia. 2 weeks in a coma in icu isolation on total life support. Emergency Surgery I was hemorrhaging, I was 20 weeks pregnant, my baby died Inutero. Then 2 weeks recovery on the surgical ward. $660,000: worth of drugs & equipment for my treatment. Ambulance to hospital 1. Plus all the Specialists, who treated me first at the rural hospital ER I was admitted to, then at the hospital I was transferred to By Careflight Helicopter with a team of Drs & Surgeons. Then Ambulance from Hospital 2 to Home. I am literally the 1 million dollar woman, more probably. I left hospital with a Bill for ZERO$, That’s universal health care. I received a bill for the Careflight for $16,000. I called them to explain I was now unemployed with 4 kids to look after, I’ll get back to you he said. Half an hour later he calls me and says an anonymous Donor has paid my Careflight and Ambulance bills.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
In the US you'd have seriously contemplated whether or not it was better to die because living on the streets after being financially destroyed would have been a legitimate fear.
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Jolene Jolene 5 years ago (edited)
As a German who lived in the US for years, this constantly made me anxious. Just the insurance system is so messed up that I'd always avoid going to the doctor. One of the reasons I decided to return to Europe is that I was tired of the everpresent possibility of an unfortunate event that may be completely out of my control and yet financially ruin my life.
TheDivineMs.M 5 years ago
My husbands grandma passed away in a nursing home. The ambulance came to pick up the deceased body and charged my mother in law with oxygen in the ambulance ride. Oxygen. For a dead body.
Meami 5 years ago
The really sad thing is if we established universal healthcare in the US, it would actually cost us all less even in taxes. Even most people with great healthcare coverage from their employers are paying for copays and annual deductibles and many of us are paying part of our monthly premiums as well. Almost all 1st world countries have a universal health care system, have excellent care, and pay less in taxes for their care than we pay. I do not understand why this country is so frightened of a universal healthcare system. The conservatives shout, "Socialism!" and everyone freaks out! SMH
Jason Doakes 5 years ago
This is what happens when you put corporations in charge. We ask ourselves, "how can this and that happen???", we know how it happens, we see it every day a republican decides what's best "for you". Eliminating regulations and consumer protection, appeals to "self-reliance", privatizing hospitals, prisons and parks, cutting education budget. Americans are treated like cattle, work until you die and pay the taxes the rich don't want to pay. It's 50 years they're doing it and "we" still ask ourselves what the problem is; it's money. cynical greedy republicans will stop from nothing to eliminate the middle class. They can ponder to the dumb christians all they want, they are the devil.
Steve Mcnally 5 years ago
It’s a telling fact that the most popular tv series in the USA (and in other countries) features a high school teacher who turns to producing crystal meth to prevent his family being bankrupt by his cancer treatment.......... and it’s accepted as normal??🙄
Matthew Smith 5 years ago
My parents were in the USA on Holiday, dad became very unwell, got to a hospital, he was in a lot of pain and the Doctors wouldn't even EXAMINE him till the insurance was confirmed. Once the travel insurance was confirmed he was examined, he was diagnosed with a couple of conditions plus TERMINAL CANCER. My dad was in great shape for 79 years of age. He died 3 months later, the diagnosis was spot on. I know this is off topic but the point is I am very angry the hospital wouldn't touch him till the insurance was cleared. The travel insurance covered this and we never found out how much this cost.
Jennifer Biness 5 years ago
The reasons the bills are so high are many and complex. Such as, you may only see the doctor for 5 minutes, but you don't see the amount of work he does for you behind the scenes. You pay the absurd amount of $50 for a Gas-X (yes, that's right) because you're not paying for the gas-x, but for the expertise and education of the pharmacist and the nurse. You pay for not just the care from the doctors and nurses, but also a "room charge" for food, cleaning, electricity, etc. A main reason the bills are so high though, is because they up-charge, knowing insurance will only pay a fraction, so that they can get closer to what they should be paid; also they know they won't get paid by a lot of people, so we all pay for that- WHICH IS WHY WE NEED MEDICAID FOR ALL, because we're paying for it FREAKIN ANYWAY! but not getting the benefit. Also, gotta make sure the CEOs get those yearly bonuses!
Anne Francis 5 years ago
As someone who has worked in health for close to 50 years I can tell you that the costs in America are ludicrous ....certainly one needs to pay for the expertise and technology but the real costs come no where close to the inflated charges people are forced to pay in the US. On a recent holiday in France I broke my arm requiring surgical repair....the bill for two hours of surgery, anaesthetics and 3 days in hospital came to $5600 , had I been in the US I dread to think what the cost would have been.
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Roisin Reid 5 years ago
Why are there so many people in the US against free health care? This seems a bit like a backhanded way to kill of the poor. I use the NHS in the UK a lot. I get great quality care. I never pay for meds and I can go to the doctor or specialist for no money. I pissed for paying £1 an hour on parking at hospitals.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Americans have been fed a steady diet of b.s. for decades. They've been convinced that if you do something like universal healthcare that a handful of people who work will be paying for a bunch of 'leaches' who don't work because they don't have to. They're super scared to help others because if they do, the others won't have an incentive to 'pull themselves up by the bootstraps'. It's utterly ridiculous, selfish, self-centered, and the main philosophy of the US has definitely become I've got mine so eff you.
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Whatever... 5 years ago (edited)
Wow! I've never seen so many downvoted comments! We, the US, are as f****d as we can be. I'm a Republican. WAS proud of it. But, the uber far-right saw Bernie Sanders and is on here like white on rice. We, the GOP aren't going to see the bigger picture until they lose their jobs, homes, and medical care. It happens.
Jenica Thomas 5 years ago
I know it really isn't a lot of money, but it's the principal. I saw a friend post that they were charged $36 to hold their baby after birth.
Nicole Holt 5 years ago
I haven't seen a doctor in about 5 or more years for anything, because I don't think I could afford the cost. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I'm not coming down with anything serious. Oh..yeah.. I do have insurance - with a very high deductible.
Mindy Keys 5 years ago
I broke my arm - just a minor fracture (no exposed bone or anything crazy), just hairline fracture. ER visit, (never saw a dr), They did an XRay, wrapped my arm in an ace bandage, gave me an ice ice pack, told to take tylenol and not use it for 8 weeks. $6,700 bill. I went to the cheapest hospital in town, knowing I had no insurance... Took me 7 years to pay off. 1 year later my cat makes a bad landing from a jump and starts to wail. Rush her to the vet. Broken front leg (bone broken in 2 places). Doc operates, puts a pin in, stitches her up, gives her pain medication, cast the leg, and did 4 after-care visits. Total bill: $795. My cat got better treatment than I did - and at a fraction of the cost. I could not even get a damn tylenol, they just told me to go to CVS on my way home. I guess I should be grateful, two tylenol would have been $300.
porcupine 5 years ago
Holy s**t. No painkillers? For $6,700, you’d better send me home with something stronger than Tylenol.
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Samhhain Cat 5 years ago
All Republicans: "Sucks to be you." They don't give a f**k about anyone but themselves and don't want to pay an extra cent for anyone else to get taken care of. These people are monsters. But they'll sure change their tune when this happens to them!
Koalamonster 5 years ago
I've had respiratory issues forever. I'm SUPPOSED to have a steroid inhaler I use twice daily in addition to having a rescue inhaler on hand. One of those steroid inhalers, with my old insurance, ran about 150 dollars. Each inhaler only lasted a month. That's almost 2,000 a year- with insurance. I don't have that insurance anymore, and I get my albuterol from my dad as he has decent health insurance. If it wasn't for that I'd be paying out the nose just to make sure I don't die because it's raining while it's cold out. I don't get how things that are necessary to survive can have such a markup- how those in charge of marking them up feel no guilt. EpiPens, insulin, albuterol- some things are necessary. (I know there are a lot more but those are just the ones in my immediate family.) Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are screwing everyone- because they don't pay as much as a private payer. It's all... so much greed in a system allegedly meant to help people.
Cynthia Elliott 5 years ago
The faith based hospital my sister gave birth to her "sleeping" baby (stillborn) added extra charges for it being a complicated birth even tho it required less work than a normal delivery. They literally mostly easily vacuumed that precious baby out and as if her child dying the day she was due to be induced wasn't enough they billed her the most expensive charge they possible could have. I took my study abroad money and paid for it but told her I talked to them and they dropped it. She didn't need anymore reasons to question why she was on the Earth. I personally pray they know what that bill does to people who just lost their child. They should be ashamed. They literally sat there while my sister gave birth to her sleeping baby... It didn't take 15 minutes.. they charged around 2500$. As if the funeral wasnt bad enough..
Lish 5 years ago
This is insanity. As I write this, I just got home with my 6 year old. From an ER visit. Because she was injured at school. Concussion and stitches in the back of her head. Cost to me: nothing. I can't imagine what I'd do if I had to pay for this, as a low-income mother of two.
Camil Gagnon 5 years ago
"Land of the free.", eh? I don't get it, sounds like Orwell's newspeak; Slavery (to money) is freedom.
Amoureuse 5 years ago
Yeah, these medical posts really kill my last desire to ever move to the States. How the hell is anyone supposed to pay these bills? Yeah insurance covers some but still? I'm so sorry for you people, at this moment I'm happy to pay my taxes to Finland. I need to pay for doctors appointments etc but I can afford it.
AzKhaleesi 5 years ago
I was born severely premature when my mom's appendix burst, and while I was fighting for my life and doctors were bringing my mom back to life for the SECOND time, my Dad was pulled into the office to ask how they were going to pay the ONE MILLION (plus) bill. My dad laughed. This was in 1981 my parents were in their early 20's and had no insurance yet. He told them the check would be in the mail. lol
Chris 5 years ago
Insurance is pooled risk. The bigger the pool, the more spread the risk is. If every single person in a country goes in to the same pool (insurance company, let's call it National Insurance), the risk is spread as widely as possible, and therefore everyone pays the lowest rate possible. It's exactly the same principle, just on a much bigger scale, and without the administrative costs of billing/paying. And underwritten at national level. And without companies taking a cut as profit.
Skylar Reynolds 5 years ago
Not a huge bill, but relatively large for what I went in for. I woke up with a sore throat and went to check if it was strep throat since I work with kids and strep is contagious. The doctor felt my neck for around 15 second then told me to open my mouth and checked it with a flashlight for around 10 seconds. She said I was fine and it was just a sore throat, take some ibuprofen. Couldn't have been in there for more than 5 minutes. $530.
Andrew Gould 5 years ago
It is criminal to let insurance companies anywhere near healthcare. They literally do everything they can to avoid paying out each and every claim. It is a universal operating procedure for insurance companies. I cannot imagine the unnecessary suffering people go through because of that system.
LuckyPineapple 5 years ago
My story is the opposite of these huge amounts. One time my insurance somehow managed to charge me 10¢ too little one month and I found out 6 months later when they denied to pay anything for my insulin (that I was completely out of) They refused to reinstate my insurance till they got the 10¢, but “it’ll take 48 hours to process”. I didn’t have enough insulin to last 2+ days and could have actually died. 10¢ was more important to them than my life. I cried and screamed on the phone and said I’d drive the dime to their offices right now if they let me get my insulin.
Meeow 5 years ago
Only in US the health system don't give a f**k about your life, it's all about money talk. If you don't have insurance your life is basically done, and you wonder why that mfuthafuka Cheetos want to cancel Obama care so damn much cause you are spending their money. F*****g insane!!!
Jennifer France 5 years ago
I am from the UK, I had my son in hospital and then suffered post Eclampsia, I was in ICU for a week, bleeding and organ failure, they had to fly blood platelets in from another hospital, How much did I pay? My taxi home..
João Gonçalves 5 years ago
This is inhuman. How can you be in so much dept? I owe 700€ to the finances and i'm freaking out they can take my car or something. Don't people in America reposesse stuff? There are stories here of 150.000€, 300.000€.... 1.000.000€..... How will these people survive? Aren't all of these stretched out death sentences? All of these post just show how modern slaves are made. Holy s**t, and i thought the fear of getting murdered all the time was bad. This is much worse. No wonder you're all so anesthetized and elect whomever.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
What they can do is garnish your wages (take your money directly from your employer), tank your credit score (which your entire life, including your job) may depend on and basically ensure the rest of your life isn't worth living.
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Jo Choto 5 years ago
Whenever people crow about the wonders of the USA, they need to remember that healthcare is an issue for every single American, and that thousands of people do not have access to even basic care, and that millions of people struggle to get the right kind of care, or be able to pay the bills afterwards. Civilized countries guarantee healthcare and education for all. The USA is so far from a civilized country in that regard.
Angie Jolie 5 years ago
okay, im from Vietnam and we have horrible health care system, and also it's "rule" you will have to "tip" the doctor and nurses if you want proper care. But even so, it's still less money and better care than the stories above!
Robert Palmer 5 years ago
In 1991 had great insurance, Daughter was born premature spent Three months in NICU bill was well over One million, never saw a bill. Chief Doctor told us if if we didn't have insurance they would forgive part or all of the bill. Families that lost babies never got billed.
Dani 5 years ago
Things ALL humans should be entitled to, regardless: a quality education through 12th grade. Satisfactory, free healthcare. The right to own property. Free will, freedom of choice, and belonging to no one but themselves. Safety. Freedom of thought. Food, shelter, and clean water. Innocent until proven guilty through a fair trial. REGARDLESS OF RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, NATIONALITY, AGE, OCCUPATION, STATUS, ETC. Make it happen, humans.
YoyoSthlm 5 years ago
I feel sooo sorry for you. It's horrible. In Sweden every emergency, ambulance etc. is free. We pay 5$ per day if you need to stay in the hospital and that is for the food. We also pay no more than 150$ for ALL the medicines you need per year. And for doctor visits, no matter how many, you pay a maximum of 80$ per year. So somehow "socialism" is working pretty good in our country.
Alexandra Hughes 5 years ago
One big problem seems to be that people use the ER as a doctor's office. Hospitals are notoriously expensive, no matter how minor the treatment. I'm glad to see more urgent care places around and hope that helps a bit, but our medical costs are insane no matter what. When my English husband was diagnosed with cancer here, we moved to London so he could get free treatment because we had no insurance. ( We were young and couldn't afford it)
Klaudiia Sherbatzky 5 years ago
wow so many down-votes for what? For saying the truth? Ridiculous
K. Blanchette 5 years ago
My thoughts exactly! So many downvoted comments that are harshly truthful, spam perhaps?
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Monica Pryts 3 years ago (edited)
Took me two years to pay off emergency hip surgery. Also, I never found out why Blue Cross considered an emergency c-section an "accident." They even asked if there was a police report. And I had an endometrial biopsy and ultrasound last month; not looking forward to those bills. Also, I get allergy shots, and I have a co-pay for the injections every other week plus it costs me about $500 every time I need a new batch of serum.
Patricia Rix 4 years ago
We have a co-pay for ambulance here in Ontario. $45 for an ambulance ride, even if it's an air ambulance.
FreakCowHybrid 5 years ago
Jeez, after reading this I'm so glad I live in Canada. My sister's a swimmer and gets injured a lot so this would have hurt our family had we lived in the U.S. Hope that everything gets resolved, sending love and prayers.
Tiina Lehtineva 5 years ago
Meanwhile in finland: I had a 4 hour long heart surgery with 2 surgeons and 3 nurses. As well as stayed at the hospital for 24 hours with private room with my own nurse. I got 4 hot meals and a coffee. The bill came and it was 100 euros... Reading these, I've felt so lucky for being born in Finland.
blubfisher 5 years ago
As a republican, I think the healthcare system needs reform. I think a lot of things need reform. I also think people are treating America unfairly. There's a lot of stuff that America and the Right don't get credit for. There are a lot of people, like myself, who agree with the left but don't agree with their implementation.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
America is being treated fairly and r's have become the bane of existence not just for the US, but it's affecting the world.
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Rosalind Barrett 5 years ago
I am an Aussie born & bred & have had 4 children,(1 in NICU for 3 weeks) , a gall bladder removal & stay before this for gall stones attack ,& a varicose vein removal AND my husband has had a grade 1 patient removal of a melanoma & ongoing treatment for leg ulcers & issues after being crushed in a car accident 30 years ago ALL of this was covered FULLY by Medicare with ever health professional giving top class service Thank God we live in AUS 🇦🇺
Kirsten Kerkhof 5 years ago
I was admitted to hospital with a volvulus (my large intestine had twisted itself closed). I had emergency surgery and spent four more days in hospital. At the time I was saving up for a house and I realised that, if this had happened in the US, I could've kissed that dream of owning my own place good-bye. Instead I just had to worry about recovery. I bought my house 3 months later. ^_^
Mindy Megas-Loucks 5 years ago
$1765 for my father. LITERALLY the only thing they did was pronounce him dead.
SummerFan21442 5 years ago
I have a lot of thoughts, so here we go: - People will spend tens of thousands of dollars for a wedding after they been shacking up for ten years, but aren't willing to pay that for a hospital stay. - I'm old, and it didn't used to be this way. What happened is we put our health care in the hands of large corporations instead of handling it ourselves. And you'd better hope they make a profit, cuz that's where your retirement money is. - Nothing if "free". Somebody is paying for it. - The healthcare system in the US isn't "broken". We get great care, and people come here to use it. The problem isn't the care; it's the cost. - Every time you add a layer of bureaucracy, you add cost. My parents paid the doctor directly. I used to pay the insurance company, pay the doctor, and file a claim. So we added the layer of the insurance company. NOW my employer pays the insurance company, and the insurance company pays the doctor, and half the time I don't even know what is being paid.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Only fools spend that much on a wedding, it isn't wide spread.
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Little Wonder 5 years ago
My mother spent 2 weeks in the ICU, and a further 3 months in hospital on the wards. The total bill was $250 for medications on discharge. Australia.
Blondhorsecrazy 5 years ago
What's sad is none of you are looking at any of the issues in medical care but your own. Medicare for all will be exactly like veterans receive. I do not want govt I my business.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Or, and hear me out, the veterans and everyone else can all receive medical care and we can just spend a whole lot less on the military and reallocate the money to actually taking care of citizens. They neglect veterans because they're seen as no longer useful.
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Andrea Careless 5 years ago
These stories are absolutely tragic. What a horrible way to treat people. Canada is far from perfect, but I'm so thankful for our healthcare system.
Andrea Careless 5 years ago
That's horrible. Move to Canada (as long as you're not a Trump supporter).
Louise leGresley 5 years ago
People here in France should be made to read this. Maybe they would stop complaining about everything.
Marnie 5 years ago
My ex-husband's friend got a tooth infection. He was just a young guy in his early 20s living hand-to-mouth. No dentist he found would take him without paying up front, which he didn't have cash for. So, he sucked it up. And ended up in the hospital after the infection got into his bloodstream. He almost died and was there for SIX MONTHS. And when he got out, guess what? He didn't have any more money than when he got in and no hope of paying that bill in the next 10, maybe 20 years. So, he went bankrupt. So, guess what that means? People who could pay the hospital covered those costs. And those costs would have been magnitudes less if he'd just been able to see the dentist right away. Those who don't think we can afford universal coverage: You are using your "common sense" instead of looking at the reality around you.
Mark CM 5 years ago (edited)
Here in Australia with civilised free healthcare, I have never had a medical bill in my life. Wake up and drag yourself into the 21st century America! And switch to the metric system while you're at it. Who needs a time machine to travel to the past when you can just go to the U.S instead? But because Americans are so insular and have no idea of the rest of the world, they also have no idea of how backward they are. lol
Felicia Dale 5 years ago
My doctor's office was closed, I had an eye infection and was leaving on a trip first thing on the Monday morning. I knew exactly what I needed but I couldn't go to a walk in clinic because my "insurance" doesn't cover them. So- to the ER. Four hours of waiting around, super nice people, great doctor who took one look at my eye and prescribed exactly the same thing I'd used last time. The medicine was free- but the ER was $800 and the doctor's bill was $250.
Christine M Quigley 5 years ago
Don't pay the bills when you receive them. Talk to medical billing. There are so many instances such as these outrageous medical bills in this country, it's becoming commonplace...No one should have to go bankrupt, or lose their home over unforeseen circumstances.
Marilyn Slater 5 years ago
Dear Americans, I do not understand how you can continue to let your "Healthcare System" and "insurance companies" treat you in such an appalling manner. May I suggest that you take at least some responsibility and do a bit of research, before your next election, as to who has the most effective health service. And complain!
Nimitt Phommavongsa 5 years ago
I stopped reading at #2, these things just fill me with hatred toward humanity...
Erica Kendrick 5 years ago
In the UK, this is what we pay our taxes for. And if someone is unemployed or earning below the tax threshold, they still don't get charged by the NHS
Tiny Dancer 5 years ago
We live in Canada, so you know where this is going. Hubby's been battling Stage 4 throat cancer for nearly seven years. Three bouts of chemo, 33 shots of radiation, hospital visits every three months, big fancy machines sticking probes down his neck and taking x-rays, five ambulance trips for related issues, and numerous trips to the dentist to fix the damage done by the radiation. The ONLY costs we've had were for the ambulance trips (45 bucks a shot) and the dentist (total of about $1,500). The US has a lot of problems with guns, mental health issues, and a lunatic for a leader, but they really need to crack down on these outrageous medical bills. What other country even has something called a medical bankruptcy? Crazy.
cybermerlin2000 5 years ago
I have dilated cardiomyopathy, Left bundle branch block, angina, sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes, depression, memory problems, nerve damage in my hands and borderline multiple organ failure. I have a CPAP, a CRT pacemaker, blood sugar monitor, heart monitor, take 21 different tablets a day and 2 types of insulin. Total time spent in hospital for the pacemaker, stent, heart failure and 3 heart failures where I passed out Cost £0 Thank you NHS! Without you I would either be dead or wish I was dead. I was offered a holiday to America next year. I said No way! I want to stay alive!
Melanie Peapell 5 years ago
$360 to go two blocks in an ambulance. Yes, I needed the ambulance due to anaphylaxis, and yes I had used my epipens.
Suebee70 5 years ago
Went to the ER for shoulder pain that was so intense I couldn't stand or walk for more than a couple of minutes. The nurse suggested putting my arm in a sling to see if it would help - I knew immediately it wouldn't, because the pain intensified as soon as the sling was on. I told the nurse it wouldn't work and that I didn't want to be billed for the sling because I couldn't use it. I was billed $380 for the sling, which the nurse took back out of the room with her. (I realize once used on a patient, even for a few seconds, it can't be re-used, but I get billed for something I didn't ask for and which didn't work? I only tried it at the nurse's suggestion.) Turned out I had a herniated disc in my neck that was causing radiating pain in my shoulder and arm.
Nicklas Linder 5 years ago
I just had my appendix removed after it had ruptured. CT scan, examinations and four nights in the hospital with antibiotics every six hours, nurses ready 24/7 and food three times a day, plus coffee, cookies etc. Cost: $65. In total. I haven't been in hospital for more than a couple of times before in my 43 year life. I'm happy to pay taxes for others getting care the same way I was treated now that I got sick. I work with the homeless and addicts, they get the same care I did, because this system is for everyone. Don't like? Move. Personally I'd rather live somewhere you can get basically any disease and not fear you're financially f--ked. My wife has MS. We're not worried financially. That's one worry gone.
Stefanie Davis 5 years ago
Several years ago, so keep in mind that means the health costs in the US were a little lower at the time, Friend took me to the ER for irregular cycle (was so heavy that I was going through all acoutrements and the clothing). Dr looked at me and told me just to lose weight. No tests, no ultrasounds, no examinations. Then they tried to bill me over $1600. Literally for NOTHING. They didn't even give me a med or examination. BTW, I'm not THAT overweight, and my weight has been constant since I was 20. Nothing's changed. Second time I went in for the same issue, over a decade later, they tried that again for a moment. This time I was experiencing severe pain along with the irregularities. When I say severe, I mean curled up in a ball screaming uncontrollably severe. I told them this pain only happens during that time of the month. No other time do I even feel a twinge. "Oh have you tried losing weight?" "Maybe it's your appendix" cost was over $30K w/o Insurance.
Monica Michelle 5 years ago
Another time I was in an accident and was cut out of vehicle was 3 miles from hospital. Ambulance was 3k. If you have to be helicoptered it can be over 20k and after it happens insurancde will make a decision if it was necessary. If they say no guess who pays.
Monica Michelle 5 years ago
15 K because as a not dr I mistook a bursting ovarian cyst for an appendicitis. BTW trained dr needed the 15 k test since it was the only way to find out. Since it was a different dx my insurance charged me the full amount of the test. Was a single mom going to school when this happened.
Granstef Ghostlapin 5 years ago
It is appalling to read all these testimonies from miserable African countries ruined by wars and dictators. . . Wait a minute !? Yet, only 11 of the 53 African states do not have a social protection system !!
Kristine Phillips 5 years ago
Horrible health system we have here. Going to the doctor is making me broke.
Tammy Yoyomax 5 years ago
We pay absolutely ridiculous taxes here in Canada, but my son was born prematurely and spent 95 days in intensive neonatal care, cost to me $0 I have never paid a single dollar out of pocket for health care.
Emily Keryk 5 years ago
I broke my neck when I was 18 (Australia). Flown to Melbourne, hospital for a month and serious surgery on my spine. No bills, and the TAC ( transport accident commission) paid ME $7500 compensation because I was injured. I was at fault by the way. Just realising Australia really is the lucky country.
BG 5 years ago
I stopped going to the doctor years ago. I still have health insurance, but can't afford both deductibles and the copays. For example: I get sinus infections yearly and I use fishmox which is amoxacillin that you use in an aquarium. I buy it at the pet store and mix it with ketchup because it's disgusting.
Lisa 5 years ago
Where do these crazy numbers even come from? Last year I had car accident and went to the hospital just in case to get checked, they did quite a lot of stuff, X-rays and ultrasound just to name two. Because I had some problems with my insurance back then I got the hospital bill sent home, the cost was a bit over 200€. Sorted out the problems with insurance, sent them the bill, didn’t pay even that- as usual
Aine Desu Yoroshiku 5 years ago
Im from the Philippines and I had Lap Chole 5 yrs ago. Billed 130k Philippine peso (around $2500), good thing insurance from work covered 120k($2300), then 9k($173) from govt health insurance. Only had to pay 1k ($20) for misc.
Alise Kalniņa 5 years ago
I know for sure that I never would want to live there, like the health care there is broken af. We do have some more expensive surgeries etc. And often people who want free surgeries have to wait for years but if you do pay it`s quick and decent and they don`t charge you for b******t. I live in Latvia (europe) btw.
Sofia Gunn 5 years ago
My mom has multiple auto immune diseases and I kid you not, we meet our $10,000 deductible on January 1st for her meds. Luckily, my dad's work has excellent health care. However, when it comes to er visits and hospitalization (happens somewhat frequently), the bills are still awful, even with the healthcare. It's unfair, especially with the c-section cases or the children cases at all, because they shouldn't be denied life. Everyone is at risk for cancer, not just the upper 10%, and it shouldn't be so expensive anyways. Something needs to change if people are scared to go to the doctors or call an ambulance because of the costs. Anything over 5,000 should come straight from the insurance company.
C Hypercube 5 years ago
Where the hell all those money go to??? Who in their right mind charges 480k for a spine fusion surgery? What? Do they perform it in outer space or Mars? What kind of a sick system is that? You need a revolution there.
Jazz Akins 5 years ago
I had a pretty much life threatening asthma attack at the beginning of 2016 when I was 25 and spent 3-4 days in the hospital,I only got there because even with insurance I didn’t have the proper inhalers. At 26 I’m kicked off my parents insurance and now have to pay almost 400$ to f*****g breath properly. I paid that for years until my aunt,for the last year,has been able to get my inhaler for about 9$ and mail it to me from Arizona. I’m about to be 28,I’m married,no kids, and don’t make a ton of money. But because I make a little too much to get assistance,and too little to be ‘poor’ if I were to get insurance it would be completely impossible to pay for on top of all my other bills. So here’s to you Auntie cause you’re the only resource keeping me alive and breathing.
Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
I had to stop reading these after the first few as it made me so pissed off. I will keep stating that the USA should be classed as a 4th world country. The government and right wingers are lying to you about everything because their way makes them rich and you poor. If you blindly say you will always be a Republican, then you are plainly stupid and refuse to become educated.
Debbie Lyn Jones (Deb) 5 years ago (edited)
At work I was very lightheaded and feeling as if I was going to pass out. Ambulance made me pay $250 before leaving the parking lot (said later, I never paid them... even though I had a receipt) and later tried to get me to pay... again. I get taken to ER and don't do any checks - but say "I'm dehydrated". So they re-hydrate me and send me home. – The next day I am at home > I go into deep shock and collapse, am rushed to emergency where I'm put on a ventilator for about five days due to internal bleeding (given 6 units of blood) I catch pneumonia while I'm there and they find a blood clot. I realize the ER is busy > but due diligence could have saved me and my family, so much suffering. One hospital is in a city where I work, and one is in a different city where I live.
Brandy Grote 5 years ago (edited)
I've had military and Medicare health coverage all of my life. "Socialist" Medicare For All is possible. Thankfully my husband can now also get CHAMPVA as a supplemental 2nd payer. 1/4 of his income went toward keeping him going last year, we claimed it on our taxes along with glasses, dental, and all our meds.
Brandy Grote 5 years ago (edited)
Dad fell and hit his head, when they FINALLY got inside, he was awake and up. The whambulance took him 2 blocks. It cost $4000. All they did was gurney him to the ER, no treatment at all.
Katinka Min 5 years ago
OMG, the PRICES!!! How did they get cranked up so high? 6000$ for a simple consultation? I live Germany. For a few years I lived abroad and hadn't bothered to get a EU health card. On a holiday at home I got a really nasty throat infection, didn't have time for all that admin hassle and saw my old GP. The bill I got from her was 24€. That was twice the official payment from public health insurance. 24€vs 6000$ - Americans are being seriously ripped off!!
Paul K. Johnson 5 years ago
Insurance is the problem, not the answer. Here's something a lot of people don't know. (And yes, I know this for a fact because I've worked in the medical industry a long time.) Doctors will deliberately misdiagnose you if they know that your insurance company won't pay for your actual diagnosis. Instead they will come up with the closest diagnosis they can think of that will be covered. That helps you with the bill and you get treatment although the treatment may include a lot of unnecessary stuff while they pretend you have something that you don't. But mainly they do it so they get paid.
TTorrest Author 5 years ago
After my son was born (2003), I started to receive buckets of "outstanding" bills from every doctor visit, ultrasound, blood test, prescription drug, emergency c-section delivery, hospital stay, etc... citing "pre-existing condition." Do you have any idea how many phone calls and letters I had to embark on just to explain that I was not, in fact, pregnant for 11 months? Fun times.
Eunice Probert 5 years ago (edited)
The largest medical bill I have to pay, in the UK, is £10 for a flu vaccination. I usually get a free one as I'm diabetic. But I'm starting out as a student in a couple of weeks and my local surgery hasn't got the vaccines in yet. So I'm paying for one at a pharmacy. But that's all I'll ever have had to pay, in my 58 years.
Mark Fuller 5 years ago
Seriously. WTF. These charges aren't even based on reality. God bless the NHS.
Loveyiii 5 years ago
I have choroidal neovascularization in my left eye so I have to go for a injection every 6-8 weeks. The injection is $1,200.00(which I think is insane) and there is surgical fee. I live in Massachusetts and I am fortunate that I have a primary and secondary insurance, but the secondary always denies payment because they say there is no authorization(which there is) If I could say screw the injection I would but this would me I would lose the sight in my left eye. I have had 26 of these injections and it is a battle every time.
Greg Reifenstein 5 years ago
lol what a joke.. I know Canada isn't perfect, but that is insane.
Cat 5 years ago
Commercial medical insurance is very hard to navigate and I work in insurance industry. I'm lucky to work for a broker firm that's ranked top 5 (big volume and big bargaining power with insurers). I once had to get a senior colleague to call his buddy at the medical insurance company to settle a claim, because one of the insurer's network specialist mishandled my medical card. No way they would have paid a cent if I didn't work for one of their biggest distribution channels :/
Whatever... 5 years ago (edited)
I was visiting someone in CO and had an allergic reaction to (of all things) pot. They did unnecessary bloodwork even though I refused it. Charged $8,000 for a 2 hour ER stay, and $1000 for a 1/2 mile ambulance ride. I filed several complaints. Nothing was reduced. (edited my comment)
Tiffany Marie 5 years ago (edited)
I have 3 unpaid or 4 Idk medical bills from the Er. I has no insurance.. I don't work due to mental illness & can't get help for it due to no insurance. My husbands works he makes too much to get Medi cal but not enough to get insurance for me. I'm in a your screwed zone. I can't get help for anything. My husband and I want to get a separation for Medi Cal purposes so I can seek help.
Sterrinatu 5 years ago
Well BP use to be a place where we could have adult conversations. I think that is gone now..... the trolls have found us.
Roger Bird 5 years ago
As long as people worship medical doctors and don't take responsibility for their own health by becoming their own doctors, these kinds of fleecings will continue.
Mike Hansen 5 years ago
Before 2000, I had numerous hospital visits and stays. All were covered by my insurance that my employer paid for!!! After O'bama came up, I've had numerous hospital visits and stays that I had to pay thousands for our of pocket!!!!! Which do you think is the best way to go???? Butthead Sanders is using scare tactics!!!! A lot of the complaints in this article could have just said "no"!!!!!
Concerned 5 years ago
The article lists extreme cases rather than average - misinfotainment, not reality. I've always paid my own insurance and have had much better care in the USA than any of the other two dozen countries that I've worked in. Yes, its expensive, but so is socialized medicine. Nothing is free. Currently I'm on an HSA that allows me to save up for retirement medical costs beyond Medicare - win/win. It's also very effective in keeping me focused on living healthy (less out of pocket costs). I do see problems in Hospital and Drug costs. Hospitals have an average 700% markup - usually half that after insurance - because they are required to take anyone. Worst socialized medicine possible. Name brand Drug costs are 10x more than they should be... I wouldn't mind seeing some bans on drug commercials and such to cut down on what is really waste.
Vicky Zar 5 years ago
For those who think USA is the best: please watch some videos of Americans living abroad. I watched quite a view by different people in different countries and there was none who wanted to go back to the US and none who thought the US system was better than the countries they currently lived in.
Sterrinatu 5 years ago
We as Americans need to be more vocal about this. Why are we rioting in the streets about racism? We should be banning together and fighting THIS fight. This kind of thing is killing us. People aren't seeking help and are dying because of it. BE ANGRY!!
Radek Suski 5 years ago
I spent 6 weeks in a clinic which if you were there you would think you're in a hotel located at a fabulous sea. I would need to pay for it 420 EUR but I have a pretty cheap additional insurance. I literally paid nothing. Even the the fuel for my transport to there was refunded by my basic insurance
cpetry 5 years ago
Bit in the face by a dog once. Nothing there to stitch. It was a clean bite. I was there for 45 minutes. Antibiotic prescription and a few packets of ointment. $958. Our healthcare system is so far beyond screwed up. I am currently uninsured and my medication and services have never been cheaper. Cash is king.
Wil Vanderheijden 5 years ago
It's sad for you that all of this happened. Under Trump's healtcare system you wouldn't have had such a huge bill for the simple fact that your husband wouldn't have had any treatment.
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Vicky Zar 5 years ago
In Germany we do not pay more taxes. Everyone is obliged to pay insurance. Everyone who works. Children and spouses who don't work are co-insured. People who do not have enough money are covert by the state. We do not have to wait insane amounts of time for doctors appointments. We do not fall into debt because we had an accident. We do have good healthcare. And we would not change it into the US system if you put a gun to our heads!
Load More Replies... martin734 5 years ago
I am from the UK and 10 years ago I suffered a very severe motorcycle accident where I was hit by a disqualified and uninsured driver. I was taken from the accident to hospital by air ambulance. At the first hospital they realised that my head injury was worse than they thought and that I needed to be taken to a specialist neurological unit. I was transferred by air ambulance again to the specialist hospital where I spent 3 weeks in a coma. In addition to my head injury I suffered a smashed left hip, broken pelvis, broken left arm and shoulder and a shattered left wrist. I had to have 6 different operations and over two years of Physiotherapy. None of this cost me a single penny and every single one of the NHS employees I encountered was absolutely superb and totally professional from the Medics and Neurosurgeons who saved my life, to the hospital porters. Since then I have had a career change and I now work as a Physiotherapist and I love every day at work.
Hallie 5 years ago
I really, really wish people would appreciate our NHS more. I wish people would fight for it more, it's an amazing thing, but we won't have it this way for much longer I'm sure. Reading this list of bills is insane, as a fellow Brit I have paid for nothing but dental throughout my life.
Load More Replies... Rachael Marrast 5 years ago
I don't understand all the down votes on peoples comments. Everyone is right. The american health care system is garbage. Almost everything about this country is garbage and getting worse day by day. I wish I didn't live here. (don't say, well move, because if I could I would)
Cindy Snow 5 years ago
Same. Most of the world is going to s**t one way or another. Ours is astronomical bills.
Load More Replies... Kjorn 5 years ago (edited)
so glad i'm in Canada and Don't get that s**t. Shame on america for having more people fighting for the right to having guns but not to the right of healtcare!
CP 5 years ago
This is for Scott. Is it better to have access but have to wait a little bit or have no access at all? People keep pointing out wait times (not sure how true wait times are), but never point out that many people in the US don't even have that luxury.
Load More Replies... Angie Ma 5 years ago
As a person living in the EU.... WTF?! This is inhumane, I can't believe some of the things posted here O.O
Dan Woo 5 years ago
Not as bad in Asia. Some countries here won't let you in if you have no money.. at least they fix you in US
Load More Replies... kurisutofu 5 years ago
I think the American government just doesn't like people. Guns to kill them? Ok. People go to prison for no reason? OK. People killed by the police for nothing? Ok. Help to avoid suffering or death? Not ok. ... Yeah, great country.
CP 5 years ago
Not to mention Republicans trying to prevent people they don't like from voting every chance they get.
Load More Replies... Jeff Requier 5 years ago
What would happen if ALL of you just didnt pay them after the treatment? In Canada I do my taxes every year and always get 90 - 100% of it back due to having kids, and if the kids have a disability i would get even more a month for Child tax benefits. We used to have to pay a small amount a month for health care, but than it just went into taxes that we barely notice
Whatever... 5 years ago (edited)
Unfortunately, it affects our credit score. In fact, some medical providers immediately give credit collection agencies the bill so they don't have to deal with it. My score went from a constant 760 to mid 500s
Load More Replies... JeannevB 5 years ago
So I live in Belgium where most medical costs are paid by the government. So I don't relate to these stories. But they get to me. What I don't get is when an insurance doesn't cover some illness or accidental injury, how much have you already paid to be insured in the first place?
JeannevB 5 years ago
And before you downvote me: of course I pay taxes for medical health. But these costs are a small percentage of what I cost when I get in an accident or when I become ill.
Load More Replies... Andres Tejeda 5 years ago
These bills are the main reason we need to do two big things in our country. Limit the influence of big money in politics, and have universal healthcare. Big money in politics is allowing for health insurers and big pharma to continue to price gouge and exploit the American people. Until that changes, this will keep happening.
Dr.Scott 5 years ago (edited)
CP, it wasn't necessarily a dream I was communicating. It was just a statement that our problems aren't due 100% to privatized health insurance. Our problems are due to lobbyist. Companies like BCBS are just going to follow the money. Really, they have a wish list of what they want out of a repeal of ACA when it wasn't that long ago they were virtually writing the damn law. Now you're right to say they won't go anywhere and I have no allusions they will. My point with the comment is that we are in a mess we're going to have a tough time getting out of. Even with universal care.
Load More Replies... comboplush 5 years ago
If you really want to do this, I wish you much success! You definitely aren't alone with that. Europe really should start to offer medical refudge for Americans, it is ridiculous!
Load More Replies... Martha Meyer 5 years ago
Dear Americans, I really hope you'll soon have a president who manages to straighten this mess out.
Christian Nicholes 5 years ago
Dear Martha, I hope you'll soon have a prime minister who didn't wear blackface to a party.
Load More Replies... Waqitos 5 years ago
I want people to read my comment so they can know how big of scam healthcare in the US is. I was living in Italy as a resident, not as a citizen when out of nowhere I was diagnosed with a critical heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in which heart muscles thicken, stops beating, causes sudden cardiac arrest and in some cases leading to sudden cardiac death. It's so serious that my dad and grandpa died young due to the same condition. Anyway, I needed two surgeries, the first one cost 20,000 euros (USD 22,099), the second one included implant of Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. SICD from Boston Scientific. The S-ICD cost 48,000 USD while the surgery and hospital stay cost 20,000 Euros. In total, both surgeries cost more than 90,000 USD (I didn't include medication expenses here). Now guess what? they didn't charge me a dime, the didn't ask me for a single penny. I owe my life to Italy. Thanks God I wasn't in the US.
littlesaresare 5 years ago
I'm so glad I wasn't born in the USA. I was born with a serious disease and all the surgeries, hospital stays, tests, consults, meds, etc., no doubt would have racked into the tens of millions. My mum would be bankrupt and I'd be dead. Why do Americans think that mass preventable death and poverty is a good thing?
Joshua Walters 5 years ago
The only issue is, this problem is semi-unfixable. In order to fix it without making medical a horror show or destroying the doctors, is to have a more regulated hospital business system. Giving free health care solves nothing. My grandmother died in another country with free health care because the literal ambulance broke down on the road. If you've seen the hospitals in some places, it feels like a psychiatric facility. Patients are rarely visited, people die due to lack of care from the staff. I hope America never has to have this issue. I realize different cultures handle things differently but the only issue is that America is much bigger and in much more debt than it can reliably handle. America is a selfish country, on based on the self, it would not handle a system like this, and there is close to nothing that can be done. Disclaimer: I totally get if you don't like what I said, If you wanna help me learn your side better, I'd love to hear it.
Joshua Walters 5 years ago
To Mike Greco: That is the difference between America and Canada. They are both different cultures, with very different circumstances. We have different legal systems, different ethical and public beliefs, different societal rules. Comparing countries are like comparing apples and oranges. You can't blame one for having skin or blame the other for having seeds.
Load More Replies... Moose Face 5 years ago
We Canadians and Brits and others who get free (yes I know it's not "free" but it's efficient and paid for rationally) always pipe up to say, "I've never even seen a medical bill!" We say it not to gloat or rub it in but because we know you Americans can do better, and we hope you do. Stop listening to lobbyists. Start voting for people who want universal healthcare because it's not impossible, especially not for a country as rich as the US.
Callie Ge 5 years ago
I’m Australian, 20 years ago I had Meningococcal Septicemia. 2 weeks in a coma in icu isolation on total life support. Emergency Surgery I was hemorrhaging, I was 20 weeks pregnant, my baby died Inutero. Then 2 weeks recovery on the surgical ward. $660,000: worth of drugs & equipment for my treatment. Ambulance to hospital 1. Plus all the Specialists, who treated me first at the rural hospital ER I was admitted to, then at the hospital I was transferred to By Careflight Helicopter with a team of Drs & Surgeons. Then Ambulance from Hospital 2 to Home. I am literally the 1 million dollar woman, more probably. I left hospital with a Bill for ZERO$, That’s universal health care. I received a bill for the Careflight for $16,000. I called them to explain I was now unemployed with 4 kids to look after, I’ll get back to you he said. Half an hour later he calls me and says an anonymous Donor has paid my Careflight and Ambulance bills.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
In the US you'd have seriously contemplated whether or not it was better to die because living on the streets after being financially destroyed would have been a legitimate fear.
Load More Replies... Jolene Jolene 5 years ago (edited)
As a German who lived in the US for years, this constantly made me anxious. Just the insurance system is so messed up that I'd always avoid going to the doctor. One of the reasons I decided to return to Europe is that I was tired of the everpresent possibility of an unfortunate event that may be completely out of my control and yet financially ruin my life.
TheDivineMs.M 5 years ago
My husbands grandma passed away in a nursing home. The ambulance came to pick up the deceased body and charged my mother in law with oxygen in the ambulance ride. Oxygen. For a dead body.
Meami 5 years ago
The really sad thing is if we established universal healthcare in the US, it would actually cost us all less even in taxes. Even most people with great healthcare coverage from their employers are paying for copays and annual deductibles and many of us are paying part of our monthly premiums as well. Almost all 1st world countries have a universal health care system, have excellent care, and pay less in taxes for their care than we pay. I do not understand why this country is so frightened of a universal healthcare system. The conservatives shout, "Socialism!" and everyone freaks out! SMH
Jason Doakes 5 years ago
This is what happens when you put corporations in charge. We ask ourselves, "how can this and that happen???", we know how it happens, we see it every day a republican decides what's best "for you". Eliminating regulations and consumer protection, appeals to "self-reliance", privatizing hospitals, prisons and parks, cutting education budget. Americans are treated like cattle, work until you die and pay the taxes the rich don't want to pay. It's 50 years they're doing it and "we" still ask ourselves what the problem is; it's money. cynical greedy republicans will stop from nothing to eliminate the middle class. They can ponder to the dumb christians all they want, they are the devil.
Steve Mcnally 5 years ago
It’s a telling fact that the most popular tv series in the USA (and in other countries) features a high school teacher who turns to producing crystal meth to prevent his family being bankrupt by his cancer treatment.......... and it’s accepted as normal??🙄
Matthew Smith 5 years ago
My parents were in the USA on Holiday, dad became very unwell, got to a hospital, he was in a lot of pain and the Doctors wouldn't even EXAMINE him till the insurance was confirmed. Once the travel insurance was confirmed he was examined, he was diagnosed with a couple of conditions plus TERMINAL CANCER. My dad was in great shape for 79 years of age. He died 3 months later, the diagnosis was spot on. I know this is off topic but the point is I am very angry the hospital wouldn't touch him till the insurance was cleared. The travel insurance covered this and we never found out how much this cost.
Jennifer Biness 5 years ago
The reasons the bills are so high are many and complex. Such as, you may only see the doctor for 5 minutes, but you don't see the amount of work he does for you behind the scenes. You pay the absurd amount of $50 for a Gas-X (yes, that's right) because you're not paying for the gas-x, but for the expertise and education of the pharmacist and the nurse. You pay for not just the care from the doctors and nurses, but also a "room charge" for food, cleaning, electricity, etc. A main reason the bills are so high though, is because they up-charge, knowing insurance will only pay a fraction, so that they can get closer to what they should be paid; also they know they won't get paid by a lot of people, so we all pay for that- WHICH IS WHY WE NEED MEDICAID FOR ALL, because we're paying for it FREAKIN ANYWAY! but not getting the benefit. Also, gotta make sure the CEOs get those yearly bonuses!
Anne Francis 5 years ago
As someone who has worked in health for close to 50 years I can tell you that the costs in America are ludicrous ....certainly one needs to pay for the expertise and technology but the real costs come no where close to the inflated charges people are forced to pay in the US. On a recent holiday in France I broke my arm requiring surgical repair....the bill for two hours of surgery, anaesthetics and 3 days in hospital came to $5600 , had I been in the US I dread to think what the cost would have been.
Load More Replies... Roisin Reid 5 years ago
Why are there so many people in the US against free health care? This seems a bit like a backhanded way to kill of the poor. I use the NHS in the UK a lot. I get great quality care. I never pay for meds and I can go to the doctor or specialist for no money. I pissed for paying £1 an hour on parking at hospitals.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Americans have been fed a steady diet of b.s. for decades. They've been convinced that if you do something like universal healthcare that a handful of people who work will be paying for a bunch of 'leaches' who don't work because they don't have to. They're super scared to help others because if they do, the others won't have an incentive to 'pull themselves up by the bootstraps'. It's utterly ridiculous, selfish, self-centered, and the main philosophy of the US has definitely become I've got mine so eff you.
Load More Replies... Whatever... 5 years ago (edited)
Wow! I've never seen so many downvoted comments! We, the US, are as f****d as we can be. I'm a Republican. WAS proud of it. But, the uber far-right saw Bernie Sanders and is on here like white on rice. We, the GOP aren't going to see the bigger picture until they lose their jobs, homes, and medical care. It happens.
Jenica Thomas 5 years ago
I know it really isn't a lot of money, but it's the principal. I saw a friend post that they were charged $36 to hold their baby after birth.
Nicole Holt 5 years ago
I haven't seen a doctor in about 5 or more years for anything, because I don't think I could afford the cost. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I'm not coming down with anything serious. Oh..yeah.. I do have insurance - with a very high deductible.
Mindy Keys 5 years ago
I broke my arm - just a minor fracture (no exposed bone or anything crazy), just hairline fracture. ER visit, (never saw a dr), They did an XRay, wrapped my arm in an ace bandage, gave me an ice ice pack, told to take tylenol and not use it for 8 weeks. $6,700 bill. I went to the cheapest hospital in town, knowing I had no insurance... Took me 7 years to pay off. 1 year later my cat makes a bad landing from a jump and starts to wail. Rush her to the vet. Broken front leg (bone broken in 2 places). Doc operates, puts a pin in, stitches her up, gives her pain medication, cast the leg, and did 4 after-care visits. Total bill: $795. My cat got better treatment than I did - and at a fraction of the cost. I could not even get a damn tylenol, they just told me to go to CVS on my way home. I guess I should be grateful, two tylenol would have been $300.
porcupine 5 years ago
Holy s**t. No painkillers? For $6,700, you’d better send me home with something stronger than Tylenol.
Load More Replies... Samhhain Cat 5 years ago
All Republicans: "Sucks to be you." They don't give a f**k about anyone but themselves and don't want to pay an extra cent for anyone else to get taken care of. These people are monsters. But they'll sure change their tune when this happens to them!
Koalamonster 5 years ago
I've had respiratory issues forever. I'm SUPPOSED to have a steroid inhaler I use twice daily in addition to having a rescue inhaler on hand. One of those steroid inhalers, with my old insurance, ran about 150 dollars. Each inhaler only lasted a month. That's almost 2,000 a year- with insurance. I don't have that insurance anymore, and I get my albuterol from my dad as he has decent health insurance. If it wasn't for that I'd be paying out the nose just to make sure I don't die because it's raining while it's cold out. I don't get how things that are necessary to survive can have such a markup- how those in charge of marking them up feel no guilt. EpiPens, insulin, albuterol- some things are necessary. (I know there are a lot more but those are just the ones in my immediate family.) Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are screwing everyone- because they don't pay as much as a private payer. It's all... so much greed in a system allegedly meant to help people.
Cynthia Elliott 5 years ago
The faith based hospital my sister gave birth to her "sleeping" baby (stillborn) added extra charges for it being a complicated birth even tho it required less work than a normal delivery. They literally mostly easily vacuumed that precious baby out and as if her child dying the day she was due to be induced wasn't enough they billed her the most expensive charge they possible could have. I took my study abroad money and paid for it but told her I talked to them and they dropped it. She didn't need anymore reasons to question why she was on the Earth. I personally pray they know what that bill does to people who just lost their child. They should be ashamed. They literally sat there while my sister gave birth to her sleeping baby... It didn't take 15 minutes.. they charged around 2500$. As if the funeral wasnt bad enough..
Lish 5 years ago
This is insanity. As I write this, I just got home with my 6 year old. From an ER visit. Because she was injured at school. Concussion and stitches in the back of her head. Cost to me: nothing. I can't imagine what I'd do if I had to pay for this, as a low-income mother of two.
Camil Gagnon 5 years ago
"Land of the free.", eh? I don't get it, sounds like Orwell's newspeak; Slavery (to money) is freedom.
Amoureuse 5 years ago
Yeah, these medical posts really kill my last desire to ever move to the States. How the hell is anyone supposed to pay these bills? Yeah insurance covers some but still? I'm so sorry for you people, at this moment I'm happy to pay my taxes to Finland. I need to pay for doctors appointments etc but I can afford it.
AzKhaleesi 5 years ago
I was born severely premature when my mom's appendix burst, and while I was fighting for my life and doctors were bringing my mom back to life for the SECOND time, my Dad was pulled into the office to ask how they were going to pay the ONE MILLION (plus) bill. My dad laughed. This was in 1981 my parents were in their early 20's and had no insurance yet. He told them the check would be in the mail. lol
Chris 5 years ago
Insurance is pooled risk. The bigger the pool, the more spread the risk is. If every single person in a country goes in to the same pool (insurance company, let's call it National Insurance), the risk is spread as widely as possible, and therefore everyone pays the lowest rate possible. It's exactly the same principle, just on a much bigger scale, and without the administrative costs of billing/paying. And underwritten at national level. And without companies taking a cut as profit.
Skylar Reynolds 5 years ago
Not a huge bill, but relatively large for what I went in for. I woke up with a sore throat and went to check if it was strep throat since I work with kids and strep is contagious. The doctor felt my neck for around 15 second then told me to open my mouth and checked it with a flashlight for around 10 seconds. She said I was fine and it was just a sore throat, take some ibuprofen. Couldn't have been in there for more than 5 minutes. $530.
Andrew Gould 5 years ago
It is criminal to let insurance companies anywhere near healthcare. They literally do everything they can to avoid paying out each and every claim. It is a universal operating procedure for insurance companies. I cannot imagine the unnecessary suffering people go through because of that system.
LuckyPineapple 5 years ago
My story is the opposite of these huge amounts. One time my insurance somehow managed to charge me 10¢ too little one month and I found out 6 months later when they denied to pay anything for my insulin (that I was completely out of) They refused to reinstate my insurance till they got the 10¢, but “it’ll take 48 hours to process”. I didn’t have enough insulin to last 2+ days and could have actually died. 10¢ was more important to them than my life. I cried and screamed on the phone and said I’d drive the dime to their offices right now if they let me get my insulin.
Meeow 5 years ago
Only in US the health system don't give a f**k about your life, it's all about money talk. If you don't have insurance your life is basically done, and you wonder why that mfuthafuka Cheetos want to cancel Obama care so damn much cause you are spending their money. F*****g insane!!!
Jennifer France 5 years ago
I am from the UK, I had my son in hospital and then suffered post Eclampsia, I was in ICU for a week, bleeding and organ failure, they had to fly blood platelets in from another hospital, How much did I pay? My taxi home..
João Gonçalves 5 years ago
This is inhuman. How can you be in so much dept? I owe 700€ to the finances and i'm freaking out they can take my car or something. Don't people in America reposesse stuff? There are stories here of 150.000€, 300.000€.... 1.000.000€..... How will these people survive? Aren't all of these stretched out death sentences? All of these post just show how modern slaves are made. Holy s**t, and i thought the fear of getting murdered all the time was bad. This is much worse. No wonder you're all so anesthetized and elect whomever.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
What they can do is garnish your wages (take your money directly from your employer), tank your credit score (which your entire life, including your job) may depend on and basically ensure the rest of your life isn't worth living.
Load More Replies... Jo Choto 5 years ago
Whenever people crow about the wonders of the USA, they need to remember that healthcare is an issue for every single American, and that thousands of people do not have access to even basic care, and that millions of people struggle to get the right kind of care, or be able to pay the bills afterwards. Civilized countries guarantee healthcare and education for all. The USA is so far from a civilized country in that regard.
Angie Jolie 5 years ago
okay, im from Vietnam and we have horrible health care system, and also it's "rule" you will have to "tip" the doctor and nurses if you want proper care. But even so, it's still less money and better care than the stories above!
Robert Palmer 5 years ago
In 1991 had great insurance, Daughter was born premature spent Three months in NICU bill was well over One million, never saw a bill. Chief Doctor told us if if we didn't have insurance they would forgive part or all of the bill. Families that lost babies never got billed.
Dani 5 years ago
Things ALL humans should be entitled to, regardless: a quality education through 12th grade. Satisfactory, free healthcare. The right to own property. Free will, freedom of choice, and belonging to no one but themselves. Safety. Freedom of thought. Food, shelter, and clean water. Innocent until proven guilty through a fair trial. REGARDLESS OF RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, NATIONALITY, AGE, OCCUPATION, STATUS, ETC. Make it happen, humans.
YoyoSthlm 5 years ago
I feel sooo sorry for you. It's horrible. In Sweden every emergency, ambulance etc. is free. We pay 5$ per day if you need to stay in the hospital and that is for the food. We also pay no more than 150$ for ALL the medicines you need per year. And for doctor visits, no matter how many, you pay a maximum of 80$ per year. So somehow "socialism" is working pretty good in our country.
Alexandra Hughes 5 years ago
One big problem seems to be that people use the ER as a doctor's office. Hospitals are notoriously expensive, no matter how minor the treatment. I'm glad to see more urgent care places around and hope that helps a bit, but our medical costs are insane no matter what. When my English husband was diagnosed with cancer here, we moved to London so he could get free treatment because we had no insurance. ( We were young and couldn't afford it)
Klaudiia Sherbatzky 5 years ago
wow so many down-votes for what? For saying the truth? Ridiculous
K. Blanchette 5 years ago
My thoughts exactly! So many downvoted comments that are harshly truthful, spam perhaps?
Load More Replies... Monica Pryts 3 years ago (edited)
Took me two years to pay off emergency hip surgery. Also, I never found out why Blue Cross considered an emergency c-section an "accident." They even asked if there was a police report. And I had an endometrial biopsy and ultrasound last month; not looking forward to those bills. Also, I get allergy shots, and I have a co-pay for the injections every other week plus it costs me about $500 every time I need a new batch of serum.
Patricia Rix 4 years ago
We have a co-pay for ambulance here in Ontario. $45 for an ambulance ride, even if it's an air ambulance.
FreakCowHybrid 5 years ago
Jeez, after reading this I'm so glad I live in Canada. My sister's a swimmer and gets injured a lot so this would have hurt our family had we lived in the U.S. Hope that everything gets resolved, sending love and prayers.
Tiina Lehtineva 5 years ago
Meanwhile in finland: I had a 4 hour long heart surgery with 2 surgeons and 3 nurses. As well as stayed at the hospital for 24 hours with private room with my own nurse. I got 4 hot meals and a coffee. The bill came and it was 100 euros... Reading these, I've felt so lucky for being born in Finland.
blubfisher 5 years ago
As a republican, I think the healthcare system needs reform. I think a lot of things need reform. I also think people are treating America unfairly. There's a lot of stuff that America and the Right don't get credit for. There are a lot of people, like myself, who agree with the left but don't agree with their implementation.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
America is being treated fairly and r's have become the bane of existence not just for the US, but it's affecting the world.
Load More Replies... Rosalind Barrett 5 years ago
I am an Aussie born & bred & have had 4 children,(1 in NICU for 3 weeks) , a gall bladder removal & stay before this for gall stones attack ,& a varicose vein removal AND my husband has had a grade 1 patient removal of a melanoma & ongoing treatment for leg ulcers & issues after being crushed in a car accident 30 years ago ALL of this was covered FULLY by Medicare with ever health professional giving top class service Thank God we live in AUS 🇦🇺
Kirsten Kerkhof 5 years ago
I was admitted to hospital with a volvulus (my large intestine had twisted itself closed). I had emergency surgery and spent four more days in hospital. At the time I was saving up for a house and I realised that, if this had happened in the US, I could've kissed that dream of owning my own place good-bye. Instead I just had to worry about recovery. I bought my house 3 months later. ^_^
Mindy Megas-Loucks 5 years ago
$1765 for my father. LITERALLY the only thing they did was pronounce him dead.
SummerFan21442 5 years ago
I have a lot of thoughts, so here we go: - People will spend tens of thousands of dollars for a wedding after they been shacking up for ten years, but aren't willing to pay that for a hospital stay. - I'm old, and it didn't used to be this way. What happened is we put our health care in the hands of large corporations instead of handling it ourselves. And you'd better hope they make a profit, cuz that's where your retirement money is. - Nothing if "free". Somebody is paying for it. - The healthcare system in the US isn't "broken". We get great care, and people come here to use it. The problem isn't the care; it's the cost. - Every time you add a layer of bureaucracy, you add cost. My parents paid the doctor directly. I used to pay the insurance company, pay the doctor, and file a claim. So we added the layer of the insurance company. NOW my employer pays the insurance company, and the insurance company pays the doctor, and half the time I don't even know what is being paid.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Only fools spend that much on a wedding, it isn't wide spread.
Load More Replies... Little Wonder 5 years ago
My mother spent 2 weeks in the ICU, and a further 3 months in hospital on the wards. The total bill was $250 for medications on discharge. Australia.
Blondhorsecrazy 5 years ago
What's sad is none of you are looking at any of the issues in medical care but your own. Medicare for all will be exactly like veterans receive. I do not want govt I my business.
Helen Haley 5 years ago
Or, and hear me out, the veterans and everyone else can all receive medical care and we can just spend a whole lot less on the military and reallocate the money to actually taking care of citizens. They neglect veterans because they're seen as no longer useful.
Load More Replies... Andrea Careless 5 years ago
These stories are absolutely tragic. What a horrible way to treat people. Canada is far from perfect, but I'm so thankful for our healthcare system.
Andrea Careless 5 years ago
That's horrible. Move to Canada (as long as you're not a Trump supporter).
Louise leGresley 5 years ago
People here in France should be made to read this. Maybe they would stop complaining about everything.
Marnie 5 years ago
My ex-husband's friend got a tooth infection. He was just a young guy in his early 20s living hand-to-mouth. No dentist he found would take him without paying up front, which he didn't have cash for. So, he sucked it up. And ended up in the hospital after the infection got into his bloodstream. He almost died and was there for SIX MONTHS. And when he got out, guess what? He didn't have any more money than when he got in and no hope of paying that bill in the next 10, maybe 20 years. So, he went bankrupt. So, guess what that means? People who could pay the hospital covered those costs. And those costs would have been magnitudes less if he'd just been able to see the dentist right away. Those who don't think we can afford universal coverage: You are using your "common sense" instead of looking at the reality around you.
Mark CM 5 years ago (edited)
Here in Australia with civilised free healthcare, I have never had a medical bill in my life. Wake up and drag yourself into the 21st century America! And switch to the metric system while you're at it. Who needs a time machine to travel to the past when you can just go to the U.S instead? But because Americans are so insular and have no idea of the rest of the world, they also have no idea of how backward they are. lol
Felicia Dale 5 years ago
My doctor's office was closed, I had an eye infection and was leaving on a trip first thing on the Monday morning. I knew exactly what I needed but I couldn't go to a walk in clinic because my "insurance" doesn't cover them. So- to the ER. Four hours of waiting around, super nice people, great doctor who took one look at my eye and prescribed exactly the same thing I'd used last time. The medicine was free- but the ER was $800 and the doctor's bill was $250.
Christine M Quigley 5 years ago
Don't pay the bills when you receive them. Talk to medical billing. There are so many instances such as these outrageous medical bills in this country, it's becoming commonplace...No one should have to go bankrupt, or lose their home over unforeseen circumstances.
Marilyn Slater 5 years ago
Dear Americans, I do not understand how you can continue to let your "Healthcare System" and "insurance companies" treat you in such an appalling manner. May I suggest that you take at least some responsibility and do a bit of research, before your next election, as to who has the most effective health service. And complain!
Nimitt Phommavongsa 5 years ago
I stopped reading at #2, these things just fill me with hatred toward humanity...
Erica Kendrick 5 years ago
In the UK, this is what we pay our taxes for. And if someone is unemployed or earning below the tax threshold, they still don't get charged by the NHS
Tiny Dancer 5 years ago
We live in Canada, so you know where this is going. Hubby's been battling Stage 4 throat cancer for nearly seven years. Three bouts of chemo, 33 shots of radiation, hospital visits every three months, big fancy machines sticking probes down his neck and taking x-rays, five ambulance trips for related issues, and numerous trips to the dentist to fix the damage done by the radiation. The ONLY costs we've had were for the ambulance trips (45 bucks a shot) and the dentist (total of about $1,500). The US has a lot of problems with guns, mental health issues, and a lunatic for a leader, but they really need to crack down on these outrageous medical bills. What other country even has something called a medical bankruptcy? Crazy.
cybermerlin2000 5 years ago
I have dilated cardiomyopathy, Left bundle branch block, angina, sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes, depression, memory problems, nerve damage in my hands and borderline multiple organ failure. I have a CPAP, a CRT pacemaker, blood sugar monitor, heart monitor, take 21 different tablets a day and 2 types of insulin. Total time spent in hospital for the pacemaker, stent, heart failure and 3 heart failures where I passed out Cost £0 Thank you NHS! Without you I would either be dead or wish I was dead. I was offered a holiday to America next year. I said No way! I want to stay alive!
Melanie Peapell 5 years ago
$360 to go two blocks in an ambulance. Yes, I needed the ambulance due to anaphylaxis, and yes I had used my epipens.
Suebee70 5 years ago
Went to the ER for shoulder pain that was so intense I couldn't stand or walk for more than a couple of minutes. The nurse suggested putting my arm in a sling to see if it would help - I knew immediately it wouldn't, because the pain intensified as soon as the sling was on. I told the nurse it wouldn't work and that I didn't want to be billed for the sling because I couldn't use it. I was billed $380 for the sling, which the nurse took back out of the room with her. (I realize once used on a patient, even for a few seconds, it can't be re-used, but I get billed for something I didn't ask for and which didn't work? I only tried it at the nurse's suggestion.) Turned out I had a herniated disc in my neck that was causing radiating pain in my shoulder and arm.
Nicklas Linder 5 years ago
I just had my appendix removed after it had ruptured. CT scan, examinations and four nights in the hospital with antibiotics every six hours, nurses ready 24/7 and food three times a day, plus coffee, cookies etc. Cost: $65. In total. I haven't been in hospital for more than a couple of times before in my 43 year life. I'm happy to pay taxes for others getting care the same way I was treated now that I got sick. I work with the homeless and addicts, they get the same care I did, because this system is for everyone. Don't like? Move. Personally I'd rather live somewhere you can get basically any disease and not fear you're financially f--ked. My wife has MS. We're not worried financially. That's one worry gone.
Stefanie Davis 5 years ago
Several years ago, so keep in mind that means the health costs in the US were a little lower at the time, Friend took me to the ER for irregular cycle (was so heavy that I was going through all acoutrements and the clothing). Dr looked at me and told me just to lose weight. No tests, no ultrasounds, no examinations. Then they tried to bill me over $1600. Literally for NOTHING. They didn't even give me a med or examination. BTW, I'm not THAT overweight, and my weight has been constant since I was 20. Nothing's changed. Second time I went in for the same issue, over a decade later, they tried that again for a moment. This time I was experiencing severe pain along with the irregularities. When I say severe, I mean curled up in a ball screaming uncontrollably severe. I told them this pain only happens during that time of the month. No other time do I even feel a twinge. "Oh have you tried losing weight?" "Maybe it's your appendix" cost was over $30K w/o Insurance.
Monica Michelle 5 years ago
Another time I was in an accident and was cut out of vehicle was 3 miles from hospital. Ambulance was 3k. If you have to be helicoptered it can be over 20k and after it happens insurancde will make a decision if it was necessary. If they say no guess who pays.
Monica Michelle 5 years ago
15 K because as a not dr I mistook a bursting ovarian cyst for an appendicitis. BTW trained dr needed the 15 k test since it was the only way to find out. Since it was a different dx my insurance charged me the full amount of the test. Was a single mom going to school when this happened.
Granstef Ghostlapin 5 years ago
It is appalling to read all these testimonies from miserable African countries ruined by wars and dictators. . . Wait a minute !? Yet, only 11 of the 53 African states do not have a social protection system !!
Kristine Phillips 5 years ago
Horrible health system we have here. Going to the doctor is making me broke.
Tammy Yoyomax 5 years ago
We pay absolutely ridiculous taxes here in Canada, but my son was born prematurely and spent 95 days in intensive neonatal care, cost to me $0 I have never paid a single dollar out of pocket for health care.
Emily Keryk 5 years ago
I broke my neck when I was 18 (Australia). Flown to Melbourne, hospital for a month and serious surgery on my spine. No bills, and the TAC ( transport accident commission) paid ME $7500 compensation because I was injured. I was at fault by the way. Just realising Australia really is the lucky country.
BG 5 years ago
I stopped going to the doctor years ago. I still have health insurance, but can't afford both deductibles and the copays. For example: I get sinus infections yearly and I use fishmox which is amoxacillin that you use in an aquarium. I buy it at the pet store and mix it with ketchup because it's disgusting.
Lisa 5 years ago
Where do these crazy numbers even come from? Last year I had car accident and went to the hospital just in case to get checked, they did quite a lot of stuff, X-rays and ultrasound just to name two. Because I had some problems with my insurance back then I got the hospital bill sent home, the cost was a bit over 200€. Sorted out the problems with insurance, sent them the bill, didn’t pay even that- as usual
Aine Desu Yoroshiku 5 years ago
Im from the Philippines and I had Lap Chole 5 yrs ago. Billed 130k Philippine peso (around $2500), good thing insurance from work covered 120k($2300), then 9k($173) from govt health insurance. Only had to pay 1k ($20) for misc.
Alise Kalniņa 5 years ago
I know for sure that I never would want to live there, like the health care there is broken af. We do have some more expensive surgeries etc. And often people who want free surgeries have to wait for years but if you do pay it`s quick and decent and they don`t charge you for b******t. I live in Latvia (europe) btw.
Sofia Gunn 5 years ago
My mom has multiple auto immune diseases and I kid you not, we meet our $10,000 deductible on January 1st for her meds. Luckily, my dad's work has excellent health care. However, when it comes to er visits and hospitalization (happens somewhat frequently), the bills are still awful, even with the healthcare. It's unfair, especially with the c-section cases or the children cases at all, because they shouldn't be denied life. Everyone is at risk for cancer, not just the upper 10%, and it shouldn't be so expensive anyways. Something needs to change if people are scared to go to the doctors or call an ambulance because of the costs. Anything over 5,000 should come straight from the insurance company.
C Hypercube 5 years ago
Where the hell all those money go to??? Who in their right mind charges 480k for a spine fusion surgery? What? Do they perform it in outer space or Mars? What kind of a sick system is that? You need a revolution there.
Jazz Akins 5 years ago
I had a pretty much life threatening asthma attack at the beginning of 2016 when I was 25 and spent 3-4 days in the hospital,I only got there because even with insurance I didn’t have the proper inhalers. At 26 I’m kicked off my parents insurance and now have to pay almost 400$ to f*****g breath properly. I paid that for years until my aunt,for the last year,has been able to get my inhaler for about 9$ and mail it to me from Arizona. I’m about to be 28,I’m married,no kids, and don’t make a ton of money. But because I make a little too much to get assistance,and too little to be ‘poor’ if I were to get insurance it would be completely impossible to pay for on top of all my other bills. So here’s to you Auntie cause you’re the only resource keeping me alive and breathing.
Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
I had to stop reading these after the first few as it made me so pissed off. I will keep stating that the USA should be classed as a 4th world country. The government and right wingers are lying to you about everything because their way makes them rich and you poor. If you blindly say you will always be a Republican, then you are plainly stupid and refuse to become educated.
Debbie Lyn Jones (Deb) 5 years ago (edited)
At work I was very lightheaded and feeling as if I was going to pass out. Ambulance made me pay $250 before leaving the parking lot (said later, I never paid them... even though I had a receipt) and later tried to get me to pay... again. I get taken to ER and don't do any checks - but say "I'm dehydrated". So they re-hydrate me and send me home. – The next day I am at home > I go into deep shock and collapse, am rushed to emergency where I'm put on a ventilator for about five days due to internal bleeding (given 6 units of blood) I catch pneumonia while I'm there and they find a blood clot. I realize the ER is busy > but due diligence could have saved me and my family, so much suffering. One hospital is in a city where I work, and one is in a different city where I live.
Brandy Grote 5 years ago (edited)
I've had military and Medicare health coverage all of my life. "Socialist" Medicare For All is possible. Thankfully my husband can now also get CHAMPVA as a supplemental 2nd payer. 1/4 of his income went toward keeping him going last year, we claimed it on our taxes along with glasses, dental, and all our meds.
Brandy Grote 5 years ago (edited)
Dad fell and hit his head, when they FINALLY got inside, he was awake and up. The whambulance took him 2 blocks. It cost $4000. All they did was gurney him to the ER, no treatment at all.
Katinka Min 5 years ago
OMG, the PRICES!!! How did they get cranked up so high? 6000$ for a simple consultation? I live Germany. For a few years I lived abroad and hadn't bothered to get a EU health card. On a holiday at home I got a really nasty throat infection, didn't have time for all that admin hassle and saw my old GP. The bill I got from her was 24€. That was twice the official payment from public health insurance. 24€vs 6000$ - Americans are being seriously ripped off!!
Paul K. Johnson 5 years ago
Insurance is the problem, not the answer. Here's something a lot of people don't know. (And yes, I know this for a fact because I've worked in the medical industry a long time.) Doctors will deliberately misdiagnose you if they know that your insurance company won't pay for your actual diagnosis. Instead they will come up with the closest diagnosis they can think of that will be covered. That helps you with the bill and you get treatment although the treatment may include a lot of unnecessary stuff while they pretend you have something that you don't. But mainly they do it so they get paid.
TTorrest Author 5 years ago
After my son was born (2003), I started to receive buckets of "outstanding" bills from every doctor visit, ultrasound, blood test, prescription drug, emergency c-section delivery, hospital stay, etc... citing "pre-existing condition." Do you have any idea how many phone calls and letters I had to embark on just to explain that I was not, in fact, pregnant for 11 months? Fun times.
Eunice Probert 5 years ago (edited)
The largest medical bill I have to pay, in the UK, is £10 for a flu vaccination. I usually get a free one as I'm diabetic. But I'm starting out as a student in a couple of weeks and my local surgery hasn't got the vaccines in yet. So I'm paying for one at a pharmacy. But that's all I'll ever have had to pay, in my 58 years.
Mark Fuller 5 years ago
Seriously. WTF. These charges aren't even based on reality. God bless the NHS.
Loveyiii 5 years ago
I have choroidal neovascularization in my left eye so I have to go for a injection every 6-8 weeks. The injection is $1,200.00(which I think is insane) and there is surgical fee. I live in Massachusetts and I am fortunate that I have a primary and secondary insurance, but the secondary always denies payment because they say there is no authorization(which there is) If I could say screw the injection I would but this would me I would lose the sight in my left eye. I have had 26 of these injections and it is a battle every time.
Greg Reifenstein 5 years ago
lol what a joke.. I know Canada isn't perfect, but that is insane.
Cat 5 years ago
Commercial medical insurance is very hard to navigate and I work in insurance industry. I'm lucky to work for a broker firm that's ranked top 5 (big volume and big bargaining power with insurers). I once had to get a senior colleague to call his buddy at the medical insurance company to settle a claim, because one of the insurer's network specialist mishandled my medical card. No way they would have paid a cent if I didn't work for one of their biggest distribution channels :/
Whatever... 5 years ago (edited)
I was visiting someone in CO and had an allergic reaction to (of all things) pot. They did unnecessary bloodwork even though I refused it. Charged $8,000 for a 2 hour ER stay, and $1000 for a 1/2 mile ambulance ride. I filed several complaints. Nothing was reduced. (edited my comment)
Tiffany Marie 5 years ago (edited)
I have 3 unpaid or 4 Idk medical bills from the Er. I has no insurance.. I don't work due to mental illness & can't get help for it due to no insurance. My husbands works he makes too much to get Medi cal but not enough to get insurance for me. I'm in a your screwed zone. I can't get help for anything. My husband and I want to get a separation for Medi Cal purposes so I can seek help.
Sterrinatu 5 years ago
Well BP use to be a place where we could have adult conversations. I think that is gone now..... the trolls have found us.
Roger Bird 5 years ago
As long as people worship medical doctors and don't take responsibility for their own health by becoming their own doctors, these kinds of fleecings will continue.
Mike Hansen 5 years ago
Before 2000, I had numerous hospital visits and stays. All were covered by my insurance that my employer paid for!!! After O'bama came up, I've had numerous hospital visits and stays that I had to pay thousands for our of pocket!!!!! Which do you think is the best way to go???? Butthead Sanders is using scare tactics!!!! A lot of the complaints in this article could have just said "no"!!!!!
Concerned 5 years ago
The article lists extreme cases rather than average - misinfotainment, not reality. I've always paid my own insurance and have had much better care in the USA than any of the other two dozen countries that I've worked in. Yes, its expensive, but so is socialized medicine. Nothing is free. Currently I'm on an HSA that allows me to save up for retirement medical costs beyond Medicare - win/win. It's also very effective in keeping me focused on living healthy (less out of pocket costs). I do see problems in Hospital and Drug costs. Hospitals have an average 700% markup - usually half that after insurance - because they are required to take anyone. Worst socialized medicine possible. Name brand Drug costs are 10x more than they should be... I wouldn't mind seeing some bans on drug commercials and such to cut down on what is really waste.
Vicky Zar 5 years ago
For those who think USA is the best: please watch some videos of Americans living abroad. I watched quite a view by different people in different countries and there was none who wanted to go back to the US and none who thought the US system was better than the countries they currently lived in.
Sterrinatu 5 years ago
We as Americans need to be more vocal about this. Why are we rioting in the streets about racism? We should be banning together and fighting THIS fight. This kind of thing is killing us. People aren't seeking help and are dying because of it. BE ANGRY!!
Radek Suski 5 years ago
I spent 6 weeks in a clinic which if you were there you would think you're in a hotel located at a fabulous sea. I would need to pay for it 420 EUR but I have a pretty cheap additional insurance. I literally paid nothing. Even the the fuel for my transport to there was refunded by my basic insurance
cpetry 5 years ago
Bit in the face by a dog once. Nothing there to stitch. It was a clean bite. I was there for 45 minutes. Antibiotic prescription and a few packets of ointment. $958. Our healthcare system is so far beyond screwed up. I am currently uninsured and my medication and services have never been cheaper. Cash is king.
Wil Vanderheijden 5 years ago
It's sad for you that all of this happened. Under Trump's healtcare system you wouldn't have had such a huge bill for the simple fact that your husband wouldn't have had any treatment.
Load More Replies... Vicky Zar 5 years ago
In Germany we do not pay more taxes. Everyone is obliged to pay insurance. Everyone who works. Children and spouses who don't work are co-insured. People who do not have enough money are covert by the state. We do not have to wait insane amounts of time for doctors appointments. We do not fall into debt because we had an accident. We do have good healthcare. And we would not change it into the US system if you put a gun to our heads!
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