Hospital Bills in America

[ShinyUmbreon189]

I was just thinking about how outrageous hospital visits and bills are even with insurance and we all know it is one of the things that can make you go in debt instantly or make you file for bankruptcy in America. Even with insurance your still looking at a massive bill since they only cover about 10% of the bills. In most cases a simple hospital visit, not surgery, x-rays, CT scans, etc required usually costs a couple thousand for literally nothing. Wit that being said whats your guy's opinion on hospital visits? Do you have any personal experience dealing with this evil money robbing system?

Personally, I refuse to go to the hospital. If I get injured or something I'd rather just deal with it rather than go through a money crisis the rest of my life. This country needs to realize that not everybody is wealthy and can't afford a hospital visit. I'm scared to even get a girlfriend pregnant, there goes thousands right there!

 

[Oryx]

My mother was incredibly lucky - she had insurance for 11 months and then was diagnosed with cancer. Normally, the insurance company had a policy that said if you are diagnosed cancer within 12 months of getting insurance, they'll treat it as a pre-existing condition, probably because they can get away with saying "we think you got it before you got insurance". Because of the Obamacare changes however, the insurance company couldn't do that and instead had to cover her. We still were a little financially ruined by the bills, but it would have been much worse with no insurance.

 

[Ivysaur]

I'll just pop in, say "Every other single developed country has a single-payer, tax-funded, free-for-everyone health system (surcharges may apply depending on the specific system)" and shake my head at the extortioning mess the US are living with.

At least you'll get to see about five weekly Affordable Care Act repeal bills being thrown at Obama's desk for the coming two years.

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

I'll just pop in, say "Every other single developed country has a single-payer, tax-funded, free-for-everyone health system (surcharges may apply depending on the specific system)" and shake my head at the extortioning mess the US are living with.

At least you'll get to see about five weekly Affordable Care Act repeal bills being thrown at Obama's desk for the coming two years.

I've also heard it can take a very long time to get in the doctor or hospital in those countries with free healthcare since there's a huge line of people in front of you. Is that exactly accurate or does it depend on the severity of your issue? Ex. Somebody has a heart attack, or at least assumes their having a heart attack. Would they get in instantly or would they have to schedule an appointment? I'm sure if someone has an heart attack and their spouse dials 911 then they'll send out paramedics to that address, but is that free as well? I'm not exactly sure how free healthcare works in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc?

 

[Ivysaur]

I've also heard it can take a very long time to get in the doctor or hospital in those countries with free healthcare since there's a huge line of people in front of you. Is that exactly accurate or does it depend on the severity of your issue? Ex. Somebody has a heart attack, or at least assumes their having a heart attack. Would they get in instantly or would they have to schedule an appointment? I'm sure if someone has an heart attack and their spouse dials 911 then they'll send out paramedics to that address, but is that free as well? I'm not exactly sure how free healthcare works in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc?

Obviously there is an "emergency" area for people with life-threatening problems in all hospitals. And I can't vouch for every country, but at least in Spain and the UK, when I say you don't have to pay for anything ever, I mean it. I have had paramedics come to my house last year, when I had a pretty nasty problem, just barely 30 minutes after I dialed 112 (though admittedly it seemed like years to me) and the only money that changed hands was a few euros the day after when I went to buy medication at the pharmacy- they even gave me emergency medication for free that night to stop it.

As per regular doctor appointments, I usually can get one within 7 days, and any actual tests and surgery can take between 15 and 30 days, depending, again on the issue- if you are going to die if you don't have it done, you might have to wait a few hours maximum. For instance, the day I broke my right knee, I got surgery after a few hours.

Obviously, I'd rather wait and keep a health problem for a few more weeks if that means everybody will get their treatment than get a cure immediately if that means poor people will be left to die or get crap treatments.

 

[obZen]

I've also heard it can take a very long time to get in the doctor or hospital in those countries with free healthcare since there's a huge line of people in front of you. Is that exactly accurate or does it depend on the severity of your issue? Ex. Somebody has a heart attack, or at least assumes their having a heart attack. Would they get in instantly or would they have to schedule an appointment? I'm sure if someone has an heart attack and their spouse dials 911 then they'll send out paramedics to that address, but is that free as well? I'm not exactly sure how free healthcare works in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc?

I think this is a largely misinterpreted opinion that lots of people in the US have
If anything, surgeries are what take forever to get (unless it's life threatening without...)
People from countries with socialised healthcare often tell me how long they've had to wait for their surgeries, like 2 years+

But, I haven't lived in Canada for eg., so I have no personal, first-hand experiences for you
But, I'm inclined to take the word of people I know from Canada

Next, I just love going into $30,000 of debt for a simple hospital procedure!
And forget when my mom had those major surgeries, we were just waiting to lose all of our money

Thankfully, the surgery went well
However, we're in mountains of debt
Had we been on Obamacare, we'd be ok
Her surgeries were still put off for years even with private healthcare, so I'm doubting our system a lot

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

@ Went Okay that answers my question. I have another question involving the taxes in your country. Since your country does have free healthcare does the taxes compensate for it to an extent or are they not extremely high like the taxes in Canada or UK which as well has free healthcare? In America the federal taxes takes about 15-30% of your paycheck and you don't get free healthcare, at least not for everybody but it's not that much if you compare it to Canada or UK, but it's still a lot. I just hate how America is one of the few countries that goes overkill with healthcare and hospital procedures/visits. Imo, the costs is waaay too high. Even if you got insurance it's not guaranteed to cover your doctor consultations even tho your paying a couple thousand a year for healthcare. Seems like a big scam to me. But then again, nothing in this world is free.

 

[Caite-chan]

I had to be in the hospital this summer to have a pacemaker put in and let me tell you when I got the bills dear Lord. A little over 100k for everything. And getting Medicaid is a joke and takes forever.

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

I had to be in the hospital this summer to have a pacemaker put in and let me tell you when I got the bills dear Lord. A little over 100k for everything. And getting Medicaid is a joke and takes forever.

See now that's crazy! That's exactly what I was talking about with America's system. How do they expect you to pay that? 100k is a lot of money, more money than I make in a 4-5 years! It just boggles my mind that they can actually get away with billing patients like that, it's asinine. It's like they think we can just walk into our backyard and start picking benjamins off the nearest tree or we got a million dollars just sitting in the bank.

 

[Caite-chan]

I work at a dog groomers.....I'll die before I would ever get that paid off. What makes it worse is once you're out they drive you up the wall to get their money you own them. Let me just change from dog groomer to stripper and maybe then I'll make enough to pay them back.

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

I work at a dog groomers.....I'll die before I would ever get that paid off. What makes it worse is once you're out they drive you up the wall to get their money you own them. Let me just change from dog groomer to stripper and maybe then I'll make enough to pay them back.

And even after you die they'll be demanding money. The problem with this, is they don't care that you don't have money, that you have bills to pay, children to take care of (if any). As long as they get their money they're happy and if you miss a payment due to not being able to afford it they jump on you quick. Did you at least file for bankruptcy?

 

[Caite-chan]

No I'm still waiting for Medicaid to kick in because I had no insurance when I had to go into the hospital. But everything is just taking forever. I had it done July 1st which also so happened to be my birthday which sucked like no other and I'm STILL waiting for everything to go through.

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

I can't even imagine the stress your going through right now, I honestly feel sorry for you. Again, that's reason I refuse to go to the hospital. I don't want a financial crisis the rest of my life. Knowing me, I'd tell them I'm not paying that much and cause a dramatic scene. Is the medicaid going to cover it or no?

 

[Ivysaur]

@ Went Okay that answers my question. I have another question involving the taxes in your country. Since your country does have free healthcare does the taxes compensate for it to an extent or are they not extremely high like the taxes in Canada or UK which as well has free healthcare? In America the federal taxes takes about 15-30% of your paycheck and you don't get free healthcare, at least not for everybody but it's not that much if you compare it to Canada or UK, but it's still a lot. I just hate how America is one of the few countries that goes overkill with healthcare and hospital procedures/visits. Imo, the costs is waaay too high. Even if you got insurance it's not guaranteed to cover your doctor consultations even tho your paying a couple thousand a year for healthcare. Seems like a big scam to me. But then again, nothing in this world is free.

Considering the Tax Revenue as a percentage of GDP, and doing an average between the data from OECD, Eurostat and the Heritage Foundation, as shown in Wikipedia, Spain has a global tax rate of 33.1%. The UK has a rate of 36.4%. Canada is a bit lower, with 31.6%. In turn, the US has an average tax revenue of 25.5%.

In turn, the total amount of money spent in healthcare in the US equals 17.9% of all their GDP, compared to 9.6% in Spain, 9.4% in the UK or 10.9% in Canada. So, in other words, individual US citizens pay lower taxes but their country as a whole ends up having to foot healthcare bills that are twice as large as other countries with higher taxes but socialized medicine (source: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS).

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

I just sprained my ankle last week really badly, even need physical therapy to get back on the road. It's kind of crazy but I'm blessed into having kick ass health insurance from my company. Still, it sucks, because I have no idea how much I'll really owe in the end.

If you have insurance, going to the hospital isn't the worst thing on the planet - it's usually about $150 for a visit to the ER, and you will accumulate some extra charges here and there. Be smart and avoid doing any of the following if at all possible:
1) Using painkillers at the hospital, they upcharge them ridiculously
2) Doing anything that is likely unnecessary - if you are an adult you can refuse any sort of treatment, unless you are in a life or death situation or you're in labour
3) Staying overnight

What causes problems for people is when 1) they aren't insured, meaning that those visits can easily hit the $1000 range, 2) when there are a set of complications to your visit, 3) if your visit is life threatening, 4) if your insurance, because of some weird payment ****, isn't able to cover it, especially true with chronic conditions such as cancers.

One of the worst things about insurance is how ****ing confusing it is. There's like 5 different ways insurance actually pays for your medical bills and it's not for the faint of heart. For me, I have two insurances, primary and secondary, and most doctors don't even know what the secondary is until they try to bill it (usually they take it though, thankfully). It makes going to the doctor scary because you don't know how much you're going to pay in the end, which is just ridiculous. There is no standard on the prices of surgeries or treatments so you basically just have to roll the dice, and this is even more true when you are in an emergency. It sucks.

One good thing about it though is that with most billing programs, you don't have to pay it all down at once. If you even pay one dollar on it each month they can't send that **** to collections. The problem is that some people truly can't afford to pay that one dollar a month, so they essentially bankrupt themselves.

I don't know a ton about obamacare but they did **** up quite a few clauses in it, likely due to the legislative branch being complete ass and throwing in counterproductive ******** so that the damn law could pass. When I was in Japan I also got an injury and healthcare wasn't a problem. I have no idea why they can't get their act together and provide basic healthcare to everyone but apparently that's too hard. Ho hum.

 

[Doctor Pokemon]

The Medical system in the U.S. is now less about helping people and more about lining the doctors pockets with money. An example of this is my Dad went to the doctor and they gave him an new medicine. It helped but when we went to refill the prescription they told us it would be close to $1,000 for it and our insurance wouldn't pay for it (Thanks Obama). Later we were told that there was actually a cheaper on that we could have afforded, but for some reason the doctor didn't tell us about it. I just feel like doctors are getting paid a percentage if they can sell there ridiculously high priced "medicines"!

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

The Medical system in the U.S. is now less about helping people and more about lining the doctors pockets with money. An example of this is my Dad went to the doctor and they gave him an new medicine. It helped but when we went to refill the prescription they told us it would be close to $1,000 for it and our insurance wouldn't pay for it (Thanks Obama). Later we were told that there was actually a cheaper on that we could have afforded, but for some reason the doctor didn't tell us about it. I just feel like doctors are getting paid a percentage if they can sell there ridiculously high priced "medicines"!

Insurance pays very little of your hospital/doctor expenses anyways, unless you spent most of it and it's the end of the year. They cover your visits (usually) and 10% of your expenses. So if your hospital bill is $10k you still have to pay 9k, insurance is a scam. Now people are getting forced to pay for insurance due to Obamacare and if they don't they get charged penalties for not spending a couple k a year for insurance. The whole system is about lining their pockets by robbing you.

 

[Doctor Pokemon]

Insurance pays very little of your hospital/doctor expenses anyways, unless you spent most of it and it's the end of the year. They cover your visits (usually) and 10% of your expenses. So if your hospital bill is $10k you still have to pay 9k, insurance is a scam. Now people are getting forced to pay for insurance due to Obamacare and if they don't they get charged penalties for not spending a couple k a year for insurance. The whole system is about lining their pockets by robbing you.

That is the reason I hate doctors and Obamacare because it is just about lining their pockets while take from the people who need it the most!

 

[TRIFORCE89]

This article is all you really need to know: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/saskatchewan-couple-considering-bankruptcy-after-1m-medical-bill-1.2108911#


As a Canadian, seeing things like this just boggle the mind.

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

This article is all you really need to know: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/saskatchewan-couple-considering-bankruptcy-after-1m-medical-bill-1.2108911#


As a Canadian, seeing things like this just boggle the mind.

It's just how the system works here. I know, it's asinine. Medical expenses will guarantee **** up the average American and in some cases wealthy folks as well (or people being treated in America). Insurance or not, for most people hospital bills is a living hell since a majority of us can't afford the treatments. I just wish who's behind this bs will realize what they're doing should be illegal. They have no reason to charge patients like this in the hospital.

I had to get an ultra sound done on my abs (check for tore muscles or tissue) and decided to stay as far away from the hospital as possible. Instead I got the treatment done at my doctors office. Only costed a couple hundred. If I were to get it done at the hospital it would cost over $1,000. That's like buying a soda from a vending machine for $1 (doctors office) and me selling a pop for $9. I don't know how they get away with it, I just don't get it.