3 ms·

I know this is anecdotal from what I read here and the few engineers I’ve spoken personally. Having a good job is the only way to get good/decent health care.

by spockz 2mo ago

I know this is anecdotal from what I read here and the few engineers I’ve spoken personally. Having a good job is the only way to get good/decent health care. Even then, there are many surprises in terms of what you have to pay yourself and how expensive certain things are. Basically any chronic disease will be very expensive. And don’t lose your job either because then you can kiss the insurance goodbye as well, kicking you even further down. Potentially deep into debt.

anon291 2mo ago
Not really. I was laid off and my daughter literally cut her finger off requiring expensive surgery and orthopedic stuff and my state covered all of it (over 100k in nominal cost) and our overall tax burden is less than most European countries. To be totally honest a lot of people in America don't apply for public benefits for whatever reason. Plenty of my colleagues decided to pay for cobra instead of using free Medicaid which has a zero copay in my state. In another situation, my brother's high school friends dad was preparing to die from prostate cancer because he could afford treatment. My mom made him sign up for public benefits and they covered everything
- _DeadFred_ 2mo ago
  The big beautiful bill just cut off 4 million people's insurance assistance including mine. But nice, blame the uninsured people for not having insurance because of... checks notes.. the unrelated programs they don't qualify for that almost all states have for coverage for children. Not a very honest 'to be totally honest' no-example example. You friend's dad will most likely be required to give up his home and assets if he survives the treatment. Many US seniors are now divorcing in order to protect their homes and assets from medical expenses.
wat10000 2mo ago
Being poor enough to qualify for Medicaid is another way to get decent care, but it's mostly true if we take "having a good job" to include being part of a family with someone who has one. The thing is, most Americans do have good jobs (or are in families with one), and do have decent health care. Should people with shit jobs have shit health care? No, and it's very unfortunate that this is how things work. But that doesn't mean we all face bankruptcy for major medical issues. The number of people who do face that should be zero and it isn't, but it's also not the norm.
- _DeadFred_ 2mo ago
  Actually medical debt is the norm for why people face bankruptcy in the USA. 65% of US bankruptcies are due to medical debt. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/medical-bankruptcies-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/medical-b...
  - wat10000 2mo ago
    "Most bankruptcies are medical debt" and "most people do not go bankrupt from medical issues" are completely compatible statements.
- troupo 2mo ago
  > Should people with shit jobs have shit health care? No, and it's very unfortunate that this is how things work. Coming back to my original comment.
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]

by spockz 2mo ago

anon291 2mo ago

Not really. I was laid off and my daughter literally cut her finger off requiring expensive surgery and orthopedic stuff and my state covered all of it (over 100k in nominal cost) and our overall tax burden is less than most European countries. To be totally honest a lot of people in America don't apply for public benefits for whatever reason. Plenty of my colleagues decided to pay for cobra instead of using free Medicaid which has a zero copay in my state. In another situation, my brother's high school friends dad was preparing to die from prostate cancer because he could afford treatment. My mom made him sign up for public benefits and they covered everything

_DeadFred_ 2mo ago
The big beautiful bill just cut off 4 million people's insurance assistance including mine. But nice, blame the uninsured people for not having insurance because of... checks notes.. the unrelated programs they don't qualify for that almost all states have for coverage for children. Not a very honest 'to be totally honest' no-example example. You friend's dad will most likely be required to give up his home and assets if he survives the treatment. Many US seniors are now divorcing in order to protect their homes and assets from medical expenses.

wat10000 2mo ago

Being poor enough to qualify for Medicaid is another way to get decent care, but it's mostly true if we take "having a good job" to include being part of a family with someone who has one. The thing is, most Americans do have good jobs (or are in families with one), and do have decent health care. Should people with shit jobs have shit health care? No, and it's very unfortunate that this is how things work. But that doesn't mean we all face bankruptcy for major medical issues. The number of people who do face that should be zero and it isn't, but it's also not the norm.

_DeadFred_ 2mo ago
Actually medical debt is the norm for why people face bankruptcy in the USA. 65% of US bankruptcies are due to medical debt. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/medical-bankruptcies-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/medical-b...
- wat10000 2mo ago
  "Most bankruptcies are medical debt" and "most people do not go bankrupt from medical issues" are completely compatible statements.
troupo 2mo ago
> Should people with shit jobs have shit health care? No, and it's very unfortunate that this is how things work. Coming back to my original comment.

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]