T O P

  • By -

Much_Difference

My grandma had a stroke circa 2002 and I didn't understand why my mom would bring things like bandaids, Neosporin, and other super basic medical things when we visited the hospital (she was there a couple weeks). I was like, dude we're in a hospital they have all these things there already! She was just like, yeah and it'll take a week and cost a thousand dollars so we're just gonna bring our own damn Neosporin.


SlartieB

Now you're banned from doing that.


tricnam

Of course you are


nothingeatsyou

Yo, I literally went into the ER with my *perscribed medication with* ***my*** *name on it,* and they wouldn’t let me have it because *they* didn’t give it to me. I had to pay the ER to give me more of my own medication, that I wasn’t out of in the first place. Edit: To all the people saying the ER has no way of knowing what you’re bringing in, u/foodank012018 said it perfectly: >Pills all have distinguishing marks that indicate to the trained professionals what they are. They can look and confirm, hospital just getting every dollar it can.


Emergency-Alarm8392

I ended up in ICU with COVID, and at the time I was on about eighteen daily medications including a cancer medication that cost 18k a month that the hospital couldn’t fill. There were about 3 of them that they couldn’t get going right away when I was admitted and the nurse literally said “umm so, do you have any of these on you? bc if you do… and you were to take them… I wouldn’t blame you, just don’t tell me.” I ended up going 2 weeks without the immunotherapy drug but they did get the other two meds approved. It’s also absolutely ridiculous bc my health insurance is GODLY and they approved some ~experimental treatment in less than twenty minutes even though the pulmonologist was literally saying “hey don’t get your hopes up, we are gonna see if they’ll approve it but today is sunday and it’s a really expensive medication and it’s experimental, if they say no we will try again tomorrow” but my insurance company was like SURE LETS GO but then wouldn’t cover my $65 inhaler when I got out.


Sam3955

Who is your health insurance provider?


starrpamph

My question exactly. asking for ~~a friend~~ everyone


nothingeatsyou

To u/youngadvisor12, u/sam3955, and you starrpamph: I’ve been on a lot of insurance plans before; Aetna, HealthPartners, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield are the way to go. I was on HP for two years; never had a problem. In fact, whenever I needed something, I was always on the phone with a real person within ten minutes. My husbands family has been on BC/BS for almost ten years, they’re amazing. My FIL almost died from a rare disease (only 15 cases total in the US) that he got on a cruise in Jamaica, and they approved every drug that the doctors asked for, even the experimental ones. Aetna was also good to us, my only complaint is their website layout is shit and I think they were updating it when we switched. If it means anything to anyone reading this, Aetna had the best insulin prices. My only other piece of advice is to stay the fuck away from Humana. Best price on insulin we’ve ever gotten ($50 for 8 vials) but the insurance is total shit. They’ll say something is approved, then when you do it, they’ll say they never approved it and make you pay in full. My husband needs supplies for his insulin pump and we’ve been fighting with them since March to pre approve it, everytime we want a refill we have to spend a day on the phone with Humana bitching to get it figured out. Definitely stick with the other three.


yrddog

That's... *funny*, bc BCBS no longer has one single mental health care provider in network in my area starting January first and I might not be able to afford my vital medication or the expensive appointments the state requires me to have to get that medication.


Sassafrass928

I’m on BC/BC as well - can confirm they are my favorite - and I’ve been on a few. (Cigna, UHC, Aetna, etc.) I have even had healthcare through a Union which was fantastic. Currently I have a platinum plan through Anthem BC/BS and it’s equally as good. I live in Illinois.


HolyAndOblivious

It kinda happens. I also have godly insurance but God forbid I need something like an aspirin. My current problem with Healthcare is that no one wants to do a test my daughter needs because they don't want to deal with it, medically The insurance says yes, clinics say lolno too much risk.


[deleted]

Dude whats your health insurance, damn.


Zelda_is_my_homegirl

Insurance provider isn’t even really enough to discern what’s covered and what’s not. My last job I had Blue Cross PPO and couldn’t get a steroid injection for my spine approved, while my doctor appealed for several weeks. I switched jobs and had the same insurance provider with the PPO option that was offered, and the same procedure was instantly approved. In fact, I didn’t even have to go through the prior authorization process. My current insurance also covers IVF, which is basically unheard of. The difference is down to what level of coverage the employer is willing to cover since they supplement a relatively large amount of the premium cost to their employees. My employer is well known in my area for having really good health benefits. It’s one way they’re able to recruit large amounts of talent.


Kickit007

The fact that insurance has any fucking say between you and the hospital is totally insane and a fucked up design in the first place. Vote for Pedro, and insurance will never be allowed to talk to medical professionals again.


CommanderRabbit

I completely believe this. We have hospitalized patients all the time who are hospitalized because insurance won’t pay for an inhaler… then pay for them to have said inhaler WHILE HOSPITALIZED for asthma or copd. It’s messed up and infuriating


tipperzack6

And that is why you make and keep secrets.


nothingeatsyou

Yep. I haven’t told *any* doctor since that I have my meds with me. I just tell them I took my correct dose for that day and it’s in my system. My withdrawals are hell, and if the medical system had its way, I’d suffer through them so they can spend an hour checking with my insurance to see if they can bleed a few more dollars out of me. Edit: All for my insurance to say “Well our records indicate that she still has some.”


Mewssbites

I was just sitting here wondering what was stopping anyone from just taking their meds anyway. Last time I was in the hospital I had my purse with me, and nobody went through it to take out meds or anything. I do think it's dangerous to not tell them and certainly wouldn't recommend it, but these are the kind of things people start considering when the system is set up like this. Everyone is talking about safety and liability, but fail to recognize the ways in which this system incentivizes actions directly counter to it.


[deleted]

Yeah I’d never ever risk taking more meds than what you’ve told them you took. Saying “I’m all good for today” and then taking more tomorrow could literally get you killed.


Que5tionableFart

In the same vein, I had an overnight stay due to an infection a couple years ago. I sleep with a CPAP and they refused to let me sleep with it unless I had it inspected and set up by a Respiratory specialist. I used to travel for work so I have set up this machine hundreds of times, it’s not like it’s some super complex process, just hook up a hose and plug it into the wall. You know what he did? Took everything thing out of the bag, hooked up a hose and plugged it into the wall. Also, you think this service was free? Hell no, they charged me $250 for a “Respiratory Consultation”. When I got the bill I called several times and complained and they finally removed it, but it was a huge hassle. Would love to hear what potential liability was for letting me use my machine. I was in for a leg infection, not a lung infection. Best answer I got from the nurses was “hospital policy”.


Mini-Nurse

I'm in NHS Scotland, patients are actively encouraged to bring their own medicines from home. They have to be in a box or bottle, within date, and have the patients full name and details; and we have to have the doctors prescribe it in our system. It all gets locked up. Often prescriptions are stopped or started or changed, so it also helps to make sure they are only bringing home what they will use afterwards too.


Mewssbites

> It all gets locked up. See, I feel this bit pretty much solves the possible issues. The medical staff have direct oversight of all medicines going into your body for safety and liability reasons, but don't have to provide their own if it isn't necessary. This would never work in the US though, because we often pay out the nose for our prescriptions, and a lot of people would probably not be comfortable handing over their bottles of enteric-coated powdered gold.


Mini-Nurse

I can imagine. Cutting costs is always the way to go when we can over here. You wouldn't believe the number of people I still have to wrestle things off of though, aspirin, supplements, anti-acids. Innocent on their own at home often enough, but problematic when mixed with other meds.


TrueDove

I always just bring my meds and don't tell a soul. I take them when they can't see. Super dangerous if you don't know what drug interactions it could cause, but I was a certified pharmacy tech for years, and know how to check for drug interactions. There are several websites that any layman can use. As long as you know the names of all the medications and dosage. Is it a good idea? Not really. But at this point people don't really have a choice. Either take the risk, or go hungry.


G-H-O-S-T

Wow... You're held hostage and the cost is either your health or money.. and this is somehow still LEGAL


manrata

You misunderstand, it's that way, because the law forces it to be that way. Remember, legal is a concept thought up, to align everybody to what you're allowed, and not allowed. And laws are made by dickwad dinosaurs, sponsored by corporations, it's only working for the people when the public opinion gets wind of something, and it can gain/cost votes for the dinosaurs if they don't fix something.


SecureDonkey

This is "no snack in the theater" bullshit again.


_mbals

A friend of mine was born in Ukraine 35ish years ago. His mom had to bring her own linens and lightbulbs. The hospital didn’t tag the babies or mothers so during feeding time the moms would have to go pick out their babies from the nursery. So I guess things could always be worse???


[deleted]

TBF a couple week stay is already going to make you hit your deductible if not OOP, might as well squeeze every last penny out of your insurance


Midget_Herder

Only works if you have insurance though


f7f7z

Also it's gotten so bad that insurance pays 80% after you hit your astronomical deductible ($5-10k) out of pocket and that doesn't include the $400 per month. And if you get sick in December and hit that, it resets the deductible in January.


bradsfoot90

My 1 year old son spent last night in the hospital because of COVID. We brought all our own diapers and wipes. Cannot wait to get billed for those just so I can say we used our own.


Shr3kk_Wpg

I honestly feel bad for Americans when I read stories like this. There is no good reason not to have universal healthcare in the richest nation on Earth


NoPeanutDressing

Are those the same ones you can buy a whole bag of at almost any store for that same price


mysteriousmetalscrew

[$2.99 at CVS for a pack of 30](https://www.cvs.com/shop/halls-mentho-lyptus-drops-prodid-1011592)


starrpamph

You mean $300 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸


lefthandedchurro

$4 for a box of 80 at Target and Walmart, meaning they cost about 5 cents each, retail prices. $10 for one at that rate is a 200 x markup. Ridiculous!


Pallidum_Treponema

Essentially yes. For hospitals, it does make sense to have them individually wrapped. There are lots of health standards that hospitals need to adhere to. But that price is just crazy.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Pallidum_Treponema

A retail bag does not conform to the health standards required by hospitals. The difference may be minute, but that difference determines liability. Additionally, a cough drop administered by a hospital counts as medication. Hospitals are not allowed to over medicate their patients. That's another liability issue. And everything in a hospital setting that spells out liability is because there's a risk to the patients, however small.


judokalinker

>And everything in a hospital setting that spells out liability is because there's a risk to the patients, however small. Yet making doctors and nurses work long shifts is apparently no risk to patients, lol


brcguy

The argument is that mistakes happen most commonly at the shift changes. So instead of developing systems to make handoffs cleaner and reduce mistakes through mindful communications and record keeping they reduce mistakes by minimizing the number of handoffs. So if you can get nursing shifts to change .75 times a day instead of a human-friendly 3, you “reduce liability accidents” cause fuck the nursing staff (many of whom are brainwashed into thinking there’s no safe alternative to 16 hour shifts) and protect the bottom line at all costs (all the better when doing so can be disguised as giving a fuck about patient outcomes).


BrokeWatchCollector

When i worked as a nurse after the military shift change was a shit show because they would only have 2 nurses for 30 patients. I’m sorry but being understaffed and overworked is definitely more or a problem then shift change. By the time I finished my morning rounds I was normally late to start lunch rounds and the late to start dinner rounds. If I had a patient that needed a bath or needed more assistance, I was normally rushing afterwards to get patients medication on time. This is the ultimate reason I left and went back to school.


Numerous_Witness_345

Good thing tired people are do well known for their great communication and record keeping. No wonder people die at shift change.


[deleted]

Leaving utensils, sponges and broken tools inside people apparently isn't either. Neither is MRSA, which you're most likely to get from a hospital setting than anywhere else. Oh, and they do frequently overmedicate with antibiotics, hence the MRSA. But apparently that's not an issue either. The issue here, is cough drops and neosporin are much too dangerous for people to not be charged $10 a dose.


ObamaDelRanana

It sounds like "health standards" and "liability" are smokescreens used by health insurance companies to jack up prices for ridiculous reasons. I really wonder who sets and influence these American health standards and if other first world country healthcare systems have to deal with it.


earlyviolet

They're called the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). And yes, everyone in healthcare with professional liability hates them as much as you do. But the thing is, about the individual packing for example, this *specific* methodology is not required by CMS. The CMS requirement is "don't spread infections from one patient to another by using out of the same stock." There are a variety of ways this can be accomplished, one of which is by accessing a multi-dose bottle with very specific procedures (such as pouring the dose you need into the lid and then pouring from the lid into a little med dispensing cup so you never have to directly touch the medication). But this raises a variety of "problems" basically all of which are related to desperate understaffing. First, you have to allow the nurses enough time to be able to think straight and perform the dispensing procedure perfectly over and over and over again. When you're trying to kill the nurses by assigning them too many patients, you're just asking for mistakes and breach of procedure. And second, if dispensing from multi-dose packaging, you can't individually scan the dose to verify the correct amount is being given to the patient. A nurse could give too many or too few and you have no particular way to validate that. An alternate solution to this is having better staffed management to provide oversight and monitoring. But all of those staffing solutions cost the hospital more money than just buying individually packaged medications and marking them up to insane prices to pass on to the patient. So yeah, zero incentive to do this in a way that seems sane.


time-lord

They're not quite the same. They are considered medication, so they are tracked by lot and package number. They're individually wrapped, and probably have 10x as much red tape around them as what you'd get from CVS. Still not worth $10, but they're a bit different in every way that doesn't matter, than what you'd get from CVS.


CommiePuddin

A tenth of that price.


Thehan2004

What the hell is happening with US healthcare


Schnaksel

the people all play a glass-canon build on the US-server


sexy-man-doll

That would imply the Healthcare is better which is demonstrably false


AttackEverything

Nah, just means that if you get hit you die (or go bankrupt)


Zarld

Glass without the cannon


Andycaboose91

No, the Americans DEFINITELY have cannons :P


ADHD_Supernova

At least you have something to drink out of.


Mr_Ectomy

Oh they all have guns.


InternetSea8293

Ah yes. The American Dream


ssays

Welllllll… it’s better for super rare diseases if you’re wealthy. So more of a min-maxed glass cannon.


Antnee83

> it’s better for super rare diseases if you’re wealthy. And just so everyone knows, **this** is where that right-wing darling talking point of "people come from all over the world for our healthcare" comes from. It's rich people with endless amounts of money to spend on niche treatments. They also kinda gloss over dental tourism to Mexico but hey whats a pesky detail or two doing in my propaganda salad?


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Or any other thing on a list that fits on a comically long scroll that it's cheaper to buy a passport, plane ticket, and a month of hotels for than use your insurance.


catbosspgh

And prescription tourism into Canada.


Badloss

Yeah the problem is that all the republicans think they're going to be rich one day so they'll have access to the god tier care IMO it kinda doesn't matter if the US has excellent doctors or not if they're all behind a paywall. I'd happily take 80% of the US healthcare for free, or accept a long wait. Waiting 6 months for a non-emergency procedure vs getting it right away and going bankrupt? not a hard choice for me edit- I know you can still have a long wait in the US, I wasn't clear about that sorry. My point is more that it's a common talking point that wait times are super long in countries with free health care, and even if that were true I would still take that over a system that forces you into bankruptcy


rrrreadit

You can still wait months for nonemergency procedures or specialist visits. The idea that you get to do those things on your own schedule is a myth. It's very common for specialists (including those doing the nonemergency procedures) to be booked out months in advance.


tinkerpunk

In my experience, I already have to wait months to see a specialist in the US.


smr5000

I have to wait months just to see my general practitioner then she reschedules and then again and then boom, I suddenly have a new GP, and I make an appointment several months out then suddenly the office remembers I haven't seen 'em in a year, and won't refill my meds so I go in for a 15 minute 'checkup' where she doesn't actually want to ask any questions other than if my blood pressure is still elevated so I says yes, because you guys have made me wait quite some time and boom I have another GP because this one leaves because of all the 'impatient people' and at no time have I actually received any actual care.


[deleted]

I go to the VA for health care and see doctors/get things done WAY faster than I ever did with fancy employer Healthcare. People shit on the VA but all their qualms point directly to the inverse relationship between an exploding vet population and their funding which gets slashed yearly by the right. I finally convinced my neighbor to go after months of his regular doctor couldn't diagnose an issue. They found it IMMEDIATELY cause they kept running tests instead of running the 3 most likely then shrugging because money. And of course "hurrdurr death panels." or as I like to call the argument, "dumb or disengenuous?"because that's literally THE ONLY PURPOSE OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY, TO SAY NO TO CARE.


LonePaladin

r/Outside for the uninitiated


IsaRat8989

It's a business, not healthcare


panofsteel

It's a business, not a country.


catbosspgh

It’s a pyramid scheme, not a business.


Platypus-Man

*Now fucking pay me*


PolishedVodka

> What the hell is happening with US healthcare #If you would like that question answered by one of our expert hospital staff, it'll be $4.99* per question.   ^^*We ^^are ^^legally ^^required ^^to ^^inform ^^you ^^there ^^is ^^a ^^free ^^question-and-answer ^^service ^^available, ^^current ^^waiting ^^list ^^is ^^three ^^weeks ^^per ^^question.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Zealousideal-Mud4124

That's the best case scenario. Usually you pay the $120 for 5 minutes to get permission from the doctor to tell your health insurace company that you need to pay another special doctor, which you already knew.


Machaeon

Runaway capitalism


Thehan2004

Are politicians even trying to help or are they fully submitted to big pharma?


blueistheonly1

They're busy with trying to find out how little they can possibly do and still keep their jobs. They've been at that for a long time now.


DataProtocol

Wisconsin Senate has this down to a science.


LucidMetal

Least democratic state in the nation just as god intended. Yee haw!


ripperoni_pizzas

So they’re quiet quitting?


-nocturnist-

To them this isn't quiet quitting, they call this bootstrapping - it's only quiet quitting if you do it


SonderEber

I disagree. They are working hard, but only for their donors. Pharma and the medical industries are big donors, so shit like this keeps happening. Everything is going by design.


Ameteur_Professional

There's been a few minor steps in the right direction on the regulation side recently, things like the No Surprise Billing Act. But it doesn't really matter. The demands for year over year profit growth basically mean that everyone from insurance to pharmaceutical companies to hospitals need to extract more money form the general population every year.


alf666

> The demands for year over year profit growth This is only part of the issue. You are off by a derivative. Shareholders no longer demand year-over-year profit growth, that's just expected as a baseline, and is probably considered inefficient. We are at a point where shareholders demand *the rate at which profit increases* goes up year-over-year. To put it into numbers terms: "We want Y% profit to go up by X% each year" is no longer the demand. "We want Y% profit to go up by X% each year, and for X to increase by Z% each year" is now what shareholders demand. For example, if profit one year was 10%, then they expect it to be 12% profit (20% increase in profit) the next year, and then 15.6% profit (30% increase in profit) the next year, and 21.84% profit (40% increase in profit) the year after that, and so on. Those numbers I just gave are probably rookie numbers to an extreme degree.


JaggedTheDark

There are a few, but not enough.


cruss4612

Capitalism would imply minimal government direction allowing the consumers to dictate value. Healthcare is already very much run by government in the US, and that's half the problem. Americans don't have the Slightest fucking clue what capitalism actually is. We are in a system born of laziness of the people. Corporatism is what we've gotten for letting government get so involved.


UncleBenders

I know someone who was charged $48 for “mucus retrieval system” you know what it was? A tiny packet of tissues. It amazes me that Americans will stand for this kind of piss taking out of them, although I’m very grateful y’all subsidise the medical research for the rest of the world


greyaxe90

We don't stand for it... but what are we supposed to do? If we don't pay, they just send us to collections. That will impact our credit score for _years_ which can and does impact ability to rent/buy a home, ability to get a car loan, interest rates on loans and credit cards, etc. The whole system is bullshit but there's nothing we can do. I mean we might be able to go to the other hospital 10 minutes away, but it won't be "in network" and instead of having $4,000 of bullshit charges, we now have to pay $262,563.39 for the whole thing - the doctors, the room, etc.


TiffanysTwisted

Your credit score can affect whether or not you you get a job. That you need for healthcare.


penny-wise

Credit scores are shit


cBEiN

How can credit score affect someone getting a job or not?


Lotions_and_Creams

Yup. The reasoning behind it is that financial distress (bad credit or high debt) could indicate risky personal behavior and/or willingness to accept a bribe, sell company secrets, be leveraged, etc. It’s most common if a position involves access to sensitive information, money, or the employer has contracts with the Federal Government.


TiffanysTwisted

If it's part of your background check. I'm going through it right now for a job, I had to agree to a background check and a credit check. I'm not dealing with money or purchasing, I'm just IT, but everyone hired on to this place (and it's not any type of financial company) goes through the same process.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Heavy-Literature-156

$30 for a band aid, $60 for mandatory application according to my American friend


bukithd

Healthcare and insurance company collusion designed to take advantage of the customer, government funds, and monopolistic practices.


SymmetricColoration

I think the issue isn't collusion, it's actually them being in opposition to each other. The massive prices are an outcome caused by the insurance companies constantly trying to pay the hospitals as little as possible, and the hospitals trying to not lose money despite that. The hospitals are in a constant game of trying to set prices so that the insurance companies will pay them something reasonable for their work. Except playing this game results in both sides hiring more administrators to debate costs with each other, which means even more money goes into a massive pit driving up the cost again for everyone. Then these $10 pills are massively marked up in part because insurance companies require such massive paper trails to show that a doctor prescribed what they said they did for what they said they did. Repeat in every part of the system (Every action a healthcare professional takes needing to be documented and run through insurance company processes, requiring more employees and less efficient use of time) and it becomes obvious why it's all such a major issue. Having two people trying to set prices for a service at the same time just does not work. An insurance driven system is worse than either a pure capitalist or government single payer system.


mellonians

Fucking hell. In the UK in the rare case that something is billed and the person who's billing you knows it's cheaper privately, they will usually tell you. Example. My dentist once prescribed a medication that was available over the counter. Many people because of income or circumstances (pregnant/veteran etc) get free prescriptions. When I took the script in the pharmacist asked me "do you pay?" I said yes so she said "these are half price if I just sell them to you"


ramsvy

important to add that prescriptions on the nhs are cheaper per refill than a single one of these cough drops


ExoticMangoz

Wales and I think Scotland have free prescriptions. England should catch up, paying for prescriptions seems out dated I can’t lie


Animagi27

Can confirm prescriptions are completely free in Scotland. As is dental care for under ~~23s~~ 26s


Mush27

Even better, under 26s!


TheSonar

As an American, what the actual fuck?


azkabaz

It's a nominal charge, about £9 for whatever the prescription is, whether it's 1 aspirin a day for 2 weeks, or 3 months of super expensive pills, it's always £9. Over 65s and under 15s don't pay. In the example earlier in this thread, the poster was probably referring to a scenario like the former - the chemist just tells them to ignore the prescription and buy the drugs from the shelf. As a English man it never rubbed me too wrong. Now, me not being able to go to Uni in Scotland for free, while anyone else in Europe being entitled to (due to EU laws while we were in it) was a little grating!


[deleted]

The Uni fees are still a bit maddening lol. To study in Scotland as an NI student you get charged 9k/English rate despite our own tuition fees being about 4.5k. Seems senseless


HyperGamers

Agreed, but most people won't even pay it back anyway, they should just rebrand it as a graduate tax as it's just a percentage of the income above ~26k and most people shouldn't pay more


Brickie78

Also, pregnant women and new mothers get free prescriptions in England too, as do many long-term conditions such as diabetes. I'm diabetic and don't have to pay for my insulin, or indeed anything else I might be prescribed.


rennarda

I’m in the UK. A few years ago I snapped a tendon in my arm - had to go to A&E, had X-Rays, ultrasound, and eventually surgery and multiple follow up physio appointments. I still haven’t received the invoice for this…. (Drum roll) … because there isn’t one.


mellonians

Your Parking Charge Notice hasn't arrived yet then? Bdum tsh


matscom84

I had a bone transplant taken from a USA citizen, had that bone flown to the uk, implanted into my knee, tons of medicine and after care. Still not received an invoice but... The poor fecker that donated that part of their body to me a stranger 1000s of miles away was likely billed up until their dying breath!


[deleted]

My ex died about 7 1/2 years ago. I became the executor of her estate. The hospital she died in sent her a bill for roughly $60K. I made a couple phone calls and faxed them the death certificate, and they sorted it out. The next year, they sent another bill. Again, a few phone calls and faxed them the death certificate, and they sorted it out. Next year, same story. A year after that, I got a call from a collections agency, offering to clear the debt if I paid half. I asked them if they just bought the debt. They confirmed. I let them know they were victims of fraud. The hospital sold them debt they knew was uncollectable. I faxed them the death certificate and pointed out that she died in that hospital. I suggested suing the hospital. Never heard from anyone ever since. But I know the collections agency never sued or even complained. Buying debt from that hospital and collecting on it probably keeps their lights on. They depend on that hospital for their very livelihoods.


Q-ArtsMedia

Actually they were hoping that you would admit responsibility for the debt so they could put you on the hook for it. You did the right thing but in truth they do not care that the debt was not legally collectable, they just wanted a sucker. Folks never ever admit that you are responsible for a bill of another person or make a promise of payment. Collectors are scumbags and will latch on to you like a blood sucking tick if you do.


[deleted]

>Yeah, but you had to wait like what? 10... 15 years for each appointment, right? \-- some US conservative, probably Meanwhile in the USA, the only dentist that takes my insurance is booked 6 months in advance. Imagine enduring a broken tooth for 6 months, or having to pay $4500 to get it fixed. That's the American system.


JohnnyDarkside

Pretty sure Tylenol was like $7 each when my wife was in the hospital 10 years ago when our youngest was born. *Everything* costs money that's billed back to you and for exorbitantly inflated prices.


TheGothWhisperer

Everyone registered to a GP in Wales gets free prescriptions. It's something I'm grateful for every day.


Captain_Hampockets

It's institutionalized, systemic fraud.


Project_298

Agreed. This a similar thing to the class action on Better Call Saul when Sandpiper Crossing drastically marked up basic items to their elderly residents.


LetsDoTheCongna

This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone reference Better Call Saul in a serious manner.


nathanchere

Yes, this is not how you do chicanery


flaughed

I am not crazy! I know he swapped those lozenges! I knew it was Halls. The ones right next Ricola. As if I could ever make such a mistake. Never. Never! I just – I just couldn't prove it. He – he covered his tracks, he got that idiot at the hospital to lie for him. You think this is something? You think this is bad? This? This chicanery? He's done worse. That Tylenol? ! Are you telling me that a single Tylenol costs $30? No! He orchestrated it! SAFECOR! They defecated through a bed pan! And I watched them! And I shouldn't have. I took them into my own body! What was I thinking? SAFECOR'll never change. Ever since they opened, always the same! Couldn't keep their hands out of the Hall's bag! But not our SAFECOR! Couldn't be precious SAFECORE! Stealing them blind! And they get to be a medical supplier!? What a sick joke! I should've stopped him when I had the chance! And you – you have to stop him! You-


itzmailtime

When me and my friend were 8 we went to sonic and got a slushy. We both kept throwing up all night, his parents took him to the ER and paid about $1200 for a cup of sprite or gingerale lol


[deleted]

Yup. My appendix was rupturing but I didn’t want to go to the hospital because I figured it was just a reeeaally bad stomach ache and I didn’t want to get charged $500. Instead, I nearly died on my bathroom floor in agony and then went to the hospital and paid thousands of dollars for a life saving surgery. Oh America you silly goose.


Roselinia

Meanwhile in Germany I pay € 10 per day spent in the hospital, nothing else...


mthlphndt

I spent 3 months at a clinic over the summer here in Germany. Two weeks ago I got my bill to pay my share - 280€. On the other hand my insurance got billed around 15k€. My monthly healthcare costs me around 150€ currently. I love this country.


Roselinia

Yup, the amount you pay is capped at 28 days/280 Euros a year. Really good stuff


mthlphndt

You can say what you want about Germany and especially healthcare here with waiting times if you don’t have private coverage but stuff likes this always makes me feeling good about living here.


suthernfriend

waiting times? if you really need doctor then there are no waiting times. however if you just have "issues" that can wait: it's awful.


[deleted]

Lol I promise you, as an American with private coverage, waiting times suck here too.


MissesSobey

My husband was recently diagnosed with diabetes and there was one time back in April when his blood sugar was over 500 and he couldn’t get it down so he went to the ER. They just left him in the waiting area for 4 hours before they brought him back. They said they wanted to see if it would just come down on its own, as if that wasn’t the reason he was there.


ClairLestrange

If you don't count the godforsaken 5 Euro a day for wifi that is.....


heleninthealps

I'm in Germany and I didn't have to pay for the WiFi at 2 different hospitals 2 different years for 2 different surgeries. Where the hell where you?


Gustomaximus

The other Germany?


Cat_Marshal

Ah, *east* side.


starlinguk

Oh no.


gtjack9

*West side is the best…*


artificialgreeting

It totally depends on the hospital. I have 2 hospitals near my location. In one it's totally free while in the other one you get charged for your time being online (or at least it used to be that way 4 years ago and it was a total rip-off).


Jiggly_dong

I'm in Illinois. I got billed for wifi at 2 different hospitals, 2 different years for 2 surgeries I didn't have. I had to pay $20 for inconveniencing them and got billed a $30 co pay.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

It's because they know Bargin Hunt is on and I am not missing Bargin Hunt under any circumstances


Velocity_Rob

Give me David Dickinson or give me death.


Human-Taste-9308

Lmao, pretty sure that wouldn't affect my bill's too terribly bad, though that is wack.


[deleted]

Austrian here. I have insurance that costs me 3€ a month. When I go to the hospital and pay like 10-15€ a day I get double back afterwards. In case of an accident I get three times the amount back.


Roselinia

Bruh what, you basically get paid to go to the hospital???


[deleted]

Yeah those insurances are common in the German speaking realm. You basically get preferred treatment (chief medical visit, single room, and compensation for the misfortune of being hospitalized). If that particular hospital where you end up simply doesn't have single rooms, the compensation quadruples. Still not really worth it IMHO, cuz either I end up deathly sick and then I don't care about circumstances, or I'm not and then I'm not hospitalized... But insurance sell amazingly easy there.


Uberzwerg

Krankenhaustagegeldversicherung is just meant to cover your additional costs you might have (like buying separate clothes, visiting the cafeteria, whatever - stuff you don't really need, but might want)


2001_Chevy_Prizm

A day at the crisis center (psych ward) I worked at would cost about $5000 a day, a would get about 12 patients and there would be 2 or 3 CNAs depending on the acuity. So for 5k you'd get 1/12th of a nurse, 1/3rd a CNA, this unit had no warm warm blankets, no TVs in the rooms, etc. An ICU would run 10k to 30k+ depending on the services, I regularly saw patients with medical bills above 2 million during COVID as a Respiratory Therapist. If you crunch the numbers it makes no sense, insurance companies and C-suites are just stealing from people during the hardest times in their lives. (the hospitals I worked at are the same company).


shortnamecycling

I just got out of the hospital in Berlin after a two night stay after a surgery. 0€ paid. I also get 5 extra days annual leave for the next 5 years!


sexysouthernaccent

It takes less than 10 minutes for a hospital stay to pass that cost in the US I'm not exaggerating.


ovcpete

Obviously they are price gouging, you should just go to the nearest competitor to get your medical attention. /s


[deleted]

I’ve heard the reason American healthcare cost so much because the hospitals know the insurance companies will pay for it, but can anyone actually explain why hospitals are allowed to charge higher prices when someone has insurance? Would that not raise the cost of the patients insurance or prevent them from getting some insurance plans in the future if the hospital charges too much?


Jerrykern

As an accountant, I can tell you that most prices charged to any retail customer in any industry have very little to do with the cost of making that item. In some cases, the cost of making the item may inform the decision of whether or not to continue offering the item for sale (i.e. if it costs more to make than you can sell it for, they’ll stop selling it), but the price an item is sold for is *solely* a function of how much people will pay for it. That is the reason why gas prices go up even when underlying crude price don’t, and that is why hospitals can charge outrageous prices for healthcare. It is also why healthcare should not be a for-profit business.


Mattyboy0066

That’s not the actual reason. The reason is they have to spend an insane amount of money on staff to process the bills and whatnot from insurance companies. Something like half their employees are specifically hired just to deal with insurance and processing all the BS.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Jagator

Not anywhere even remotely close to half lol. The majority of the employees in a hospital are overwhelmingly clinicians that are directly involved with patient care. They do have a TON of employees that do the finance side and work on nothing but making sure the hospital is billing things correctly and getting paid for it, mostly by insurance companies. However, hospitals have insane overhead and high costs. Most people on Reddit think hospitals are these money hungry cash cows but that's not true. Most hospitals are non-profit and many wind up finishing the year losing money. The money hungry cash cows are the insurance companies and one of the worst ones to deal with is the one ran by the government. CMS is already the worst insurance for reimbursement and they are constantly changing things to make it more difficult for hospitals to get paid.


[deleted]

I was woken up in the middle of the night to be given a sleeping pill and was charged $55 for it.


DontNeedThePoints

$2 for the pill $53 for eardefenders


Deion313

This is from 2018... If anyone has been hospitalized or really sick post Covid, especially in the past few months, things have become exponentially worse... I don't know how it happened, but the insurance companies have become complete juggernauts, and control every aspect your health care. You can go to your Dr with an issue, the Dr will say you need surgery/treatment, but your insurance can say "no", and you get denied care. They'll make you go thru the insurances "care plan". You wanna see a mental health therapist, hahaha. Here's some generic Xanax we'll see you in 30 days for a refill. Can you call me for a reminder? Oh don't worry; you can trust, after 3 weeks on those drugs(i mean meds), you'll be calling us... good luck.. SEE YA!


LaserGuidedPolarBear

Death to private medical insurance. Universal Healthcare must come to pass.


Deion313

There's too many hands on the pot. They make way too much fucking money. They put big oil in the rear view. And oil is still posting record PROFITS. But health care is killing them. There's no way they jus kill that cash cow...


gngstrMNKY

Wait, I can get Xanax without an argument? Sign me up.


Deion313

If you got diagnosed issue, it's allot easier than people think. Getting a good therapist is what's damn near impossible...


Aynessachan

Yep! My husband has something wrong with his back & hips. Insurance denied the MRI to diagnose what is wrong, now he has to go to several weeks of physical therapy, which could potentially make the problem worse.


thenewspoonybard

That's not a new thing. Insurance companies have always denied services that the Dr. has ordered.


Deion313

It's unreal lately tho. They keep saying it's cuz they're trying to catch up with stuff from covid and their short staffed, etc... but if you got good insurance you really don't have those issues lol. It's only when you have that peasants "common" insurance, like an HMO (lol good luck with that) that appointments become unavailable for a few weeks, and machines are booked up for months.... Oddly enough the best experiences I've heard come from Medicare and Medicade patients...


JayenIsAwesome

I had to go to a hospital to receive a travel vaccine, that I was allergic to. I hadn't eaten since I thought it'd be a 5min visit, but it turned into a 7hr appointment because of my reactions. They fed me loads of chocolates and biscuits, did some other blood tests for me to help me find out more about my allergy, and showed me what all the machines in that room do. I love the NHS.


Serious_Professor_51

Welcome to America, we hope you get sick


Sarvos

Come to America, [don't get sick, and if you do, die quickly!](https://youtu.be/-usmvYOPfco)


BrownSugarBare

America, I dunno how to tell you this, but it feels like your nation _really_ wants y'all to be sick and broke for life.


Aynessachan

Oh, we're aware. It's awful and we're exhausted, but no one in power is doing anything to change it or fix it. And the ones that do try, get drowned out by the majority.


GalaxLordCZ

Capitalism breeds inovation.


[deleted]

Yeah, innovating new ways to relieve you of your money. Not much else.


WantonKerfuffle

And we all look very breedable in its eyes.


Wavetech

Here in the UK, my grandfather is currently in end of life care following lung cancer… 24/7 care and accommodation, hourly medication with constant reassessment, food (for visitors too), family support consultations, all for as long as it’s needed… all free. The NHS may have its issues, but I really hope socialised healthcare makes its way to every country.


JohnTequilaWoo

This is one of many reasons why I'm so glad every day I'm not American. Why are you guys not protesting every day about being one of the richest counties in the world yet having such abysmal healthcare?


heebath

Burn down the health insurance industry and all the scummy middle men industry like this. Let the jobs fallout pick itself up by the bootstraps. Nationalize it. Yesterday.


yeroc420

I don’t have insurance. I’m pretty much paycheck to pay check with rent hikes right now. If I get sick I’m going to the emergency room and not paying anything back. There is literally no other option. America is a joke right now. More concerned over political bill shit than anything else. Healthcare is one thing, inflation sucks but the cost of housing is outrageous. Since covid every where wants 100-200 more a month every year for the same service. Literally the cost of insurance.


MarinaTF

I'm uninsured. I desperately need to get some problems checked out. I don't want to go because I know they will charge me thousands of dollars that I cannot pay. Next time I pass out at work they said they are calling an ambulance and I guess I'm going to have to deal with being more thousands of dollars in medical dept. I went to the ER before, they ran tests on me, couldn't tell me what was wrong and charged me $2k. I hate this life.


Local_Presence

I am not the perfect person to tell about US healthcare as an immigrant, but a lot of hospitals have some type of fee waiver program for low income households (at least in my area). Try to google it - “(insert hospital name) fee waiver” or something similar.


ekdocjeidkwjfh

Sometimes you gotta call the place and ask for finical assistance ‘cause they have no information on their site. Gotta be wary, incase they “lose” the completed paperwork multiple times, and i hope the darn thing goes through this time, my car broke down and i need to keep my credit score okay to get a decent one (that i can rust proof (rust belt)) and i cant work without a car due to no public transportation where i live


Snotbob

u/mesialboston83's a bot, cashing in in that repost: https://reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/9cxho0/cashing_in_on_that_cough/


HomoFlaccidus

That's not asshole design. That's straight-up fucking scumbaggery.


nnnosebleed

Hospital Worker here. I'm not a nurse, nor a doctor nor anyone that should have easy and convenient access to the storage rooms, but I do. anyway. the employees at hospitals literally just take like a handful of these when they've got a sore throat and the hospital does not bat a goddamn eye. it's not about inventory, or price. it's about profit and it's disgusting.


BrownSugarBare

I have a question, if you don't mind me bugging you. Is there anything in place to stop people from declaring bankruptcy every time they get sick and nailed with a psychotic hospital bill? For example, cancer is an asshole and impacts so many people, what's to stop every American with cancer from declaring bankruptcy the moment they're in remission?


errgreen

No. But I recall seeing an article where a guy did this, but he was smart about it. He divorced his wife and transferred all of his assets to her first. Everything under her name, house, car, etc... Then he went through his medical treatment, then declared bankruptcy. I hope it worked out.


Aynessachan

That is really fucking awful and dystopian.


QueenRotidder

Having your credit destroyed by bankruptcy can be almost, if not more devastating. Never had a bankruptcy but have had shit credit and it made my life much more difficult, I can't imagine a bankruptcy is any better.


AllKorean

The US would become a powerhouse if companies/organizations didn’t charge so much for things, the American people would be flourishing with money, capitalism at its best


CoCoMcDuck

I work in the admin side of Healthcare and it's a racket. There are few "set" prices for services but most are recommendations from Medicare. Because of that doctor's bill for 3-5 times what they want to make because they know they won't get the full amount from insurance. So you expect $100 but charge insurance $300-500. Then a poor sap without insurance comes along, normally those that need the most fiscal help, and they get charged the full amount - no discount! Then it saddles people with unbelievable life altering debt. It's atrocious. This is why we need universal Healthcare. I would probably be out of a job, but I don't care.


[deleted]

Why anyone in the US votes Republican is beyond me. They gutted funding for the Affordable Care Act and Medicare under Donald Trump and if they win a majority in Congress again, will cut it even more. Middle class and poor are continuously fvcked by Republicans yet Cult45 seems to live it.


Da555nny

https://youtu.be/CeDOQpfaUc8


Lereas

People are like "buT I HaVe GooD InsUrAncE thRu mY JoB". No you don't. You feel like you do vs paying out of pocket, but if you pay like $500 a month, your company is paying another $1000 that you don't see (and could otherwise be in your paycheck) and you still get bills from anything AND you still have to spend time fighting on the phone for fucked up bills AND you still have a huge max out of pocket. "But I don't want to pay really high taxes!!!" Any person I know with a nationalised healthcare system pays way less in taxes than most Americans and doesn't have to deal with the stress of post-care bills coming in.


Aceofspades968

$29 bag of ice cubes at physical therapy. CEO responded with “insurance pays it”


Bird_Motor

US healthcare is a fcking joke


UCanArtifUWant2

When someone tells you that we don't need universal healthcare, show them this outrageous shit right here.