American really does shit on the poor and sick, what blows the rest of our minds, collectively yous don’t seem to want to do anything to change that.
Odd_Zookeepergame_69 on
This kind of shit scares the crap out of me. Bankrupting everything I’ve worked my entire life for, because the health care system is trash.
guzzijason on
On top of this, the healthcare industry often sells cancer patients on *longevity* over quality of life. If you are terminal, you end up spending a ton of money, to have a marginally longer yet very miserable life. If doctors were more honest about outcomes, I think more people might save their (family) money and opt for the quicker exit.
Interestingly, I had a cat that was treated for cancer. The pet oncology clinic went the opposite direction: quality of life takes priority over length of life, which makes sense because pets have no idea what’s actually happening to them, and rely on us to make the hard decisions. Making them live as long as possible in that state is rather cruel.
We treat our animals better than we treat ourselves.
LeviAUTOTUNED on
im honestly glad my healthcare is free cus id probably be dead by now. honestly, i hope usa finds a way to stop this problem🫠 its not normal for people to hesitate to go to the hospital when they dont feel good
teebalicious on
I always recommend Helaine Olin’s “Pound Foolish” book, if you really want to be incensed about our financial system. Great and horrifying book.
I remember reading about a survey done on 1500 or so (IIRC) homeowners who defaulted on their mortgages leading up to the 2008 crash, and fully half of them noted an unexpected or unplanned for medical emergency or event just prior to their defaulting.
It is a legitimate claim that lack of a functioning health care system was a significant cause of the crisis. Yet we lack the political ability to rectify that system.
As our life expectancy recedes for the first time in forever, the political narrative around such needed reforms is absolutely bonkers to me.
W0666007 on
The system is complete shit but also, that sounds like some pretty terrible insurance. My insurance maxes out-of-pocket at around $8k per person per year. We hit that a few years back when I had a major surgery. But at least there’s a max that would prevent this.
Not_That_Arab_Guy on
The US is every dystopian work of fiction put together.
Chaostyphoon on
Completely agreed on the sentiment but struggling to see how this belongs in facepalm
Cetophile on
Medicare for All needs to be a thing.
rothcoltd on
Apparently two thirds of bankruptcies in the USA are related to health issues. How can anyone claim that this is a civilized country?
Bad_Traffic on
Universal Healthcare … the for profit Healthcare insurance companies own the GOP.
dbe14 on
And the alternative – free healthcare, costs way less than the current system.
djfolo on
My mom fought cancer for 6 years and ultimately died. After insurance, you know what the final bill my dad got was? More than $1.5 million… again… after insurance.
When my son was diagnosed with severe disability, at 5yr’s old you know what my insurance told me to do since they wouldn’t approve the treatment? Have him institutionalized… at 5 f’ing years old. I told them I’m not institutionalizing my 5yr old because you won’t approve an in-network doctors prescribed therapy. After I hired an attorney and started the process to file a lawsuit, magically I get word from the doctor that insurance company called them and approved the treatment. Took more than 6months to get to that point. Without insurance, his therapy was going to be $250k per year.
Edit: Mind you, we’re middle-class folks not raking in millions of dollars a year… If you don’t have insurance OR insurance refuses to pay for treatments, but make to much to get on social benefits, any major medical treatments can and will bankrupt you. It’s an insane system.
Banded_Watermelon on
It’s horrifying. The country is more comfortable creating a developing nation-level homeless problem than making sure we are paid living wages that can keep up with the economy, making sure that we have the health/mental health services access to keep us being able-bodied and well enough to work and be tax paying citizens for as long as possible. No one has prioritized our future over today’s gains. We do what we’re supposed to do and work ourselves to the point of a reduced quality of life only not to be able to afford to take care of ourselves. And if it hasn’t hit us directly yet, most of us couldn’t give a shit less about it, which is why we are in the condition we are as a whole. It’s a greedy, thoughtless, careless, egotistical sad joke. We’re going to suffer for it, and maybe we should. Maybe we need to learn the hard way.
kalamazoo43 on
If you can make it to 65: I have Medicare and also supplemental insurance MEDIGAP PART G. It pays for essentially everything. To not be denied access to part G for any reason, you have get it as soon as you turn 65. It’s $250 a month extra.
My neighbor is 70 (has the same insurance as me) and was diagnosed with advanced cancer in January, his chemotherapy and other treatment is insanely expensive but is completely paid for. He’s doing very well.
The other supplemental insurances available are cheaper but could lead to the disaster scenarios in this post.
cantproveidid on
When my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he chose to go hospice care, as he’d already taken care of his dad through the same. As I approach his age, I give him more and more credit for his choice, though I railed against it at the time.
King_flame_A_Lot on
But atleast you arent filthy dirty socialists
HopefulNothing3560 on
Glad I live in Canada were cancer treatment is free with our health care system, how can any American vote for a Republican plan that’s been in the works for almost ten years
SimilarElderberry956 on
In Canada 🇨🇦 we have universal health care. And guess what? It is such a good system that all of the politicians that are conservative support it. There are some debates of course about delivering the services but no politician in Canada wants a US system. Same with Great Britain and Germany. If universal health care was to terrible there would have been some countries that repealed it
Puzzleheaded-Way1230 on
All first world countries have made attempts to address this issue except one.
Additional-Till8611 on
Get AFLAC everyone. It will reimburse you THOUSANDS on a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I’m hoping i never have to use it. But it’s there if I do.
bcnorth78 on
I love canada more and more everytime I see a post like this.
POGofTheGame on
Can somebody explain to me why the solution to getting an absurd, unethically large medical bill isn’t to just not pay it? Pay as little as you can to get the treatment and then give those greedy fucks the finger? Especially if you own your home and don’t need credit?
Legitimate-State8652 on
Atleast in Illinois, don’t pull from savings to pay in full. Setup a payment plan and if default it won’t go on your credit report. They still want to get paid, but apparently rich people don’t get rich by paying bills like this on time and in full.
FunkJunky7 on
That’s why it will be next to impossible to build generational wealth for generations x and later. Not born rich? You will die broke.
Professional_Mud1844 on
Healthcare in the US is just a glorified hostage situation.
fomaaaaa on
I used to work in bankruptcy law and seeing the cases with a bunch of claims from hospitals, oncologists, etc was so depressing because you just know that those people were put in a no-win situation
TruckGray on
Its why many just opt to die. The thought of seeking healthcare is like buying a house on a minimum wage. Our current system ecourages people to stop working and qualify for medicaid versus being a healthy and productive citizen. Its insane. As we know-the US is the most wealthy country in tye world yet we are prevented from correcting this beacuse TOO many profiteers and ticks are getting their beaks wet with the current system and are embedded into our poltical system for solutions that line their coffers-not save our lives.
AlternativeLack1954 on
And trump and project 2025 plan to bring back “pre existing conditions”
Flokitoo on
About 2/3 of bankruptcies are caused by medical debt. Sadly, you can go from middle class to homeless in a blink of an eye
nmftg on
12 years ago my son got very ill. It was a rare form of Chron’s disease that he got from the water that a big company polluted ( doctors say they get a lot of these cases). Over a 5 year period, after insurance, I payed $250k, almost my entire savings, on medical bills. We need a major overhaul for our healthcare system, but because so much money goes into law makers hands, I doubt anything but a total social collapse will do anything
Boundish91 on
To be expected when half the country continues to vote against their own good.
32 Comments
American really does shit on the poor and sick, what blows the rest of our minds, collectively yous don’t seem to want to do anything to change that.
This kind of shit scares the crap out of me. Bankrupting everything I’ve worked my entire life for, because the health care system is trash.
On top of this, the healthcare industry often sells cancer patients on *longevity* over quality of life. If you are terminal, you end up spending a ton of money, to have a marginally longer yet very miserable life. If doctors were more honest about outcomes, I think more people might save their (family) money and opt for the quicker exit.
Interestingly, I had a cat that was treated for cancer. The pet oncology clinic went the opposite direction: quality of life takes priority over length of life, which makes sense because pets have no idea what’s actually happening to them, and rely on us to make the hard decisions. Making them live as long as possible in that state is rather cruel.
We treat our animals better than we treat ourselves.
im honestly glad my healthcare is free cus id probably be dead by now. honestly, i hope usa finds a way to stop this problem🫠 its not normal for people to hesitate to go to the hospital when they dont feel good
I always recommend Helaine Olin’s “Pound Foolish” book, if you really want to be incensed about our financial system. Great and horrifying book.
I remember reading about a survey done on 1500 or so (IIRC) homeowners who defaulted on their mortgages leading up to the 2008 crash, and fully half of them noted an unexpected or unplanned for medical emergency or event just prior to their defaulting.
It is a legitimate claim that lack of a functioning health care system was a significant cause of the crisis. Yet we lack the political ability to rectify that system.
As our life expectancy recedes for the first time in forever, the political narrative around such needed reforms is absolutely bonkers to me.
The system is complete shit but also, that sounds like some pretty terrible insurance. My insurance maxes out-of-pocket at around $8k per person per year. We hit that a few years back when I had a major surgery. But at least there’s a max that would prevent this.
The US is every dystopian work of fiction put together.
Completely agreed on the sentiment but struggling to see how this belongs in facepalm
Medicare for All needs to be a thing.
Apparently two thirds of bankruptcies in the USA are related to health issues. How can anyone claim that this is a civilized country?
Universal Healthcare … the for profit Healthcare insurance companies own the GOP.
And the alternative – free healthcare, costs way less than the current system.
My mom fought cancer for 6 years and ultimately died. After insurance, you know what the final bill my dad got was? More than $1.5 million… again… after insurance.
When my son was diagnosed with severe disability, at 5yr’s old you know what my insurance told me to do since they wouldn’t approve the treatment? Have him institutionalized… at 5 f’ing years old. I told them I’m not institutionalizing my 5yr old because you won’t approve an in-network doctors prescribed therapy. After I hired an attorney and started the process to file a lawsuit, magically I get word from the doctor that insurance company called them and approved the treatment. Took more than 6months to get to that point. Without insurance, his therapy was going to be $250k per year.
Edit: Mind you, we’re middle-class folks not raking in millions of dollars a year… If you don’t have insurance OR insurance refuses to pay for treatments, but make to much to get on social benefits, any major medical treatments can and will bankrupt you. It’s an insane system.
It’s horrifying. The country is more comfortable creating a developing nation-level homeless problem than making sure we are paid living wages that can keep up with the economy, making sure that we have the health/mental health services access to keep us being able-bodied and well enough to work and be tax paying citizens for as long as possible. No one has prioritized our future over today’s gains. We do what we’re supposed to do and work ourselves to the point of a reduced quality of life only not to be able to afford to take care of ourselves. And if it hasn’t hit us directly yet, most of us couldn’t give a shit less about it, which is why we are in the condition we are as a whole. It’s a greedy, thoughtless, careless, egotistical sad joke. We’re going to suffer for it, and maybe we should. Maybe we need to learn the hard way.
If you can make it to 65: I have Medicare and also supplemental insurance MEDIGAP PART G. It pays for essentially everything. To not be denied access to part G for any reason, you have get it as soon as you turn 65. It’s $250 a month extra.
My neighbor is 70 (has the same insurance as me) and was diagnosed with advanced cancer in January, his chemotherapy and other treatment is insanely expensive but is completely paid for. He’s doing very well.
The other supplemental insurances available are cheaper but could lead to the disaster scenarios in this post.
When my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he chose to go hospice care, as he’d already taken care of his dad through the same. As I approach his age, I give him more and more credit for his choice, though I railed against it at the time.
But atleast you arent filthy dirty socialists
Glad I live in Canada were cancer treatment is free with our health care system, how can any American vote for a Republican plan that’s been in the works for almost ten years
In Canada 🇨🇦 we have universal health care. And guess what? It is such a good system that all of the politicians that are conservative support it. There are some debates of course about delivering the services but no politician in Canada wants a US system. Same with Great Britain and Germany. If universal health care was to terrible there would have been some countries that repealed it
All first world countries have made attempts to address this issue except one.
Get AFLAC everyone. It will reimburse you THOUSANDS on a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I’m hoping i never have to use it. But it’s there if I do.
I love canada more and more everytime I see a post like this.
Can somebody explain to me why the solution to getting an absurd, unethically large medical bill isn’t to just not pay it? Pay as little as you can to get the treatment and then give those greedy fucks the finger? Especially if you own your home and don’t need credit?
Atleast in Illinois, don’t pull from savings to pay in full. Setup a payment plan and if default it won’t go on your credit report. They still want to get paid, but apparently rich people don’t get rich by paying bills like this on time and in full.
That’s why it will be next to impossible to build generational wealth for generations x and later. Not born rich? You will die broke.
Healthcare in the US is just a glorified hostage situation.
I used to work in bankruptcy law and seeing the cases with a bunch of claims from hospitals, oncologists, etc was so depressing because you just know that those people were put in a no-win situation
Its why many just opt to die. The thought of seeking healthcare is like buying a house on a minimum wage. Our current system ecourages people to stop working and qualify for medicaid versus being a healthy and productive citizen. Its insane. As we know-the US is the most wealthy country in tye world yet we are prevented from correcting this beacuse TOO many profiteers and ticks are getting their beaks wet with the current system and are embedded into our poltical system for solutions that line their coffers-not save our lives.
And trump and project 2025 plan to bring back “pre existing conditions”
About 2/3 of bankruptcies are caused by medical debt. Sadly, you can go from middle class to homeless in a blink of an eye
12 years ago my son got very ill. It was a rare form of Chron’s disease that he got from the water that a big company polluted ( doctors say they get a lot of these cases). Over a 5 year period, after insurance, I payed $250k, almost my entire savings, on medical bills. We need a major overhaul for our healthcare system, but because so much money goes into law makers hands, I doubt anything but a total social collapse will do anything
To be expected when half the country continues to vote against their own good.