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?
To be clear, I know there are serious problems with the NHS especially considering waiting times and mental health. I can imagine for a well off, lucky American the quality of care will be much higher than here in the UK.
We have waiting times too, the more elective it is the longer it is.
For my yearly checkup, the first time I went, their first availability was 3 months later. It’s the same time every year now because I book next years appointment at each visit.
I thought I needed a CPAP, I had to wait a week to get the home sleep study equipment and then two more weeks to meet with the doctor. I had a copay of $50 with that doctor but had to buy the CPAP for about $800
I scheduled a vasectomy and it took 3 months for the consult and another 6 for the procedure and it cost $750 out of pocket.
I pay $350/no for my insurance plan which has now has no copays and no coinsurance until I reach my yearly deductible of $3500 (which means I pay 100% of all medical costs before my insurance does anything) and my employer covers about $300/mo. So $7800/yr in total to basically just have protection in case a major accident happens.
Also, to be completely clear, I still hope that we end up with system that is much closer to the NHS. While the current system benefits me individually, I would much prefer a system that benefits EVERYONE, and I think it’s a disgrace that the US continues to have the system it does.
The only people it benefits are Insurance bigwigs and large employers that use the system to trap workers.
Your problems with NHS wait times are entirely due to your conservatives trying to run it into the ground so they can have the US style predatory care.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Fuck the Tories.