4 ms·

That's a feature of living in the US, not a bug. It's a matter of time before it happens, it's not an "if".

by pluc 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
righthand 2y ago
USA reaping what it’s sown, we’ve had very viable healthcare candidates in the last 20 years and instead we’ve voted for hysteria and insurance industry friendly moderates.
glimshe 2y ago
This is not true. I'm getting tired of reading this kind of stuff on HN, maybe I should just ignore it but a few friends from other parts of the world, also HN readers, are starting to believe it... So I'll try doing my part. Yes, the worst-case scenario for health expenses is indeed bad in the US, this is true. However, this is not the average healthcare experience. It's not a matter of time until you're slapped with a bankruptcy-level bill. My wife and I, both in our 50s, have had our share of insurance annoyances and frustrating phone calls, but we've had multiple surgeries fully covered by insurance. And this is the same with friends and family members, including at least 4 cancer treatments that did not lead to bankruptcy-level or even truly notable bills. This anecdote includes many people who died of "old age". Worst-case scenario bills can be bad elsewhere too. For instance, a friend in Europe had to do a 250K GoFundMe campaign to pay for a life-saving treatment for his daughter because well, the only place in the world that performed the surgery she needed was... Guess where? The US. He faced bankruptcy for this bill, but friends and strangers were able to help him out to an extent. I think he's still recovering from the expense years later. Medical bankruptcies and financially crushing bills are a sad possibility in the US, and certainly much more likely than in most other places. We need to keep working on this. But the vast majority of people will not have to face this problem in their lifetimes.
- docdeek 2y ago
  The American Journal of Public Health reported in 2019 that there were more than 500,000 medical bankruptices every year, and more than 250,000 medical expense related GoFundMe’s. In a country of nearly 400 million people this experience is not ‘average’ but it is well outside what would be considered normal in other developed countries. Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6366487/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6366487/
- michaelt 2y ago
  > Medical bankruptcies and financially crushing bills are a sad possibility in the US Absolutely wild to me that in the US you can have insurance - something that's supposed to completely cover the costs of very-expensive-but-very-low-probability events, like house fires - and yet you can still be bankrupted by the thing you've insured against.
blitzar 2y ago
Americans routinely voice their preferences for a system along the lines of "The Affordable Care Act" and their gross dissatisfaction at the abomination that is "Obama Care". Reforms are clearly needed.

That's a feature of living in the US, not a bug. It's a matter of time before it happens, it's not an "if".

by pluc 2y ago

That's a feature of living in the US, not a bug. It's a matter of time before it happens, it's not an "if".

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

righthand 2y ago

USA reaping what it’s sown, we’ve had very viable healthcare candidates in the last 20 years and instead we’ve voted for hysteria and insurance industry friendly moderates.

glimshe 2y ago

This is not true. I'm getting tired of reading this kind of stuff on HN, maybe I should just ignore it but a few friends from other parts of the world, also HN readers, are starting to believe it... So I'll try doing my part. Yes, the worst-case scenario for health expenses is indeed bad in the US, this is true. However, this is not the average healthcare experience. It's not a matter of time until you're slapped with a bankruptcy-level bill. My wife and I, both in our 50s, have had our share of insurance annoyances and frustrating phone calls, but we've had multiple surgeries fully covered by insurance. And this is the same with friends and family members, including at least 4 cancer treatments that did not lead to bankruptcy-level or even truly notable bills. This anecdote includes many people who died of "old age". Worst-case scenario bills can be bad elsewhere too. For instance, a friend in Europe had to do a 250K GoFundMe campaign to pay for a life-saving treatment for his daughter because well, the only place in the world that performed the surgery she needed was... Guess where? The US. He faced bankruptcy for this bill, but friends and strangers were able to help him out to an extent. I think he's still recovering from the expense years later. Medical bankruptcies and financially crushing bills are a sad possibility in the US, and certainly much more likely than in most other places. We need to keep working on this. But the vast majority of people will not have to face this problem in their lifetimes.

docdeek 2y ago
The American Journal of Public Health reported in 2019 that there were more than 500,000 medical bankruptices every year, and more than 250,000 medical expense related GoFundMe’s. In a country of nearly 400 million people this experience is not ‘average’ but it is well outside what would be considered normal in other developed countries. Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6366487/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6366487/
michaelt 2y ago
> Medical bankruptcies and financially crushing bills are a sad possibility in the US Absolutely wild to me that in the US you can have insurance - something that's supposed to completely cover the costs of very-expensive-but-very-low-probability events, like house fires - and yet you can still be bankrupted by the thing you've insured against.

blitzar 2y ago

Americans routinely voice their preferences for a system along the lines of "The Affordable Care Act" and their gross dissatisfaction at the abomination that is "Obama Care". Reforms are clearly needed.