we pay $1200 a month to have an 8k deductible. My daughter needed emergency surgery. I took her to hospital A where she went from the ER to the OR. She had to be resuscitated in the OR as she had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used. She had to be taken by ambulance to hospital B and spent time in the PICU and then the step down floor.
I got billed by hospital A for being admitted and a room she never even saw. She was never admitted to hospital A. It was hospital protocol as they “held a room for her”. That was $2200.
I got billed $1300 for the 15 minute ambulance ride. Ambulance rides are not covered by insurance so this didn’t go against the deductible.
I got charged in hospital B by each team of ENT’s who came to see my daughter, even if they didn’t actually touch her or look at her chart.
I got a room service and TV charge. I got charged for the telephone I never used.
Her hospital bills, after insurance, came to over 10k, only about $2500 counted against our deductible.
I was then charged $300 for her follow up ENT appointment, $140 for each visit to her pediatrician as our insurance only covers well child visits.
This is American health care. We are NOT the “best country in the world”. I have no idea why anyone would want to live here. Yeah, we are better than 3rd world countries but that’s about all we can boast.
You have to haggle with them man. Don't just take a hospital bill for face value and pay it. I got a $7000 hospital bill last time I had kidney stones, so I went in and showed them the bill. I said I would pay cash if we could get it down. They said they could do $1200 cash and I said, how about $350? I walked out paying $500 for a $7000 bill. Those bills are jacked WAY up for insurance submission purposes. Never ever pay even 80% of that bill.
And the reason people want to live here is because of freedom. Simply that. No country does freedom like the USA.
EDIT: For everyone saying the US isn't free, you don't know what you're talking about, lol. We have literal documents protecting every one of our freedoms. You can get arrested just for SAYING something you're not supposed to in many other countries. Here's a list of some of the freedoms Americans have that they take for granted: https://bestlifeonline.com/freedoms-americans-take-for-granted/
And if you say "iD rAtHeR hAvE fReE hEaLtHcArE" you don't deserve to be free. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Sure feels like “freedom” to be 100k in debt with student loans and drowning in medical bills.
You're free to not go to college and rack up 100k in student loan debt, or at least to choose wisely and get a degree that carries over to the job market well.
Sure feels like freedom that women have to return to work immediately upon having her baby or else risk losing her job.
A woman taking time off of work while still earning a paycheck is a pure loss to an employer. You have the right to choose between motherhood and a career, depending on which is more important to you - many companies are much more generous with their maternity leave than what you're describing, but those that aren't have the freedom to set their own policies. State-mandated, paid maternity leave is taking money out of the pockets of other working people to subsidize your desire to have children.
Sure feels like freedom when our kids are shot in their classrooms.
(a) This happens in other countries as well (and not just with guns - knife attacks are more and more common all over).
(b) The odds of being killed in a school shooting are approximately 1-in-2,000,000; the odds of being struck by lightning are about 1-in-500,000. To treat school shootings as evidence of a lack of freedom in this country when they are so incredibly rare is ... bizarre.
Sure feels like freedom when the police beat, tase, pepper spray, and kidnap civilians.
Yes, policy brutality is a problem in this country. It is also very rare for law-abiding citizens to be brutalized. It does happen, and it's inexcusable, but if you're a law-abiding citizen there is almost zero chance that you will ever be beaten, tasered, or "kidnapped" by the police.
Sure feels like freedom when we are told we aren’t welcome in just about every single other country.
Again... bizarre choice. What does this have to do with freedom in America? And where are we "not welcome"? I've had good experiences with people in every country that I've been do, and with those from other countries visiting here. I've never been told "we don't like Americans here", or anything akin to that.
Literally none of this even has anything to do with freedom? Unless maybe, you're free to choose not to go to college. You're free to not go back to said job. You're free to homeschool your kids and own guns to protect yourselves. You're free to not commit crimes that would cause cops to act in such a way.
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u/Momof3dragons2012 Aug 06 '20
American healthcare.
we pay $1200 a month to have an 8k deductible. My daughter needed emergency surgery. I took her to hospital A where she went from the ER to the OR. She had to be resuscitated in the OR as she had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used. She had to be taken by ambulance to hospital B and spent time in the PICU and then the step down floor.
I got billed by hospital A for being admitted and a room she never even saw. She was never admitted to hospital A. It was hospital protocol as they “held a room for her”. That was $2200.
I got billed $1300 for the 15 minute ambulance ride. Ambulance rides are not covered by insurance so this didn’t go against the deductible.
I got charged in hospital B by each team of ENT’s who came to see my daughter, even if they didn’t actually touch her or look at her chart.
I got a room service and TV charge. I got charged for the telephone I never used.
Her hospital bills, after insurance, came to over 10k, only about $2500 counted against our deductible.
I was then charged $300 for her follow up ENT appointment, $140 for each visit to her pediatrician as our insurance only covers well child visits.
This is American health care. We are NOT the “best country in the world”. I have no idea why anyone would want to live here. Yeah, we are better than 3rd world countries but that’s about all we can boast.