Ask Lemmy

26909 readers

1979 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

240

How much do Americans actually pay for healthcare? (pawb.social)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/asklemmy

218 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hey all, I'm British so I don't really know the ins and outs of the US healthcare system. Apologies for asking what is probably a rather simple question.

So like most of you, I see many posts and gofundmes about people having astronomically high medical bills. Most recently, someone having a $27k bill even after his death.

However, I have an American friend who is quick to point out that apparently nobody actually pays those bills. They're just some elaborate dance between insurance companies and hospitals. If you don't have insurance, the cost is lower or removed entirely. Supposedly.

So I'm just asking... How accurate is that? Consider someone without insurance, a minor physical ailment, a neurodivergent mind and no interest in fighting off harassing people for the rest of their life.

How much would such a person expect to pay, out of their own pocket, for things like check ups, x rays, meds, counselling and so on?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Plus the Brit coverage is universal while the US has a significant number of uninsured. We pay double on average including for those that aren't covered at all. Even though the long lines myths are overblown for countries with universal care, it is important to remember that in the US a lot of people never get the care and we still have massively long wait lines unless we can afford to be first in line. The wealthy have a fast pass.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

it is important to remember that in the US a lot of people never get the care and we still have massively long wait lines unless we can afford to be first in line

This is really important for non-Americans to understand. Yeah there are waits to see specialists and so forth in countries with a public system. We also have waits...but it's for people who can't afford the procedure. They have to wait until they can afford it, and if they can't they simply have to live with their condition indefinitely or until it's bad enough that they go to the emergency room. People who are uninsured go to the emergency room for everything because, legally speaking, they can't turn you away. They have to at least diagnose and stabilize you. Because these people are broke, they generally end up not paying the bill, which means everyone else's costs go up.

You couldn't devise a worse system if you tried.