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

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/asklemmy

215 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?

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[–] schloppah 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I had an explosive migraine a couple years ago and went to the emergency room because I thought I was dying. I had to wait for about 3 hours before being seen. Once I was seen they did a brain x ray and gave me an IV migraine medication. I had a bad sinus infection and inflammation that was pressing on facial nerves and triggering the migraine. They told me to take Claritin and sent me home.

After about a month I got the bill, over $8000. I forgot what my "good" insurance paid to the hospital but my part of it was $8k. For an x ray and IV. They also charged $200 for IV hydration which I didn't ask for or consent to, and didn't need because I keep myself well hydrated always.

Also it turned out that this infection was bacterial because about a week after I went to the hospital I started getting 103-105°F fevers. I then went to an urgent care and had to pay $180 to get told that I need to wait at least 3 weeks with the infection before they will treat it with antibiotics. So I suffered like that for another 2 weeks and finally got antibiotics from a different place. The nerve pain I got from that infection was unlike anything I've ever felt before. I was literally screaming and thrashing around, completely delirious with fever and pain and my wife trying to keep me alive. I fucking hate this country.

Oh I just remembered, I also got sent an additional $300 bill for the specific doctor I saw at the hospital. Yeah that's a thing in a America too. You sometimes have to pay both the hospital you went to and the individual doctor who saw you, separately.