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Americans spend more time living with diseases than rest of world, study shows
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2024
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I have reasonable insurance and the reason people "spend more time living with disease" is that the annual cost of not doing that is a couple of thousand.
The minute I hit a doctor for anything other than a cold, I expect it to cost me $1000, and if it turns out to be serious, I expect to spend out-of-pocket maxes, or $3000-5000.
So basically, the cost of 'going to the doctor' needs to be assumed to be at least $3000.
So uh, I don't go for any actual issues unless I'm prepared to spend that much.
This system is fucking stupid and designed to both discourage you from visiting and when you finally break down and go, to empty your pockets.
...but hey, if you can find cooperative doctors, they'll happily refer you to endless specialists and such so you can at least maximize the thousands of dollars you've spent? (This is still stupid.)
This, for sure. Last year I had to get some x-rays and because they weren’t sure insurance would cover it, I saw something like $1600 USD out of pocket. Eventually I got $900 or so back, but it was months later. And this was on top of lab/blood work that only has limited coverage under preventative care, and often costs additional out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of dollars.
Oh and dental coverage being entirely separate, without full coverage, so I pay every few years between $600 and $800 for deep cleaning (periodontal disease, and that cost is with insurance).
And my CPAP stuff being terribly covered only through DMEs that upcharge for hardware and mask equipment to the point since 2017 I’ve paid out of pocket cash or via HSA to get what I need online because that’s cheaper and less hassle.
I can afford it these days and do the needful, but all this stuff is way more complicated and expensive than most can deal with.