And This Is Why You Shouldn’t Get Sick In America
Many believe that the US healthcare system is the best in the world. Not so according to the World Health Organization’s ranking of the world’s health systems. The US doesn’t even rank in the top 25. It ranks 37th and is the most expensive in the world. I would argue that even if we had the best healthcare system in the world, what good is it, if no one can afford to access it.
Most companies are buying 60/40-policys for their employees these days, but even if you are lucky enough to have good insurance with 80/20-policy coverage, that 20 percent your responsible for can drive you right into bankruptcy as easily as the 60-40 policy given the cost of healthcare.
Insurance cost have been going up dramatically in the last two decades, long before the new Affordable Healthcare Act has taken affect, in some cases as much as 35% per year.
But have you noticed the latest trick the insurance companies have roll out?
Yes, Higher Deductible… most averaging $5,000 per year, per person, but I have seen some as high as $10,000 per year. For those of you that are wondering, this tactic is specifically designed too stop you from using your insurance. It reduces the insurance companies out of pocket liability by shift costs onto consumers, especially those dealing with chronic illness such as diabetes and arthritis. Consequently, because consumers can’t afford the deductible they will avoid necessary care to save money.
Although insurance companies are a problem, the real crook is the healthcare system it self. A corrupt and bloated system desperately in need of reform!
OKAY SO I KNEW THAT TECHNICALLY IN AMERICA THAT YOU PAY FOR HEALTHCARE BUT LIKE THE IDEA IS SO BIZARRE TO ME THAT I’D NEVER CONSIDERED THAT YOU’D GET… A BILL?????? FOR BEING…. ILL?????????? I LITERALLY DON’T
how can anaesthetic cost that much??
how is this legal??
WHAT? And I thought having to pay £7 ($11.55) for stronger prescription allergy meds instead of £4 ($6.60) for the less effective store-brand ones was ridiculous.
You have to pay for the ambulance!?
OK, I’m shocked by the prices, but all of the people from other countries who are just shocked that there ARE prices just make me so so sad.
This is so screwed up.
I do NOT get this. How does anyone live when you have literally no safety net and even the hospital is like ‘fuck you very much, here’s the bill’?! Why is that allowed to happen?
This is allowed to happen because the United States is run by a collection of millionaires who have no idea what it’s like to live as an ‘average American’ and lobbyists and corporations who depend on the money made from the healthcare system and who don’t give a shit about actual people.
The Affordable Care Act is doing a good job of helping many citizens who’ve never had access before, but it still isn’t enough. Many people fall through the cracks due to making just enough money not to qualify for free healthcare, but not enough to afford even the cheapest insurance. Plus many states refused to expand Medicaid, which is a government program that provides low and no-cost healthcare to the poorest Americans, so that in those states the gap is even wider.
Personally, Billy and I seem to have fallen into that gap, and I honestly am not sure how I’m going to pay for my birth control next month. It’s fucking fun being poor in America, I can tell you.
