I spent half that time in Critical Care (much of that on a ventilator, a small amount sedated), and most of the rest in a specialist neuro-rehab unit. I would have died otherwise.
Fortunately it cost me nothing - Thank Bevan for the NHS - but if I were in the US I imagine I would be financially crippled!
Great thing about medical debt is you don’t have to pay it.
I’m not from the US, but I’ve heard someone from there explain the system.
When you go to hospital, and get a bill of $250.000 your insurance company will cover let say $50.000. You will get a bill for $1.200 and the rest will be declared by the hospital to their insurance company as damages.
It’s super weird, I still don’t get it but apparently this is how it works in most cases, or as I’m told.
Depends.
My dad went in the hospital for like probably 3 months, and afiak, their small bussiness is still running. They have insurance.
For everyone else who don’t have insurance and don’t have any assets, just refuse to pay the bills, like what are they gonna do? Confiscate your organs? (Inb4 they pass the “USA Repossess Organs Act”)
Don’t give them ideas, they’re already trying to control women and negate bodily autonomy.
All the screwed. And now as of this month medical debt will be part of your credit reports, so good luck on getting a home loan or job
Why on earth would debt effect getting a job? My employer doesn’t know my credit rating.
Mortgage and loans I understand but not the job bit.
They changed the law so medical debt can go on your credit score.
I get that. I don’t get why my employer should be aware of it though.
I’m speculating here, and don’t think for a second I’m in favour of this, but probably so your employer knows how desperate you are for a job and therefore how much they can push you.
Or how likely you are to steal money, especially in a role with access to cash or bank accounts.
Credit history is often included in US background checks
That’s bonkers. My employer has No reason to know my credit rating and unless I’m working in some kind of ‘protected’ industry not sure why I would require a background check.
More likely you just would not have been kept in hospital four months here. Somehow we have the combination of highest cost and also cost-cutting schemes.
To answer your question - $18,000 I guess, if I got lucky and the insurance worked correctly. That’s the alleged max out of pocket for the insurance I pay for at work.
According to https://nchstats.com/average-cost-of-hospital-stays-in-us/ the average cost for inpatient care in the United States is 3,025 dollars.
4 months of 30 days multiplied by 3,025 is equal to 363,000 dollars without insurance.
That is an entirely believable number to me.
If you spent 4 months in a U.S. hospital and didn’t die, you would spend the rest of your life wishing you did.
According to https://nchstats.com/average-cost-of-hospital-stays-in-us/#google_vignette the average is $3.025 per night. 4 months = 120 days = $363,000 = €313.307,21
The average cost of a hospital stay in a U.S. hospital is about $3,000 per day, but it varies significantly by location. So long stays like yours might cost between $250,000 and $500,000.
If your insurance covers it (and about 92% of Americans have health insurance), you’d be looking at your annual out of pocket max, which the law caps at $18,000 for family plans or $9,000 for individual plans, but which most people on employer sponsored plans (around 60% of Americans) have out of pocket maxes around $4,000 to $5,000. Source
So for most Americans, your hospital stay would’ve probably cost the individual patient about $5,000. Insurance would’ve paid another $350,000.
But for some Americans, they’d be looking at a $360,000 bill and then would just file bankruptcy, start over with close to a net worth of zero, at least for non-exempt assets (people generally get to keep their homes, cars, and retirement accounts in bankruptcy so it won’t actually be starting from zero if you’re well into a middle age in the middle class).
Or worse, the hospital would realize they’re not getting paid, and then would find a reason to kick you out as soon as you’re stabilized. They have to keep you alive even when you can’t pay, but don’t have to treat you beyond that for free.
Agree 100% except one thing to be a little picky, the insurance doesn’t pay the full 350k like ever, that’s the list price they have negotiated prices with the hospital that differ, and if your ask the hospital bursar/collections you can get a cash price that’s usual less as well.
And if you do have insurance and get a bill over a few thousand, there are pretty good odds insurance will deny paying for it and drag you through many levels of confusing and auto-denied appeals over the course of 6+ months! Even if your procedure is clearly covered in your summary plan description or required by law.
And this is why Brian Thompson got what was coming to him.
With the recent changes to the medical insurance landscape in America, and thousands upon thousands of people losing their jobs due to various factors, your 90% figure is pretty generous. Add in the fact that most insurance is tied directly into employment, Americans have much less options than the rest of the free world, unless you are filthy rich.
do you loose your house if you file bankruptcy?
generally, no
Excellent answer
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I will say that I’m glad you’re still here with us, friend
I’m British just reading this thread and shaking my head. Can’t fathom these stories.
And hope that the tories don’t get into power again and kill the NHS.
You probably would have been sent home much earlier
With opium
And a $100,000 bill.
Unless you got a couple of million bucks in your bank account…. Super fucked
Or have good insurance.
Even then how whats your deductible or your out of pocket cost before insurance kicks in and then your doctor will have to prove you needed it they might stick you with a bill anyway and 4 months in IC will likely be $5009-15,000 per day maybe more depending on any surgical procedures. The land of the free run by the POTUS- Pedo of the United states, what a great time to be dying
Hmmm. Probably like $500,000. It would be cheaper, but good affordable rates are only available to insurance companies. But with a GoFundMe plan you might save up to a $50,000. Best bet is to get on the evening news with you in total shambles. The good news is you can haggle hospitals here, no joke. Not acceptable anywhere else in the US unless you’re buying something hot.
My brother smashed and broke his thumb.x ray, er visit, blah blah blah. They call him a month later to talk about payment. I cant remember how much, he had shit insurance though. He said, I’d love to pay, but I can only afford 20 a month. I’m willing to pay 20 a month for the rest of my life. Hospital told him dont worry about it. We got a fund for that.
Yeah, that’s good to hear
Buying something hot
Your mum?
That is bankruptcy, pure and simple. There’s no way you’d financially recover from a four month stint in the hospital.
People have literally unalived themselves here over hospital bills like that.
Thank God you weren’t in a shit hole country, like the US.
America needs to be thrown into a volcano
This is not YouTube, don’t make it so. You can -and in my opinion, should- say suicide, kill, etc.
Dont say unalived. Say “suicideded” or killed themselfs. Stop censoring yourself
So much of this
I don’t understand the need to find alternative words for words we already have. What, in 20 years we need to find alternative words again because the next generation feels insulted by the words this generation came up with?
Just use the words. Suicide. It is what it is. Its ugly, it’s sad, it shouldn’t be needed, but here we are. Don’t make it more palatable by censoring yourself
I like “met their end credits”
I don’t think suicide really needs a cutsie nickname
As someone who just last week attended a wake for the suicide of an 11 year old who lived two houses down from us and was one of my child’s friends :thank you for saying that.
Crazy that suicide even crosses the mind of an 11 year old, let alone them actually going through with it.
I think you’ve hit perfectly why I don’t like the “unalive” and related euphemisms for death. Death, especially violent death, is a big fucking deal, and trying to obscure that impact behind vague or even cutesy words, makes it seem mundane or routine and accessible.
