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That's an inflammatory mischarachterization of the situation in the US. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it is not common enough to qualify as a "would".

deleted 9y ago
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coldtea 9y ago
Not common enough? It's the most oft-heard story, and the most common complaint about the health coverage system there. A single accident/illness can deplete your savings account and/or send you homeless. Heck, I personally know people were that happened, and I don't even know that many people there. Here's how common it is: (...) Nerdwallet estimated that 57.1 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills, making it the leading cause of the financial calamity that often precedes homelessness. Although the tipping point is often the loss of a job, sickness or injury often precede it. Sickness and injuries make holding a job difficult, which leads to income declining and homelessness for those without a safety net. Due to the mostly employer-based health insurance coverage system in the U.S., no job means no health insurance. The combination of unemployment and poor health can then lead to financial ruin. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/how-health-and-homelessness-are-connectedmedically/458871/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/how-hea... I just returned from the annual conference of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, where the link between medical bankruptcy and homelessness was made more clear than ever. (...) Illness and medical bills were linked to at least 62.1% of all personal bankruptcies in 2007. Based on the current bankruptcy filing rate, medical bankruptcies will total 866,000 and involve 2.346 million Americans this year – about one person every 15 seconds. Most medically bankrupt families were middle class before they suffered financial setbacks. 60.3% of them had attended college and 66.4% had owned a home; 20% of families included a military veteran or active-duty soldier. 78% of the individuals whose illness led to bankruptcy had health insurance at the onset of the bankrupting illness; 60% had private insurance. 69% of debtor families had coverage at the time of their bankruptcy filing; 60% of families had continuous coverage. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/6/28/747432/- https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/6/28/747432/-

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

coldtea 9y ago

Not common enough? It's the most oft-heard story, and the most common complaint about the health coverage system there. A single accident/illness can deplete your savings account and/or send you homeless. Heck, I personally know people were that happened, and I don't even know that many people there. Here's how common it is: (...) Nerdwallet estimated that 57.1 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills, making it the leading cause of the financial calamity that often precedes homelessness. Although the tipping point is often the loss of a job, sickness or injury often precede it. Sickness and injuries make holding a job difficult, which leads to income declining and homelessness for those without a safety net. Due to the mostly employer-based health insurance coverage system in the U.S., no job means no health insurance. The combination of unemployment and poor health can then lead to financial ruin. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/how-health-and-homelessness-are-connectedmedically/458871/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/how-hea... I just returned from the annual conference of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, where the link between medical bankruptcy and homelessness was made more clear than ever. (...) Illness and medical bills were linked to at least 62.1% of all personal bankruptcies in 2007. Based on the current bankruptcy filing rate, medical bankruptcies will total 866,000 and involve 2.346 million Americans this year – about one person every 15 seconds. Most medically bankrupt families were middle class before they suffered financial setbacks. 60.3% of them had attended college and 66.4% had owned a home; 20% of families included a military veteran or active-duty soldier. 78% of the individuals whose illness led to bankruptcy had health insurance at the onset of the bankrupting illness; 60% had private insurance. 69% of debtor families had coverage at the time of their bankruptcy filing; 60% of families had continuous coverage. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/6/28/747432/- https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/6/28/747432/-