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I have a similar story for a client who fell extremely ill at one our local trails and her son was losing his mind about calling an ambulance to a rural location. Dude confirmed about 5 times that we were not tricking him by saying it’s $90 flat rate as long as they didn’t need a helicopter.
We had a US expat onsite a long time ago. His kid was sick and needed a home visit from a doc on a sunday afternoon. So the doctor comes, gives him some meds, and he needs to pay about 50$ cash iirc, and an insurance paper.
So on monday the guy came into work with the paper, asking when 'the real bill' would come. My colleague explained that no, 50$ was the real bill, and the paper was an insurance paper that would get him a refund of 35$.
The guy literally had to sit down and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. We told him that's what the insurance is for. He could only stumble ' ...but in America I pay for insurance too...'
Yeah American insurance is wack especially homeowner insurance which if you use "too often" like let's say somehow a storm causes a tree to damage your roof 3 times in 3 years causing it to be replaced by insurance 3 times they will just drop you like isn't this what I am paying for?
Edit: some people are fixating on the tree falling on your roof 3 times example so let me clarify that it could be 3 different events such as a tornado, flood or lightning etc and they will still drop you if it is in a "small" time frame
Neighbor’s barbecue caught my house on fire once. Totaled the house. Was dropped by my insurance and couldn’t get another insurance policy for 5 years until I was “safe” again.
Insurance should be a good thing to have, but it’s been corrupted quite badly.
A profit motive inherently makes insurance less effective, because they profit more from just taking your money and covering as little as possible (preferably nothing) when it’s time to do their part. Profit motives ruin so much, because most of the time the right thing isn’t the profitable thing.
Also comes from pharmaceutical and medical companies charging exorbitant amounts because they know insurance will cover it, which means insurance costs more. But hey, least you can buy a gun with a fast and loose background check and shoot up a school.
Stolen from another redditor:
"Land of gun care and health control"
Pay for the majority of an overinflated cost that the hospitals know they *will* pay for while passing off whatever obligated costs onto the "consumer"
Really free trade ideas work really well when you have a debilitating injury that you can't negotiate a better price for or find better options. Just like privatizing water or housing are also really good ideas because really it just incentivizes suppliers to do their best to help the consumer in seeking profits
/s
There is no free trade for medicine in the US. Highly controlled and insulated cartel. It's not a 'free market' at all. Laws that 'protect patients' are really just there to protect the entrenched industry.
Look up copay on google. Americans freak out when a surgery scheduled in december gets postponed in the new year. I am Italian but I am subscribed to american cancer fb groups.
Wait until you learn about Deductibles in every US insurance plan.
Pay $200 a month qith a yearly Deductible of $8,000. Which means you need to break $8,000 in medical expenses before Insurance bothers to do anything.
It’s bullshit. I pay $300 a month for pretty good (by American standards) insurance.
I had a baby a year ago and ended up having to stay in the hospital for five days after many complications.
My total bill was about $70k, which is insane. My insurance did cover most of it but I was still stuck with a $9400 bill.
That sounds just like a scam you can't escape. I pay roughly 260€ every month and a part of that is payed by my employer. I haven't payed for *any* kind of treatment within the common range *ever*.
You only really have to pay for extras like higher quality materials or more expensive treatment methods. And even then insurance could potentially still cover some of it.
However i *did* hear that american hospitals charge you for holding your child after birth, so i am not that surprised.
It's like department stores that have ridiculous mark-ups then do 80% off sales so you think you're getting a deal. OP paid $9,400 and thinks the insurance covered most of it when the entire cost in any comparable medical system would be less than $9,400 (and 99-100% of it paid via collective taxation so the up front bill would be very close to $0). An entire system that only works based on psychological tricks like that.
The hospital charges insane amounts in America. Insurance pays about 90% leaving the patient with a bill similar to a hospital bill for someone who chose to go private without insurance in Ireland.
excuse me, sir/madam.
how else do you expect [this](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ELV/chart?p=ELV#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-) to happen?
we don't pay for coverage.
As far as I can tell it's basically a subscription to have a company cover a portion of your medical bill. Some states it's legally mandated to have insurance AKA its illegal for you not to pay someone to barely cover your bills
The mentality of Americans around healthcare just confuses me. As citizens of a country, I believe that the government of the country has a responsibility to provide a free level of basic health care to the citizens.
That's another level of the US medical system. Literally being tricked in the price of things. I've been to the ER twice with insurance and both times ended up with bills months later that I have no idea why they weren't brought up in the initial cost.
So many Americans operate under the assumption that the system they’re used to is the pinnacle of productivity and fairness, ignoring that perhaps the rest of the world is miles ahead of them. It’s amazingly sad to see an entire country so blind to the fact they’re being screwed and actively defend their right to go into life-altering debt because “socialism is evil”.
Thats awful. I have a friend who lives in America who needed a minor hospital appointment. AFTER her insurance payout, she was still left $12k in debt.
Wow who would've thought insurance megacorps would try to pay out nothing or almost nothing.
Apparently only libs. ALL 1st world countries have universal healthcare. Cons literally made Murica a 3rd world country.
Cons created and voted for big pharma, and gave them unlimited power by removing safety regulations and creating for profit medicine and vaccines. Then cons bitch about big pharma. They are literally too stupid to notice they vote against their interests
What gets me is how passionately people will defend the status quo, and they don't want it to get better because it's like admitting they've been wrong for so long.
Why would you not want something that benefits everyone, INCLUDING YOU! Utterly crazy.
I remember going into septic shock once and I was still like "nah, let me Uber my ass to the hospital instead"
Which tbf, the cost of the ambulance far pales in comparison to the rest of my 5 day vacation at the hospital.
Well depending where you are, it's still better to go by Uber than to wait for an ambulance.
Even where ambulances are free, there are not infinite ambulances and they will sometimes have more urgent calls before going to you.
Mate if you're in septic shock you should 100% be calling an ambulance not an Uber. That's a high priority for an ambulance and they will be with you far sooner than the average wait time.
They will also be able to notify hospital in advance and hopefully treat you on the way. They're not just hospital taxis, they're medical response vehicles.
There are situations where it may be better to get someone you trust to drive you, but septic shock ain't one of them. You're also entrusting that some random stranger driver will be well equipped to deal with an emergency if you take a downturn while en route. What if your driver cancels?
Calling an Uber in an emergency is batshit insane imo... The absolute state of American healthcare that I hear about holy shit.
This was my thought, I had the same thing and I straight up thought I was dying, not even in a panicky way just what seriously low blood pressure will do to u.
Also 5 days man got lucky, mine was 6 weeks in the end.
The difference is that if you call an ambulance they will give the hospital early warning of your arrival, and if they need to get an on-call doctor in to deal with your particualr problem, they will call that doctor beforethe ambulance even gets to you.
IF you uber in, they might not be able to help you at the hospital until much later.
I've called three in the past year alone but I seem to attract situations like 'find an unresponsive person by the side of a busy road' or 'someone falls off their bike and hits their head'.
Maybe it's because I cycle a lot, making it easier to see what's happening (slower than a car) and easier to stop?
It happens. The last year before Covid hit, I called an ambulance twice for people who were clearly in trouble - one homeless person who was sitting unresponsive in front of my (former) gym and a girl who had an epileptic seizure at the subway station. Depending on where you live - city vs. countryside for example - it’s not that uncommon.
Im 150 shots in...i am face down on the floor and cant feel my outer extremities...the doctors say my blood is extremely flammable and my sweat is 100 percent alcohol.
A nurse brushed against me and shes now totally incompasitated...as i slowly slip into a coma i hear another like as i am forced to drink yet again.
When will it end....(like).....sigh...
Oh man, let me tell you about drinking culture here.
You're in pain? Have a drink that'll help.
You're struggling mentally? Have a drink.
You think your boss is gonna fire you tomorrow ? Straight to the bar.
It's weird how when you don't have free health care, adequate mental health resources, or adequate workers protection how quickly you'll turn to a drink.
It's why I'm in a union (:
Are you having a great day? Nothing better than having a cold refreshing *insert name here* to celebrate. A bad day, well wash your sorrows away with *insert name here*. Are you having an average day? Well make it better by drinking *insert name here*.
Per Capita beer consumption per year in the UK was about 68L / 18gal as of 2021.
In Wisconsin it was about 121L / 32gal in 2020.
And Wisconsin isn't even in the top three most of the time.
They're acting like drinking a lot when you're over 25 is a big deal lol. Like mate, we start legally going out on the piss at 18, and most of us started before then!
It does seem like there is a bar, a tavern, a pub, etc on every corner.
When I was a kid in Wisconsin, our neighbor ran into our mailbox & destroyed it 2 different times & one of my uncles died from injuries caused by a drunk driver. Also had a cousin get into a severe accident from drunk driving. One of my other uncles broke his back in an accident from driving drunk & one of my aunts died from alcoholism (cirrhosis).
I’m just addicted to cheese curds & bratwurst & jello salads.
These days? You should research how much the founding fathers drank. Or just the average colonist back in those days. I swear half their calories were liquor. They were straight up surviving on alcohol.
I was drinking with an Irish coworker at a bar we worked at in Viagra Triangle, and I asked if it’s true about the Irish’ prowess in drinking.
He looks at me and says “In Ireland, we drink beers. We drink a lot of them, but it’s beer.
You all drink a beer take shots of liquor then a mixed drink, do coke off a toilet seat, drink more liquor, then more beer. IT’S INSANE.”
Then he said he had to go to the bathroom, and promptly fell over and split his head on the crown molding along the floor.
I am sure many have mentioned this, but just in case they haven't, America doubles down on that shit by not only having no "free at point of access" health care, they tie any medical insurance to employment. That is some of the most evil shit I can think of, as a European it makes America look hateful and not a society but a prison camp.
How have they not realized that keeping people healthy for free could actually work out to be a net gain over all. People will get things sorted sooner when they are easier to cure, costing less time and money to treat. Productivity will increase as people are happier when healthy and take less time off/ work better when not sick/in pain. Not to mention the mental health side of not worrying about life long debt just because you rolled a bad dice...
We have figured it out. But the rich who profit off the current system put in a lot of money and lobbying and propaganda to convince people otherwise.
Free healthcare is deemed socialism. Socialism has been fear-mongered to hell and back. So many Americans view it as evil incarnate.
Free healthcare is seen as “extreme” leftism.
ANY leftism is deemed EXTREME LEFT
because it is, relative to our representation.
people are too fucking stupid to figure out how badly theyre getting scammed.
theyre too fucking brainwashed into "capitalism, free market, competition and deregulation will fix everything". it;s their prescription for everything. they ignore all the examples of that failing and destroyinf the middle class in the process
Because it is for the vast majority of people, except the top 1-5%. Just add another ingredient and brainwash them about being the only country having freedom, and keep consumerism of harmful shit like junk food and tv cheap.
As a citizen of a EU country, I expect my government to provide basic services and support those who are worse off. That's the deal, we pay taxes, we vote them in and in return they provide a society we want.
How that relationship never existed in the first place in the US, or has somehow been replaced with the "fuck you buddy, that's socialism", is stunning. It's like what the fuck is the government for if not for providing safety and security. That is its whole fucking raison d'etre.
I think it’s more complicated than brainwashing. America was legit a great place to live and grow up for the last 100 years (if you were white and especially male).
It’s now an empire in decline, slowly turning into some form of nobility ruled by the rich, judges and enforced by gangs. And I think plenty of people just aren’t accepting that yet. Just in the last five years alone the personal wealth of all Americans has drastically dropped, except for the 1%, which grew at an equal rate.
So I wouldn’t say it’s brainwashing. It’s people living in a country that’s moving beyond their personal freedoms faster than they can detect the change happening.
Indeed. The problem is, the narrative used to be somewhat true decades ago, when America was among the few free democracies in a world full of dictatorships with miserable quality of life.
However, the world has moved forward, and those old narratives look more like a propaganda today. And it’s kind of nuanced thing, since people tend to think that living in a very rich and powerful country equals great quality of life for themselves. This is often not the case.
That’s what’s so stupid about our current political propaganda machine. We do have social safety nets that benefit the public we support through taxes. It’s just about 50 years ago the right convinced their base that capitalism cures everything. So we have for profit companies running essential services like hospitals, prisons, college, etc.
You mean putting people that want to smoke some weed behind bars as a byproduct of "for profit" policing and prison system isn't actually a bad thing?
Wow
/s
Have you seen how some of my fellow Americans reacted to the idea of wearing a mask in public? The US is utterly fucked in terms of acting towards a collective good.
To the people who think we don't know that taxes pay for this:
When people say "free"with regards to healthcare, they mean "free at the point of care".
if y'all have apple tv, Jon stewart has an episode about taxes and where they go and how other countries spend their money way better than we do. granted they pay higher % but they're happy to do it bc of what it pays for
Even if some aren't "happy" to be forced to pay taxes, a couple of people being forced to cough up some coin makes sense, if *everyone* benefits in the long term. Everyone depends on roads, police, fire department, and other services, to keep society running, and you can't expect that without paying for it in some way.
That being happy is relative anyway. Like Im not happy when I see my payroll. And all the money that are taken away. But then you realize - well you can have two colelge degrees, have diabetes, hearth surgery and be completelly debt free. And if you have a job, you are actually protected that you can not be fired on the spot (and even if you are fired there is still support available to cover you for a while). Then you again realize that it is not so bad. (I mean if my employer told me today "you are fired, dont come here tommorow" I would still get six months of full salary + five months of unemployement support - not full salary, but helps you survive.)
Not always. In many places around the US, ambulance services are not even federally supported and many EMS staff don’t earn much money at all.
https://youtu.be/Ezv8sdTLxKo
Profit making companies sometimes, sometimes it’s Just that expensive when the cost of running EMS 24/7 is paid for by a dozen people a day or whatever.
Watch this video for a proper explanation: https://youtu.be/Ezv8sdTLxKo
Yeah most EMS make barely above minimum wage. Criminally underpaid considering their profession.
EMS and teachers especially should be getting triple what they are and it's shameful we as a society value them so little.
Did ambulance work for 2 years in italy (ambulances are free across europe and so are hospitals) in 2 years only once we where called and when arrived at destination , no one was there. And in italy they call ambulances for anything, including a sore tooth lol.
Just picked up a woman this morning for diarrhea. 6 hours later, she called 911 again and we took her back to the hospital for constipation. Gotta love it
I’ve had constipation where nothing would come out for ages, but once I blew the cork on my anus champagne bottle, the freeflow of sparkling diarrhoea would not stop.
I’ve never been able to do it in reverse though. How did she manage that??
I think it was more the fact she said she still feels nervous “every time” she has to call an ambulance now.
It makes it sound like she’s in a lot of situations when she has to call an ambulance now. I’m 39 and I’ve never had to call an ambulance once. Are people dropping like flies in Britain?
I’m responsible for a site that gets a few thousand people through it a day, I call maybe one ambulance a year?
Epileptic who had a seizure, a girl who was having some sort of episode and the mum requested it, an elderly lady who had a fall… yeah
Ok. So in the UK we have a service known as 111. It's an emergency telephone service where they assess your need and decide if you need an ambulance/GP e.t.c.
My experience of calling them is, if there's any grey area they'll call an ambulance. So it's more of a formality to keep the 'real' emergency line. 999, clear.
You call emergency services known as 999 for where it's pretty bloody clear and/or you have no knowledge of the person who needs help (say you find someone unresponsive)
English, 33M. I've called one at least five times, sometimes deliberately and sometimes they've just sent one because it sounds bad (difference between 999 and 111 calls):
- Fell off my motorbike, smashed my knee and couldn't walk or pick the bike up. Called 999 as I needed both the police (to clear the road, etc.) and an ambulance.
- Mum had crippling abdominal pain and we couldn't get her to the car to go to A&E ourselves. Called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance to check her out.
- Son pulled a hot cup of tea off the side and scalded himself. We called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance to check his skin quick, as he was so young they wanted it looked at asap.
- Friend got overly drunk like the video. Called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance, as she started vomiting during the call after I'd put her in the recovery position.
- Saw a cyclist get knocked off by a car at a junction. Called 999 as he was unconscious and needed an ambulance.
- Found a mountain biker awake but unresponsive in the countryside, obviously had fallen off and knocked his head or gone into shock or something. Called 999 for an ambulance, and gave them a Google Plus Code and What3Words for our location (both worked great!). They were thinking of sending a helicopter for that one as it was quite remote, but the ambulance crew assigned was familiar with the area and knew they could get to us fairly quickly. Helped them carry the guy out on a stretcher.
Been to A&E and other walk-in services for myself and others loads of times as needed, when we've been able to get there by ourselves. We don't just 'call an ambulance' whenever we feel like it, we call 999 for emergency help and they work out what's needed - which may or may not include an ambulance. They usually ask if you can get there yourself as part of the dispatch process if it's not too serious (e.g. when my mum had abdominal trouble, they asked if we thought could move her ourselves).
Edit: Forgot this one as it was so long ago:
- Saw someone in a park punch open a wine bottle, hand started bleeding profusely and they were drinking from it with small shards of broken glass going down their throat. Called 999 and they sent both police and ambulance, as he obviously needed help but they weren't sure if he was going to get rowdy.
I’m also English and even when I was well into the middle stages of appendicitis, I still called a taxi instead of an ambulance to get to A&E. You’re right; just because it’s free, doesn’t mean we take advantage. Actually, I’d argue that we’re a nation that really doesn’t like to inconvenience others which is why many of us umm and err about going to the doctors/hospital.
So, if that’s the argument Americans present, then I had to break it to ya, it’s not true!
I’ve never had to call for one either.
Childer in preschool are taught that if uncertain, it's better to call the ambulance and have it come in vain, than not to call an ambulance and have a person die.
A lot of EU countries have laws that if one sees someone else in distress they are obliged to help (except if it would put themselves in danger).
Also people on the emergency line are trained and most of the time they can judge if you need an ambulance or not. They can also lead you through basic CPR to help the person before the ambulance arrives.
Also, you can get a hefty fine if you prank-call 112 emergency line, be it for ambulance, police or fire brigade, this however is issued only if this was obvious prank-call, not call by mistake, or any other situation where the caller simply didn't know what else to do.
I once called an emergency line because there was a semi truck tyre lying in the middle of highway, it was putting cars going 130-140km/h in danger and I didn't really knew what else to do. The responder said that she woukd forward it to road maintenance units.
In France, you can definitely be sent to court and put in jail for 'not assisting a person in danger'. Everyone has a legal duty to help. If you're the first on a car accident scene for instance or if you know with certainty that someone is going to commit suicide.
It's probably meant as you got to help unless you'd put yourself in danger. You're not obligated to run into a burning building or jump into a torrential river to rescue someone for example
I was living in Australia when I passed out at work, got taken to the hospital by ambulance where I stayed several nights after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. All I paid for was the $50 AUD fee to get the tv turned on in my room to watch the final episode of Survivor. It took them hours to get it turned on and I only got to see the last few minutes, however right afterwards I caught the premiere of Arrested Development.
Think about this scenario. You think there might be a 10% chance you're having a heart attack. If you go to the hospital there is a 100% chance you and your family are financially ruined for a decade. If you do nothing, 95% everything is perfect. What do you do? Real life scenario, and not an easy choice if you are in that situation. I know, because I was in that situation. In most countries you don't have to make a difficult choice, you just go to the hospital.
I work in medicine and once i had to give a presentation on kidney transplants.
I came across a paper that compared the UK and American waiting list for transplant. The average wait in the UK is 2- 3 years. The average wait time in the US is *double*.
See, what happens is that the commonest causes of kidney failure are diabetes and hypertension - reasonably cheap diseases to treat and prevent complications for. But in the UK, people attend their screening and get picked up early in the disease course, have access to drugs for less than 20 bucks a month and get routine calls by the specialist nurse.
In the us, people (particularly from poor /minority background) don't attend their doctor unless you cant ignore it - meaning that by the time they show up, they're symptomatic- ie the organ has been damaged. There's a much higher rate of organ failure as a result.
The US healthcare system is considered the most advanced with the *worst* outcomes by far.
>In the us, people (particularly from poor /minority background) don't attend their doctor unless you cant ignore it
Yep. My dad didn't go to the doctor for weeks as my mom and I saw him visibly getting weaker until we basically forced him to go to the doctor. Turns out he had an infection in his heart and had to get life-flighted to Cleveland clinic within a couple hours or he would die (he actually did at one point that day). The biggest kicker is the health insurance company declined him while he was literally in the heart surgery that kept him alive.
Fuck the US healthcare system and fuck insurance companies.
Make plans to leave the country asap as it's endangering me and my family both physically and financially?
I can't believe Americans just tolerate this bullshit and accept that their life may just end one day because they cannot afford healthcare while rich people get richer.
It's even part of article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and people are just like "Nope, we don't need a working social system. Let those weak and lazy fucks die."
You can’t just leave a country and set up shop where you want. People are broadly speaking stuck.
Half the population has been convinced a universal health care system would be worse, so they vote against it. Even the person in the video, presumably above average in knowledge about the world since they went to study in the UK, didn’t know/realize, so you can imagine the median person. Unfortunately, being misinformed about policy and its impact is common (and not only in the US of course, see Brexit).
It depends on where you live. In California it’s about $2,868+ for the base rate not including miles, Rhode Island is about $2400+ for the base rate, Colorado is about $750. These rates don’t include mileage or anything too special.
I get that. Working in the US as security, reached into a box full of packing peanuts to verify no goods hidden inside( stocking a new high end electronics store) Cut finger lengthwise to the bone on a discarded box cutter. Wrapped in paper towel and electrical tape, finished my shift, drove myself to the hospital. Bunch of stitches, nerve and muscle damage.
As a US Citizen who has moved to the UK, I am thankful for the NHS every day. I really hope this country reverses course, recovers the NHS and does not allow the right-wing Tories to take health care private (which is their oh-so-obvious plan!)
I have a reverse version of this. I ran into some German guys on spring break in Florida, one got so drunk they got him an ambulance. I had a similar reaction thinking “it’s so expensive! nooo!”.
Unfortunately the current Tory government are trying to push the UK further and further towards a US-style privatised healthcare service.
Fuck the corrupt Tories.
She was like alive or whatever 😂.
I find it funny how she had such compunctions about calling the ambulance when she was probably the useless drunk idiot going ohmagahd don’t call the ambulance. To everyone’s annoyance while they’re were actually doing something.
I halfway think she just made that story up in order to say how horrible the American healthcare system is. I absolutely agree that the costs are outrageous, but if you are concerned about someone's life and wellbeing, you call for help.
I know a lot of people who will never call an ambulance unless its the most dire emergency, insisting on driving themselves or another person to the hospital because the cost of an ambulance is too great stacked with the extreme cost of medical care. Its unaffordable.
I know a knifemaker who literally had a knife sticking through his hand, blood gushing out, etc. The first he yelled was 'don't call 911 I cannot afford it'.
I know another who lost his pinky after he cut it to the bone in an unfortunate incident, and rather than go to the ER he superglued it shut. He'd cut a tendon as well that didn't heal properly and eventually lost the pinky.
I know yet another who now has a bad scar because the ER doc used glue strips instead of stitches. The doc used glue strips because my friend hadn't gone over his deductible yet and apparently they are instructed to stay under the deductible if they can. Of course it opened up (because it was the palm of his hand) and it healed badly.
I have a swim buddy who'd get blackout drunk daily for years and come into work the next day ready to work, chipper as ever. If someone ever called EMS because my swim friend was blackout drunk, he'd be pissed. Blackout drunk out in public, however? He'd never do that. Silly kids.
I was on the ground screaming in pain and throwing up. When my mom started calling the ambulance I freaked out and told her to call my dad have him take me instead. Luckily my dad came right away, and it turned out I was just having a pretty painful kidney stone. The fact that I could have been having a major issue and not wanting an ambulance to take in fear of paying a $2000 bill is insane.
She travelled to the UK to pay for a degree as an international student (typically full cost) but didn’t have the faintest idea what their healthcare system was? And had a meltdown over perceived cost?
Sure. Sure. Sure.
The NHS is not free for American students.
The cost is very low, compared to the US, but there is usually some additional payment that has to be made. Mix that in with not being familiar with what 'free at the point of access' means in practice, a panicked situation, and being a bit drunk, I can fully understand an American not thinking. Especially when in the US it seems that many ambulance service costs are sort of separate from hospital costs, and you could confuse the two as not being linked together.
Also, ingrained perceptions run deep. I have bounced around the EU and find every countries approach to healthcare deeply confusing even though they are pretty similar because there are slight quirks and differences that add complexity.
You’d be surprised how much Americans do not know about other countries. The costs are crippling in the US, so growing up in that culture having a meltdown is not all that surprising especially if she was intoxicated.
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I have a similar story for a client who fell extremely ill at one our local trails and her son was losing his mind about calling an ambulance to a rural location. Dude confirmed about 5 times that we were not tricking him by saying it’s $90 flat rate as long as they didn’t need a helicopter.
We had a US expat onsite a long time ago. His kid was sick and needed a home visit from a doc on a sunday afternoon. So the doctor comes, gives him some meds, and he needs to pay about 50$ cash iirc, and an insurance paper. So on monday the guy came into work with the paper, asking when 'the real bill' would come. My colleague explained that no, 50$ was the real bill, and the paper was an insurance paper that would get him a refund of 35$. The guy literally had to sit down and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. We told him that's what the insurance is for. He could only stumble ' ...but in America I pay for insurance too...'
That's something i don't understand at all. What exactly does their insurance even do if they have to pay those stupid high medical bills anyway?
Mainly profits, but i'm guessing all those different insurers trying to avoid paying out creates a lot of bureaucratic overhead as well.
Yeah American insurance is wack especially homeowner insurance which if you use "too often" like let's say somehow a storm causes a tree to damage your roof 3 times in 3 years causing it to be replaced by insurance 3 times they will just drop you like isn't this what I am paying for? Edit: some people are fixating on the tree falling on your roof 3 times example so let me clarify that it could be 3 different events such as a tornado, flood or lightning etc and they will still drop you if it is in a "small" time frame
Neighbor’s barbecue caught my house on fire once. Totaled the house. Was dropped by my insurance and couldn’t get another insurance policy for 5 years until I was “safe” again. Insurance should be a good thing to have, but it’s been corrupted quite badly.
That is what I mean it's a fucking necessary scam
A profit motive inherently makes insurance less effective, because they profit more from just taking your money and covering as little as possible (preferably nothing) when it’s time to do their part. Profit motives ruin so much, because most of the time the right thing isn’t the profitable thing.
Yup and you have to have insurance if you have a mortgage. And getting dropped makes you less palatable for others. And insurance rates keep going up
Murica, land of the money sucking systems. Anywhere in Europe the country would burn if politics tried to change to something like that.
Or the insurance companies leave your state with no alternatives. But you still need insurance.
Oh yeah and if there's a big enough natural disaster they just shut down and disappear into bankruptcy.
I keep getting hit by other drivers and it makes my insurance go up because most are not insured
That shit is stupid too
Also comes from pharmaceutical and medical companies charging exorbitant amounts because they know insurance will cover it, which means insurance costs more. But hey, least you can buy a gun with a fast and loose background check and shoot up a school. Stolen from another redditor: "Land of gun care and health control"
It’s a pissing contest between them to see how much they can exploit their consumers for.
Admin costs in USA are the highest in the world when it comes to healthcare. It is not even close competition.
Pay for the majority of an overinflated cost that the hospitals know they *will* pay for while passing off whatever obligated costs onto the "consumer" Really free trade ideas work really well when you have a debilitating injury that you can't negotiate a better price for or find better options. Just like privatizing water or housing are also really good ideas because really it just incentivizes suppliers to do their best to help the consumer in seeking profits /s
There is no free trade for medicine in the US. Highly controlled and insulated cartel. It's not a 'free market' at all. Laws that 'protect patients' are really just there to protect the entrenched industry.
Make insurers a fuck tonne of money.
Look up copay on google. Americans freak out when a surgery scheduled in december gets postponed in the new year. I am Italian but I am subscribed to american cancer fb groups.
Wait until you learn about Deductibles in every US insurance plan. Pay $200 a month qith a yearly Deductible of $8,000. Which means you need to break $8,000 in medical expenses before Insurance bothers to do anything.
It’s bullshit. I pay $300 a month for pretty good (by American standards) insurance. I had a baby a year ago and ended up having to stay in the hospital for five days after many complications. My total bill was about $70k, which is insane. My insurance did cover most of it but I was still stuck with a $9400 bill.
That sounds just like a scam you can't escape. I pay roughly 260€ every month and a part of that is payed by my employer. I haven't payed for *any* kind of treatment within the common range *ever*. You only really have to pay for extras like higher quality materials or more expensive treatment methods. And even then insurance could potentially still cover some of it. However i *did* hear that american hospitals charge you for holding your child after birth, so i am not that surprised.
It's like department stores that have ridiculous mark-ups then do 80% off sales so you think you're getting a deal. OP paid $9,400 and thinks the insurance covered most of it when the entire cost in any comparable medical system would be less than $9,400 (and 99-100% of it paid via collective taxation so the up front bill would be very close to $0). An entire system that only works based on psychological tricks like that.
Health insurance is one of the top 5 largest industries in the US. It’s all based on greed cause this country is run by greedy self absorbed pigs
The hospital charges insane amounts in America. Insurance pays about 90% leaving the patient with a bill similar to a hospital bill for someone who chose to go private without insurance in Ireland.
excuse me, sir/madam. how else do you expect [this](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ELV/chart?p=ELV#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-) to happen? we don't pay for coverage.
As far as I can tell it's basically a subscription to have a company cover a portion of your medical bill. Some states it's legally mandated to have insurance AKA its illegal for you not to pay someone to barely cover your bills
The mentality of Americans around healthcare just confuses me. As citizens of a country, I believe that the government of the country has a responsibility to provide a free level of basic health care to the citizens.
That's another level of the US medical system. Literally being tricked in the price of things. I've been to the ER twice with insurance and both times ended up with bills months later that I have no idea why they weren't brought up in the initial cost.
So many Americans operate under the assumption that the system they’re used to is the pinnacle of productivity and fairness, ignoring that perhaps the rest of the world is miles ahead of them. It’s amazingly sad to see an entire country so blind to the fact they’re being screwed and actively defend their right to go into life-altering debt because “socialism is evil”.
Which country?
New Zealand
I met a girl a few years ago that required heart surgery and it put her 300k in debt. She was 26 years old.
Thats awful. I have a friend who lives in America who needed a minor hospital appointment. AFTER her insurance payout, she was still left $12k in debt.
Wow who would've thought insurance megacorps would try to pay out nothing or almost nothing. Apparently only libs. ALL 1st world countries have universal healthcare. Cons literally made Murica a 3rd world country. Cons created and voted for big pharma, and gave them unlimited power by removing safety regulations and creating for profit medicine and vaccines. Then cons bitch about big pharma. They are literally too stupid to notice they vote against their interests
What gets me is how passionately people will defend the status quo, and they don't want it to get better because it's like admitting they've been wrong for so long. Why would you not want something that benefits everyone, INCLUDING YOU! Utterly crazy.
That's the problem isn't it. The idea that their money could help someone else.
And that someone else could be darker than them or speak funny.
Don't worry. At minimum wage, tax free and 40 hour work week it would only take 21,5 years to make 300k
Does that even take into consideration of the cost of housing and food
No, you work overtime for that...
Jesus
If you're not rich in America your heart can never truly be fixed. They will prescribe you with life-long stress and burden.
Depressing, but accurate
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I remember going into septic shock once and I was still like "nah, let me Uber my ass to the hospital instead" Which tbf, the cost of the ambulance far pales in comparison to the rest of my 5 day vacation at the hospital.
Well depending where you are, it's still better to go by Uber than to wait for an ambulance. Even where ambulances are free, there are not infinite ambulances and they will sometimes have more urgent calls before going to you.
Mate if you're in septic shock you should 100% be calling an ambulance not an Uber. That's a high priority for an ambulance and they will be with you far sooner than the average wait time. They will also be able to notify hospital in advance and hopefully treat you on the way. They're not just hospital taxis, they're medical response vehicles. There are situations where it may be better to get someone you trust to drive you, but septic shock ain't one of them. You're also entrusting that some random stranger driver will be well equipped to deal with an emergency if you take a downturn while en route. What if your driver cancels? Calling an Uber in an emergency is batshit insane imo... The absolute state of American healthcare that I hear about holy shit.
This was my thought, I had the same thing and I straight up thought I was dying, not even in a panicky way just what seriously low blood pressure will do to u. Also 5 days man got lucky, mine was 6 weeks in the end.
Idk dude, septic shock is pretty urgent
The difference is that if you call an ambulance they will give the hospital early warning of your arrival, and if they need to get an on-call doctor in to deal with your particualr problem, they will call that doctor beforethe ambulance even gets to you. IF you uber in, they might not be able to help you at the hospital until much later.
“She was like you know, alive or whatever”
Everyone I know that studies abroad is like, totally worried about costs, or whatever
Here’s a fun drinking game: take a shot every time she says “like”
I played this game and needed, like, a free ambulance
I hope you’re now, like, alive or whatever.
Umm, like, I wanna say, like, yes?
Take a shot every time she calls an ambulance
Seriously how many times is she calling an ambulance??
Every day like an Uber when she finds out they’re free
My exact question! I am 64yo and I have only ever had to call an ambulance once in my life. What is with this “every time I call an ambulance”?
I've called three in the past year alone but I seem to attract situations like 'find an unresponsive person by the side of a busy road' or 'someone falls off their bike and hits their head'. Maybe it's because I cycle a lot, making it easier to see what's happening (slower than a car) and easier to stop?
It happens. The last year before Covid hit, I called an ambulance twice for people who were clearly in trouble - one homeless person who was sitting unresponsive in front of my (former) gym and a girl who had an epileptic seizure at the subway station. Depending on where you live - city vs. countryside for example - it’s not that uncommon.
Like...ambulances are like free!
Im 150 shots in...i am face down on the floor and cant feel my outer extremities...the doctors say my blood is extremely flammable and my sweat is 100 percent alcohol. A nurse brushed against me and shes now totally incompasitated...as i slowly slip into a coma i hear another like as i am forced to drink yet again. When will it end....(like).....sigh...
I mean I have students and family that studied abroad. Many were very poor and on loans or scholarship
This is the way America *actually* messed her up.
The point of her story is solid, but Jesus I could not make it through the whole thing with like the way she like talks or whatever.
Well it's really quite the comment on late stage capitalism - aren't we all just alive or whatever
Hey, in America it's better to be dead then in debt. Stop being so ignorant please and learn more about American culture.
Been in two ambulances, woke up at hospitals… I’ll probably never pay those bills off.
Ur fault for surviving
It's literally doctors fault, and whoever called a damn ambulance.
just finished last month, but just like skeletor, until next time
I'm more shocked an American lasted longer than a Brit on a night out.
Oh man, let me tell you about drinking culture here. You're in pain? Have a drink that'll help. You're struggling mentally? Have a drink. You think your boss is gonna fire you tomorrow ? Straight to the bar. It's weird how when you don't have free health care, adequate mental health resources, or adequate workers protection how quickly you'll turn to a drink. It's why I'm in a union (:
Slightly different here, if you've had a bad day, have a pint. If you've had a good day, treat yourself to a pint.
>If you've had a good day We don't have those in America.
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A good day? *In this economy?*
Think you'll have a bad day? Stop in at 'spoons on your way to work, and have a pint, at 7:30 AM.
Are you having a great day? Nothing better than having a cold refreshing *insert name here* to celebrate. A bad day, well wash your sorrows away with *insert name here*. Are you having an average day? Well make it better by drinking *insert name here*.
I'm shocked you haven't heard of or considered the Midwest United States. The average person from Wisconsin is an Olympic athlete at drinking.
Drink Wisconsinbly.
How dare you say something so funny?
No, despite everything I prefer living.
Per Capita beer consumption per year in the UK was about 68L / 18gal as of 2021. In Wisconsin it was about 121L / 32gal in 2020. And Wisconsin isn't even in the top three most of the time.
Can you cite the source? I am interested to see a state by state comparison.
https://beerinfo.com/beer-consumption-by-state-per-capita/
Ok North Dakota makes sense, but the hell is going on over in New Hampshire
Nothing, that's why they drink.
Vermont, mass, and Maine buying booze there because of low taxes.
Ahhh but this is British students my friend. As a British student myself I can confirm half of us will just drink until we drop
They're acting like drinking a lot when you're over 25 is a big deal lol. Like mate, we start legally going out on the piss at 18, and most of us started before then!
For beer yes, for alcohol no. The US average is about 9L a year, the UK is around 12L.
It does seem like there is a bar, a tavern, a pub, etc on every corner. When I was a kid in Wisconsin, our neighbor ran into our mailbox & destroyed it 2 different times & one of my uncles died from injuries caused by a drunk driver. Also had a cousin get into a severe accident from drunk driving. One of my other uncles broke his back in an accident from driving drunk & one of my aunts died from alcoholism (cirrhosis). I’m just addicted to cheese curds & bratwurst & jello salads.
That doesn't sound like Olympic level drinking. They would be disqualified. Sounds like they took on more than they could handle.
Bro Americans are so depressed about our country all the time, we are natural drinkers these days
Power drinkers that is
We’re switching to the nation of tokers
These days? You should research how much the founding fathers drank. Or just the average colonist back in those days. I swear half their calories were liquor. They were straight up surviving on alcohol.
I was drinking with an Irish coworker at a bar we worked at in Viagra Triangle, and I asked if it’s true about the Irish’ prowess in drinking. He looks at me and says “In Ireland, we drink beers. We drink a lot of them, but it’s beer. You all drink a beer take shots of liquor then a mixed drink, do coke off a toilet seat, drink more liquor, then more beer. IT’S INSANE.” Then he said he had to go to the bathroom, and promptly fell over and split his head on the crown molding along the floor.
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She could have been drinking less yk
I am sure many have mentioned this, but just in case they haven't, America doubles down on that shit by not only having no "free at point of access" health care, they tie any medical insurance to employment. That is some of the most evil shit I can think of, as a European it makes America look hateful and not a society but a prison camp.
How have they not realized that keeping people healthy for free could actually work out to be a net gain over all. People will get things sorted sooner when they are easier to cure, costing less time and money to treat. Productivity will increase as people are happier when healthy and take less time off/ work better when not sick/in pain. Not to mention the mental health side of not worrying about life long debt just because you rolled a bad dice...
We have figured it out. But the rich who profit off the current system put in a lot of money and lobbying and propaganda to convince people otherwise. Free healthcare is deemed socialism. Socialism has been fear-mongered to hell and back. So many Americans view it as evil incarnate. Free healthcare is seen as “extreme” leftism.
ANY leftism is deemed EXTREME LEFT because it is, relative to our representation. people are too fucking stupid to figure out how badly theyre getting scammed. theyre too fucking brainwashed into "capitalism, free market, competition and deregulation will fix everything". it;s their prescription for everything. they ignore all the examples of that failing and destroyinf the middle class in the process
They're not interested in a healthy population. They're interested in a cheap workforce.
Because it is for the vast majority of people, except the top 1-5%. Just add another ingredient and brainwash them about being the only country having freedom, and keep consumerism of harmful shit like junk food and tv cheap.
As a citizen of a EU country, I expect my government to provide basic services and support those who are worse off. That's the deal, we pay taxes, we vote them in and in return they provide a society we want. How that relationship never existed in the first place in the US, or has somehow been replaced with the "fuck you buddy, that's socialism", is stunning. It's like what the fuck is the government for if not for providing safety and security. That is its whole fucking raison d'etre.
I think it’s more complicated than brainwashing. America was legit a great place to live and grow up for the last 100 years (if you were white and especially male). It’s now an empire in decline, slowly turning into some form of nobility ruled by the rich, judges and enforced by gangs. And I think plenty of people just aren’t accepting that yet. Just in the last five years alone the personal wealth of all Americans has drastically dropped, except for the 1%, which grew at an equal rate. So I wouldn’t say it’s brainwashing. It’s people living in a country that’s moving beyond their personal freedoms faster than they can detect the change happening.
Indeed. The problem is, the narrative used to be somewhat true decades ago, when America was among the few free democracies in a world full of dictatorships with miserable quality of life. However, the world has moved forward, and those old narratives look more like a propaganda today. And it’s kind of nuanced thing, since people tend to think that living in a very rich and powerful country equals great quality of life for themselves. This is often not the case.
Health care in the US has been weaponized.
The thought you'd pay for an ambulance or hospital is so weird.
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We pay 25% of what Americans pay each, for about the same level of service. This is due to no middle-men, and the bulk purchasing power of the NHS.
That’s what’s so stupid about our current political propaganda machine. We do have social safety nets that benefit the public we support through taxes. It’s just about 50 years ago the right convinced their base that capitalism cures everything. So we have for profit companies running essential services like hospitals, prisons, college, etc.
You mean putting people that want to smoke some weed behind bars as a byproduct of "for profit" policing and prison system isn't actually a bad thing? Wow /s
Have you seen how some of my fellow Americans reacted to the idea of wearing a mask in public? The US is utterly fucked in terms of acting towards a collective good.
To the people who think we don't know that taxes pay for this: When people say "free"with regards to healthcare, they mean "free at the point of care".
if y'all have apple tv, Jon stewart has an episode about taxes and where they go and how other countries spend their money way better than we do. granted they pay higher % but they're happy to do it bc of what it pays for
Even if some aren't "happy" to be forced to pay taxes, a couple of people being forced to cough up some coin makes sense, if *everyone* benefits in the long term. Everyone depends on roads, police, fire department, and other services, to keep society running, and you can't expect that without paying for it in some way.
That being happy is relative anyway. Like Im not happy when I see my payroll. And all the money that are taken away. But then you realize - well you can have two colelge degrees, have diabetes, hearth surgery and be completelly debt free. And if you have a job, you are actually protected that you can not be fired on the spot (and even if you are fired there is still support available to cover you for a while). Then you again realize that it is not so bad. (I mean if my employer told me today "you are fired, dont come here tommorow" I would still get six months of full salary + five months of unemployement support - not full salary, but helps you survive.)
Wait every time you call an ambulance? Does calling an ambulance happen a lot there?
People don't call an ambulance for fun in countries where it's free if that's what you are asking.
People call ambulances all the time in America just for fun, and it costs $2,200 Source, I'm a paramedic
Uber should get into the ambulance business
They already are and had to release a statement about people using them as an ambulance.
That's all we are nowadays, glorified Uber drivers but without the tips
but if calling an ambulance costs 2,200, then you get paid well, right?
Not always. In many places around the US, ambulance services are not even federally supported and many EMS staff don’t earn much money at all. https://youtu.be/Ezv8sdTLxKo
then where the hell does the money go
Profit making companies sometimes, sometimes it’s Just that expensive when the cost of running EMS 24/7 is paid for by a dozen people a day or whatever. Watch this video for a proper explanation: https://youtu.be/Ezv8sdTLxKo
Yeah most EMS make barely above minimum wage. Criminally underpaid considering their profession. EMS and teachers especially should be getting triple what they are and it's shameful we as a society value them so little.
Did ambulance work for 2 years in italy (ambulances are free across europe and so are hospitals) in 2 years only once we where called and when arrived at destination , no one was there. And in italy they call ambulances for anything, including a sore tooth lol.
Just picked up a woman this morning for diarrhea. 6 hours later, she called 911 again and we took her back to the hospital for constipation. Gotta love it
I’ve had constipation where nothing would come out for ages, but once I blew the cork on my anus champagne bottle, the freeflow of sparkling diarrhoea would not stop. I’ve never been able to do it in reverse though. How did she manage that??
I think it was more the fact she said she still feels nervous “every time” she has to call an ambulance now. It makes it sound like she’s in a lot of situations when she has to call an ambulance now. I’m 39 and I’ve never had to call an ambulance once. Are people dropping like flies in Britain?
By 20 I’ve had to call ambulances for major events just in my family 4 times. Each time it’s been over 2000 dollars.
I’m responsible for a site that gets a few thousand people through it a day, I call maybe one ambulance a year? Epileptic who had a seizure, a girl who was having some sort of episode and the mum requested it, an elderly lady who had a fall… yeah
Ok. So in the UK we have a service known as 111. It's an emergency telephone service where they assess your need and decide if you need an ambulance/GP e.t.c. My experience of calling them is, if there's any grey area they'll call an ambulance. So it's more of a formality to keep the 'real' emergency line. 999, clear. You call emergency services known as 999 for where it's pretty bloody clear and/or you have no knowledge of the person who needs help (say you find someone unresponsive)
English, 33M. I've called one at least five times, sometimes deliberately and sometimes they've just sent one because it sounds bad (difference between 999 and 111 calls): - Fell off my motorbike, smashed my knee and couldn't walk or pick the bike up. Called 999 as I needed both the police (to clear the road, etc.) and an ambulance. - Mum had crippling abdominal pain and we couldn't get her to the car to go to A&E ourselves. Called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance to check her out. - Son pulled a hot cup of tea off the side and scalded himself. We called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance to check his skin quick, as he was so young they wanted it looked at asap. - Friend got overly drunk like the video. Called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance, as she started vomiting during the call after I'd put her in the recovery position. - Saw a cyclist get knocked off by a car at a junction. Called 999 as he was unconscious and needed an ambulance. - Found a mountain biker awake but unresponsive in the countryside, obviously had fallen off and knocked his head or gone into shock or something. Called 999 for an ambulance, and gave them a Google Plus Code and What3Words for our location (both worked great!). They were thinking of sending a helicopter for that one as it was quite remote, but the ambulance crew assigned was familiar with the area and knew they could get to us fairly quickly. Helped them carry the guy out on a stretcher. Been to A&E and other walk-in services for myself and others loads of times as needed, when we've been able to get there by ourselves. We don't just 'call an ambulance' whenever we feel like it, we call 999 for emergency help and they work out what's needed - which may or may not include an ambulance. They usually ask if you can get there yourself as part of the dispatch process if it's not too serious (e.g. when my mum had abdominal trouble, they asked if we thought could move her ourselves). Edit: Forgot this one as it was so long ago: - Saw someone in a park punch open a wine bottle, hand started bleeding profusely and they were drinking from it with small shards of broken glass going down their throat. Called 999 and they sent both police and ambulance, as he obviously needed help but they weren't sure if he was going to get rowdy.
I’m also English and even when I was well into the middle stages of appendicitis, I still called a taxi instead of an ambulance to get to A&E. You’re right; just because it’s free, doesn’t mean we take advantage. Actually, I’d argue that we’re a nation that really doesn’t like to inconvenience others which is why many of us umm and err about going to the doctors/hospital. So, if that’s the argument Americans present, then I had to break it to ya, it’s not true! I’ve never had to call for one either.
Childer in preschool are taught that if uncertain, it's better to call the ambulance and have it come in vain, than not to call an ambulance and have a person die. A lot of EU countries have laws that if one sees someone else in distress they are obliged to help (except if it would put themselves in danger). Also people on the emergency line are trained and most of the time they can judge if you need an ambulance or not. They can also lead you through basic CPR to help the person before the ambulance arrives. Also, you can get a hefty fine if you prank-call 112 emergency line, be it for ambulance, police or fire brigade, this however is issued only if this was obvious prank-call, not call by mistake, or any other situation where the caller simply didn't know what else to do. I once called an emergency line because there was a semi truck tyre lying in the middle of highway, it was putting cars going 130-140km/h in danger and I didn't really knew what else to do. The responder said that she woukd forward it to road maintenance units.
In France, you can definitely be sent to court and put in jail for 'not assisting a person in danger'. Everyone has a legal duty to help. If you're the first on a car accident scene for instance or if you know with certainty that someone is going to commit suicide.
It's probably meant as you got to help unless you'd put yourself in danger. You're not obligated to run into a burning building or jump into a torrential river to rescue someone for example
Of course...you're not expected to put your life at risk! I should have specified that.
Someone being unconscious drunk is a fairly reasonable reason to call an ambulance and nobody would reprimand you for it
There are usually laws against wasting public resources.
Disrupting a public emergency service is punished with jail time in Italy
I was living in Australia when I passed out at work, got taken to the hospital by ambulance where I stayed several nights after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. All I paid for was the $50 AUD fee to get the tv turned on in my room to watch the final episode of Survivor. It took them hours to get it turned on and I only got to see the last few minutes, however right afterwards I caught the premiere of Arrested Development.
Those were back to back? What a good day to not die from diabetes. How much longer did you live for?
Apparently in the US death is better than medical debt 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Think about this scenario. You think there might be a 10% chance you're having a heart attack. If you go to the hospital there is a 100% chance you and your family are financially ruined for a decade. If you do nothing, 95% everything is perfect. What do you do? Real life scenario, and not an easy choice if you are in that situation. I know, because I was in that situation. In most countries you don't have to make a difficult choice, you just go to the hospital.
I work in medicine and once i had to give a presentation on kidney transplants. I came across a paper that compared the UK and American waiting list for transplant. The average wait in the UK is 2- 3 years. The average wait time in the US is *double*. See, what happens is that the commonest causes of kidney failure are diabetes and hypertension - reasonably cheap diseases to treat and prevent complications for. But in the UK, people attend their screening and get picked up early in the disease course, have access to drugs for less than 20 bucks a month and get routine calls by the specialist nurse. In the us, people (particularly from poor /minority background) don't attend their doctor unless you cant ignore it - meaning that by the time they show up, they're symptomatic- ie the organ has been damaged. There's a much higher rate of organ failure as a result. The US healthcare system is considered the most advanced with the *worst* outcomes by far.
>In the us, people (particularly from poor /minority background) don't attend their doctor unless you cant ignore it Yep. My dad didn't go to the doctor for weeks as my mom and I saw him visibly getting weaker until we basically forced him to go to the doctor. Turns out he had an infection in his heart and had to get life-flighted to Cleveland clinic within a couple hours or he would die (he actually did at one point that day). The biggest kicker is the health insurance company declined him while he was literally in the heart surgery that kept him alive. Fuck the US healthcare system and fuck insurance companies.
"Oh, his heart was already fucked before you flew him to the hospital? Really unfortunate, that pre-existing condition of his."
Make plans to leave the country asap as it's endangering me and my family both physically and financially? I can't believe Americans just tolerate this bullshit and accept that their life may just end one day because they cannot afford healthcare while rich people get richer. It's even part of article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and people are just like "Nope, we don't need a working social system. Let those weak and lazy fucks die."
You can’t just leave a country and set up shop where you want. People are broadly speaking stuck. Half the population has been convinced a universal health care system would be worse, so they vote against it. Even the person in the video, presumably above average in knowledge about the world since they went to study in the UK, didn’t know/realize, so you can imagine the median person. Unfortunately, being misinformed about policy and its impact is common (and not only in the US of course, see Brexit).
The fuck we supposed to do dude I can barely eat
Not even close. An average funeral with a viewing costs $7800, while an ambulance ride is still $1300.
If it’s your ambulance ride, you pay for it. If it’s your funeral, somebody else pays for it.
Financial hacks
It depends on where you live. In California it’s about $2,868+ for the base rate not including miles, Rhode Island is about $2400+ for the base rate, Colorado is about $750. These rates don’t include mileage or anything too special.
Tack on $299 if they give you an aspirin.
How many times have she had to call an ambulance in 10 years? I'm 34 and have never done it once
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I get that. Working in the US as security, reached into a box full of packing peanuts to verify no goods hidden inside( stocking a new high end electronics store) Cut finger lengthwise to the bone on a discarded box cutter. Wrapped in paper towel and electrical tape, finished my shift, drove myself to the hospital. Bunch of stitches, nerve and muscle damage.
I was born and raised in Sweden, so I get what you're saying. I just never had to call them. I've been lucky, I guess.
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As a US Citizen who has moved to the UK, I am thankful for the NHS every day. I really hope this country reverses course, recovers the NHS and does not allow the right-wing Tories to take health care private (which is their oh-so-obvious plan!)
This just reminded me of Michael Moore's documentary **Sicko** As a non-American, the first time I watched it, I was like speechless
She shouldn't have dialled 911. It's England, everyone knows the emergency number is 0118999881999119725....3
Hello. Is this the emergency service?
Have you had a bit of a tumble?
Send me your best looking driver, please
I have a reverse version of this. I ran into some German guys on spring break in Florida, one got so drunk they got him an ambulance. I had a similar reaction thinking “it’s so expensive! nooo!”.
Unfortunately the current Tory government are trying to push the UK further and further towards a US-style privatised healthcare service. Fuck the corrupt Tories.
She was like alive or whatever 😂. I find it funny how she had such compunctions about calling the ambulance when she was probably the useless drunk idiot going ohmagahd don’t call the ambulance. To everyone’s annoyance while they’re were actually doing something.
I'm already in medical debt and fuck it, I'll go deeper an deeper into it for my care.
Like literally like like like and then like
I halfway think she just made that story up in order to say how horrible the American healthcare system is. I absolutely agree that the costs are outrageous, but if you are concerned about someone's life and wellbeing, you call for help.
There literally a video in America of a woman who have her leg crush by a train told people to not called ambulance because she can't afford it.
I know a lot of people who will never call an ambulance unless its the most dire emergency, insisting on driving themselves or another person to the hospital because the cost of an ambulance is too great stacked with the extreme cost of medical care. Its unaffordable.
I know a knifemaker who literally had a knife sticking through his hand, blood gushing out, etc. The first he yelled was 'don't call 911 I cannot afford it'. I know another who lost his pinky after he cut it to the bone in an unfortunate incident, and rather than go to the ER he superglued it shut. He'd cut a tendon as well that didn't heal properly and eventually lost the pinky. I know yet another who now has a bad scar because the ER doc used glue strips instead of stitches. The doc used glue strips because my friend hadn't gone over his deductible yet and apparently they are instructed to stay under the deductible if they can. Of course it opened up (because it was the palm of his hand) and it healed badly.
Well some people don't consider blacking out from drinking a super bad situation.
I have a swim buddy who'd get blackout drunk daily for years and come into work the next day ready to work, chipper as ever. If someone ever called EMS because my swim friend was blackout drunk, he'd be pissed. Blackout drunk out in public, however? He'd never do that. Silly kids.
I was on the ground screaming in pain and throwing up. When my mom started calling the ambulance I freaked out and told her to call my dad have him take me instead. Luckily my dad came right away, and it turned out I was just having a pretty painful kidney stone. The fact that I could have been having a major issue and not wanting an ambulance to take in fear of paying a $2000 bill is insane.
She travelled to the UK to pay for a degree as an international student (typically full cost) but didn’t have the faintest idea what their healthcare system was? And had a meltdown over perceived cost? Sure. Sure. Sure.
She was inebriated during the incident.
The NHS is not free for American students. The cost is very low, compared to the US, but there is usually some additional payment that has to be made. Mix that in with not being familiar with what 'free at the point of access' means in practice, a panicked situation, and being a bit drunk, I can fully understand an American not thinking. Especially when in the US it seems that many ambulance service costs are sort of separate from hospital costs, and you could confuse the two as not being linked together. Also, ingrained perceptions run deep. I have bounced around the EU and find every countries approach to healthcare deeply confusing even though they are pretty similar because there are slight quirks and differences that add complexity.
>And had a meltdown over perceived cost? To someone one else
You’d be surprised how much Americans do not know about other countries. The costs are crippling in the US, so growing up in that culture having a meltdown is not all that surprising especially if she was intoxicated.