4 ms·

You are assuming $1000 is easy to pay off. This is simply not true for the working poor.

by Clent 4y ago

notch656a 4y ago
$1000 is $2 / day for les than 2 years (if you can do math unlike commenter below, that's including nearly 20% APR). I'm sorry but even the poor in america can come up with some way to make $14 in a week, if nothing else by picking up some cans. I live in a city where a segment of impoverished people come up with ways to spend $20+ a day in fentanyl, and they don't seem to have much trouble coming up with that even while living in a tent.
- culopatin 4y ago
  Do you get your loans at 0% APR? Where do I sign?
  - kube-system 4y ago
    Accounts Receivable at your local hospital.
- newsclues 4y ago
  People live in tents because 100% of their income goes to opiates. They can’t make more money and save it, because their needs will always exceed their income short of massive windfalls
  - SoftTalker 4y ago
    Yes, if you are living in a tent and are addicted to opiates, I doubt that "medical debt" would be anything that even registers on your radar. You'll get emergency medical care as needed at the nearest public ER, and since you don't have an address they probably won't even bother to try to send you a bill.
    - newsclues 4y ago
      I’m in Canada and there is no medical debt but homeless addict encampments in many cities.
- JaimeThompson 4y ago
  14 per week might be the difference between eating ok and not eating.
  - notch656a 4y ago
    You can eat "ok" on $2 a day?
    - JaimeThompson 4y ago
      Yes if you are careful, but that isn't what I said. You are assuming that the base spent on food is 0 + 2 when that wasn't what I said.
      - notch656a 4y ago
        >difference between eating ok and not eating. >difference > eating ok > not eating If you're not eating it follows you're eating $0 worth of food. So it is what you said, unless you're implying someone is spending money on food without eating any of it. I'm interested in the meals you suggest that you think are "eating ok" while maintaining the nutrition to work, $2 all in per day (food cost + transport to buy the food + cost to cook the food + depreciation on any utinsils / cookware). Also keep in mind many poor people live in a food desert so if you're counting on discount food you're gonna need a bus ticket or a hell of a long walk once in awhile. As an aside, it's worth noting if your suggestion is true and one can truly eat ok on $2 a day, then the median medical debt holder who spends say $4 a day on food can easily pay off their loans in a few years following your cooking advice. You just came up with a way for them to produce $2 / day without any additional income.
        JaimeThompson 4y ago
        There are multiple meals per day if one has to skip some of them to make ends meat then they are "not eating" those meals. It's a bit more complicated than you are making it out to be, it would not hurt to remember you are talking about fellow human beings and not just numbers in a spreadsheet. As for inexpensive ways to eat please see https://old.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ https://old.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/
- chaps 4y ago
  You're taking one person's experience, who has mild medical expenses and applying their situation to loads of poor people as if their experience exemplifies the experiences of millions. Frankly, that's disgusting and while I don't wish you awful medical debt, it sounds like you could stand to be humbled by some. Think of bigger medical expenses over the same period -- 10k. That's 20/day. 100k -- 200/day. Now add ACA monthly costs (300-400/mo). Then rent, then food. Etc etc.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - notch656a 4y ago
    >You're taking one person's experience, who has mild medical "You" being the parent OPs who I responded to who introduced the nation of $1000, which happens to be above the median for my state and most states shown in the article? Remember I'm RESPONDING to the $1000 comment, not introducing the figure. But maybe they said something about the $1000 you agreed about, so you went with the disingenuous approach of only impugning someone commenting on it and in bad faith accusing THAT person of introducing the figure. The MAJORITY in my state and most states have less than $1000 in medical debt. Millions. This isn't some edge case. $1000 "exemplifies" the median medical debt in most states, according to the article. >sounds like you could stand to be humbled by some Yeah a subtle suggestion I ought to experience medical problems. Keep it classy. "Frankly, that's disgusting." >Think of bigger medical expenses over the same period -- 10k. That's 20/day. 100k -- 200/day. Now add ACA monthly costs (300-400/mo). Then rent, then food. Etc etc. Yes I thought about it, and then decided my $2/day figure still holds as a possible approach for paying off median medical debt. Thanks for the thought exercise!
    - chaps 4y ago
      I'm really not sure how a median of $1000 is supposed to make your point any better.
      - notch656a 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
bombcar 4y ago
I'm not assuming anything, I'm wondering about their methodology (and since it's a self-reporting survey, how people were answering the questions). Medical debt is a huge problem but to craft solutions we need to fully understand that problem. Should, for example, insurance companies collect "deductibles" ahead of time and refund those not used, similar to how you could use an HSA? Should healthcare providers and insurance companies be required to offer 0% financing for 12 months for certain amounts or certain customers? The vast takeaway is usually "this survey supports what I think should be done" which often results in not much of anything being done, or getting something worse than what was before.

You are assuming $1000 is easy to pay off. This is simply not true for the working poor.

by Clent 4y ago

You are assuming $1000 is easy to pay off. This is simply not true for the working poor.

$1000 is $2 / day for les than 2 years (if you can do math unlike commenter below, that's including nearly 20% APR). I'm sorry but even the poor in america can come up with some way to make $14 in a week, if nothing else by picking up some cans. I live in a city where a segment of impoverished people come up with ways to spend $20+ a day in fentanyl, and they don't seem to have much trouble coming up with that even while living in a tent.

culopatin 4y ago
Do you get your loans at 0% APR? Where do I sign?
- kube-system 4y ago
  Accounts Receivable at your local hospital.
newsclues 4y ago
People live in tents because 100% of their income goes to opiates. They can’t make more money and save it, because their needs will always exceed their income short of massive windfalls
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Yes, if you are living in a tent and are addicted to opiates, I doubt that "medical debt" would be anything that even registers on your radar. You'll get emergency medical care as needed at the nearest public ER, and since you don't have an address they probably won't even bother to try to send you a bill.
  - newsclues 4y ago
    I’m in Canada and there is no medical debt but homeless addict encampments in many cities.
JaimeThompson 4y ago
14 per week might be the difference between eating ok and not eating.
- notch656a 4y ago
  You can eat "ok" on $2 a day?
  - JaimeThompson 4y ago
    Yes if you are careful, but that isn't what I said. You are assuming that the base spent on food is 0 + 2 when that wasn't what I said.
    - notch656a 4y ago
      >difference between eating ok and not eating. >difference > eating ok > not eating If you're not eating it follows you're eating $0 worth of food. So it is what you said, unless you're implying someone is spending money on food without eating any of it. I'm interested in the meals you suggest that you think are "eating ok" while maintaining the nutrition to work, $2 all in per day (food cost + transport to buy the food + cost to cook the food + depreciation on any utinsils / cookware). Also keep in mind many poor people live in a food desert so if you're counting on discount food you're gonna need a bus ticket or a hell of a long walk once in awhile. As an aside, it's worth noting if your suggestion is true and one can truly eat ok on $2 a day, then the median medical debt holder who spends say $4 a day on food can easily pay off their loans in a few years following your cooking advice. You just came up with a way for them to produce $2 / day without any additional income.
      - JaimeThompson 4y ago
        There are multiple meals per day if one has to skip some of them to make ends meat then they are "not eating" those meals. It's a bit more complicated than you are making it out to be, it would not hurt to remember you are talking about fellow human beings and not just numbers in a spreadsheet. As for inexpensive ways to eat please see https://old.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ https://old.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/
chaps 4y ago
You're taking one person's experience, who has mild medical expenses and applying their situation to loads of poor people as if their experience exemplifies the experiences of millions. Frankly, that's disgusting and while I don't wish you awful medical debt, it sounds like you could stand to be humbled by some. Think of bigger medical expenses over the same period -- 10k. That's 20/day. 100k -- 200/day. Now add ACA monthly costs (300-400/mo). Then rent, then food. Etc etc.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- notch656a 4y ago
  >You're taking one person's experience, who has mild medical "You" being the parent OPs who I responded to who introduced the nation of $1000, which happens to be above the median for my state and most states shown in the article? Remember I'm RESPONDING to the $1000 comment, not introducing the figure. But maybe they said something about the $1000 you agreed about, so you went with the disingenuous approach of only impugning someone commenting on it and in bad faith accusing THAT person of introducing the figure. The MAJORITY in my state and most states have less than $1000 in medical debt. Millions. This isn't some edge case. $1000 "exemplifies" the median medical debt in most states, according to the article. >sounds like you could stand to be humbled by some Yeah a subtle suggestion I ought to experience medical problems. Keep it classy. "Frankly, that's disgusting." >Think of bigger medical expenses over the same period -- 10k. That's 20/day. 100k -- 200/day. Now add ACA monthly costs (300-400/mo). Then rent, then food. Etc etc. Yes I thought about it, and then decided my $2/day figure still holds as a possible approach for paying off median medical debt. Thanks for the thought exercise!
  - chaps 4y ago
    I'm really not sure how a median of $1000 is supposed to make your point any better.
    - notch656a 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

bombcar 4y ago

I'm not assuming anything, I'm wondering about their methodology (and since it's a self-reporting survey, how people were answering the questions). Medical debt is a huge problem but to craft solutions we need to fully understand that problem. Should, for example, insurance companies collect "deductibles" ahead of time and refund those not used, similar to how you could use an HSA? Should healthcare providers and insurance companies be required to offer 0% financing for 12 months for certain amounts or certain customers? The vast takeaway is usually "this survey supports what I think should be done" which often results in not much of anything being done, or getting something worse than what was before.