Hey all, I’m British so I don’t really know the ins and outs of the US healthcare system. Apologies for asking what is probably a rather simple question.

So like most of you, I see many posts and gofundmes about people having astronomically high medical bills. Most recently, someone having a $27k bill even after his death.

However, I have an American friend who is quick to point out that apparently nobody actually pays those bills. They’re just some elaborate dance between insurance companies and hospitals. If you don’t have insurance, the cost is lower or removed entirely. Supposedly.

So I’m just asking… How accurate is that? Consider someone without insurance, a minor physical ailment, a neurodivergent mind and no interest in fighting off harassing people for the rest of their life.

How much would such a person expect to pay, out of their own pocket, for things like check ups, x rays, meds, counselling and so on?

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments View context
8 points

you often only buy from the market if you are unemployed or low income.

Don’t forget self employed or at a workplace with workplace insurance so bad it’s actually cheaper to go through private (so basically low income)

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

I know multiple small business owners who also have a regular corporate job JUST so they have insurance. The whole second job has nothing to do with salary, only health insurance.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Every family farm I know, the husband works the farm while the wife works a normal job for insurance and stable base income to help keep everything afloat

permalink
report
parent
reply

Ask Lemmy

!asklemmy@lemmy.world

Create post

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don’t post about US Politics.


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for ‘how do I?’, type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


Community stats

  • 11K

    Monthly active users

  • 4.3K

    Posts

  • 231K

    Comments