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People Are Sharing Medical Bills From The 20th Century To Show Just How Out-Of-Hand Prices Are Now (30 Pics)
The insane healthcare costs in the US have a solid record in shocking the rest of the world. The killer bills are what a staggering 83% of Americans, regardless of their income, said make quality medical care virtually unaffordable in this Pew Center research.
Moreover, almost half, or 41%, of working-age Americans, regardless of their income, are struggling to pay off their medical bills and have accumulated debt over time, showed this research. So if there’s an American horror story people are honestly dreading, it must be the healthcare costs.
And in order to put this insanity in a different perspective, people are sharing medical bills and receipts from the past that are so cheap they genuinely look unreal. From a $7.50 X-ray bill from 1950 to a $4.85 delivery bill from 1947, the records reveal how prices were before taking a fatal turn less than a century ago.
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#1
My Great Grandma's Medical Bill From 1950
Michele Ferretto 3 years ago
You have to calculate inflation. However 7.50$ in 1950 are 85$ now. Reasonable. However more than what we pay today in Italy.
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#2
My Grandma’s Hospital Bill After Giving Birth To My Dad In 1955
beastmachine. 3 years ago
Just did some calculations and accounting for inflation those $178 of 1947 equates to about $2156. Today the average cost of childbirth in US is about $13K, that's roughly 600% increase in cost keeping in mind the inflation. What else of a reason do you need to make universal healthcare compulsary in US when in other countries especially in Europe it'll still cost less than $1000 even today!!!
#3
1947 Hospital Bill Found Out My Parents’ Attic. Not Sure Who It’s For
It's no surprise that Americans spend a huge amount of money on healthcare each year. High insurance premiums, high deductibles, copays, and other out-of-pocket expenses are just some of the costs associated with health and wellness in the country.
According to Investopedia, one of the most apparent reasons when it comes to ever-rising healthcare costs is government policy. Since the inception of Medicare and Medicaid—programs that help people without health insurance—providers have been able to increase medical prices.
#4
Hospital Bill From When My Grandpa Blew Up A Stump With Homemade TNT And Lost His Eye
#5
My Grandmama Just Passed Away And We Found The Hospital Bill Of When She Had My Aunt In 1957. Insurance Paid $100 So They Ended Up Paying $2.95 For Having A Baby
Brandi VanSteenwyk 3 years ago (edited)
St. Thomas and their fancy new impact printer!! Reminds me of old(er) savings pass books.
#6
The Hospital Bill From My Dad's Birth In 1955. (Note The 5 Day Hospital Stay)
Sue Hazlewood 3 years ago
Wondering what the Identification fee is for. Making sure they left with the correct baby?
Another crucial reason is inflation as it’s no secret that healthcare prices have soared exponentially in the US over the last several decades. A joint study from Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) showed that healthcare spending in the country rose nearly a trillion dollars between 2009 and 2019, when adjusted for inflation.
The study also showed that during 2019, healthcare spending was nearly $3.8 trillion ($11,582 per person), but it will climb to a whopping $6.2 trillion ($18,000 per person) by 2028.
#7
I Found This Hospital Bill Sent To My Great-Aunt For The Birth Of Her Child In 1939 (US)
#8
My Medical School Professor Showed Me This Bill From His Birth In 1955 (In The United States).
Catherine Miklavic 3 years ago
Geez.... I gave birth at the beginning pf the pandemic 15 months ago and have decided to put hpusing over paying the 5600 that my really good insurance didnt cover.....
#9
This Medical Bill From 1947
Today, two-thirds of people who file for bankruptcy cite medical issues as a key contributor to their financial downfall. A recent study reported that 66.5% of all bankruptcies were directly tied to medical issues, because of either high costs for care or time out of work. An estimated 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year because of medical issues and bills, which for many seems like a worst-case scenario.
“Despite gains in coverage and access to care from the ACA, our findings suggest that it did not change the proportion of bankruptcies with medical causes,” stated the co-author David U. Himmelstein, commenting on the study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
“Unless you’re Jeff Bezos, people don’t have very good alternatives, because the insurance that is available and affordable to people, or that most people’s employers provide them, is not adequate protection if you’re sick,” he added.
#10
I Came Across This While Going Through Some Of My Grandmother's Things That I Had In Storage And Thought It Was Worth Sharing
My grandparents were from Liberty borough this is the bill from when my mom Carol Davies was born in 1943.
Synsepalum 3 years ago
Even converting for the difference in purchase power that is only $284.89 in today's American dollars.
#11
This 1933 Hospital Bill For A 7 Day Hospital Stay And Delivery
#12
My Grandma's 1951 Hospital Bill For Maternity Services. Grand Total For One Live Infant Birth - $50
#13
The Hospital Bill For My Birth On 1-18-1958 . Note The Insurance Info Is In Red
#14
Happy 72nd Birthday Mom! Here’s The $65 Minneapolis Hospital Bill For A Week’s Stay.
Viki Banaszak 3 years ago
You must be a problem child. LOL This bill is higher than most of the others.
#15
Old Medical Bill
Tara Perillo 3 years ago
Strange, this is the hospital where my sons were born. It cost a lot more than this
#16
In 1948, A 2 Day Hospital Stay Cost Less Than 30 Bucks
#19
1948 Hospital Bill...
#20
Grandpa's Hospital Bill From 1944
#21
Medical Bill From The 50s
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Why was there a deposit? If you didn't have at least $50, you couldn't get in?
#22
Here’s The Bill For The Birth Of My Dad Back In 1947 In Rural Wisconsin (Mondovi, Wi, Just Outside Of Eau Claire). 10 Days In The Hospital Seems Fairly Normal For Back Then
#23
Hospital Bill I Could In The Garbage At Work. From The 1940s
#24
This Receipt For The Hospital Bill Charged To My Great Grandmother When She Had My Grandfather In 1930, Total Cost Was $38
Brandi VanSteenwyk 3 years ago
The beautifully elegant cursive handwriting on these old documents cannot be overlooked. It truly speaks of bygone eras never to be replicated.
#26
Medical Bill From 1977 (US)
#29
The Total Cost For My Birth In 1971 In Virginia. $350.25
yellowphantom 3 years ago
A CT scan costs about the same now as it did in 1977 because the technology is so widely available now. And I had to fight my insurance company to pay any of it back then. Same for pregnancy ultrasounds. They were $125 in 1981 and that is more than the bills for my grandchild's ultrasounds in 2018. I also had to go to a separate doctor because only some doctors had the equipment then and this was in the Washington DC area where medical care was fairly advanced. Providers and insurers make the excuse that we have so much more technology now, to justify the huge increases, but even if technology made some things more expensive, much of it also became cheaper over the years. I paid $500 for my first color TV-the closest equivalent today is no more than $100 and there actually is nothing sold today as low tech as my first TV!
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What do you think ?
Amina Hays 3 years ago
Even before the inception of the NHS in 1948, patients didn't have to pay and the majority of the hospitals and medical staff were voluntary. Granted it wasn't at all the best but it's still a far cry from the f*cked up healthcare system the US has in the 21st century! Its an utter disgrace. I have a ton of health problems and I'm not eligible for insurance as I was born with a couple of them. If I lived in the US, I'd definitely be dead by now, purely because I couldn't afford being alive.
J. F. 3 years ago (edited)
It's also said in the US that universal healthcare will fail sooner or later - here in Germany it's still going strong since 1883 (the oldest system of that kind)
Load More Replies...
Maya Baggins 3 years ago
It always astonished me that people in the USA still reject universal healthcare. It's the thing I'm most gratefull for in Spain
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
The people don’t reject it. The legislators who are bought and paid for by the big insurance agencies who are the ones rejecting it. What we need to do is abolish lobbying entirely, or at least call it bribery and prosecute (both sides when the bribes are accepted) when there’s money or goods exchanged.
Load More Replies... Brian Bennett 3 years ago
Wonder if anyone noticed the length of say for maternity patients 5-7 days now they boot these poor tired women out practically out of the delivery room. Gotta make room for more mommies, bull more money. Bet these people could even eat the food. I started nursing in the early 60's back then we supplied mouthwash, soap cream for backrubs (yep backrubs), toothpaste etc. This though was the start of admission bloodwork, unknow to patients the main one was for STD''s Yes folks deception started then! Nurses gave complete care to patients if they could not bath themselves we did it. A friend's husband was in our hospital for 7 days - for abdominal surgery he got handed a wet wash cloth every day and the nurse pushed a few buttons on the medical equipment being used a few times a day. The food is uneatable! Everything is profit, profit! I'm not saying there aren't good nurses out there who want to nurse. During this pandemic they should be rewarded but they won't be.
Amina Hays 3 years ago
Even before the inception of the NHS in 1948, patients didn't have to pay and the majority of the hospitals and medical staff were voluntary. Granted it wasn't at all the best but it's still a far cry from the f*cked up healthcare system the US has in the 21st century! Its an utter disgrace. I have a ton of health problems and I'm not eligible for insurance as I was born with a couple of them. If I lived in the US, I'd definitely be dead by now, purely because I couldn't afford being alive.
J. F. 3 years ago (edited)
It's also said in the US that universal healthcare will fail sooner or later - here in Germany it's still going strong since 1883 (the oldest system of that kind)
Load More Replies... Maya Baggins 3 years ago
It always astonished me that people in the USA still reject universal healthcare. It's the thing I'm most gratefull for in Spain
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
The people don’t reject it. The legislators who are bought and paid for by the big insurance agencies who are the ones rejecting it. What we need to do is abolish lobbying entirely, or at least call it bribery and prosecute (both sides when the bribes are accepted) when there’s money or goods exchanged.
Load More Replies... Brian Bennett 3 years ago
Wonder if anyone noticed the length of say for maternity patients 5-7 days now they boot these poor tired women out practically out of the delivery room. Gotta make room for more mommies, bull more money. Bet these people could even eat the food. I started nursing in the early 60's back then we supplied mouthwash, soap cream for backrubs (yep backrubs), toothpaste etc. This though was the start of admission bloodwork, unknow to patients the main one was for STD''s Yes folks deception started then! Nurses gave complete care to patients if they could not bath themselves we did it. A friend's husband was in our hospital for 7 days - for abdominal surgery he got handed a wet wash cloth every day and the nurse pushed a few buttons on the medical equipment being used a few times a day. The food is uneatable! Everything is profit, profit! I'm not saying there aren't good nurses out there who want to nurse. During this pandemic they should be rewarded but they won't be.
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