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thelastknowngod ,

EVERY American needs an escape plan if they get sick/injured.

My mom needed dental work done. She didn’t have the cash and asked if I could help pay for it. I started googling and a few days later we ended up in Budapest. We were there for a week. The flight, Airbnb, dental work, and some touristy stuff combined was less than 1/3rd of the cost of she had just went to the guy around the corner from her house.

If it’s non-life threatening or chronic… GTFO of the States.

BudgetBandit ,

I somewhere read that most US hospitals have some hypocritical oak or something like that. I could be wrong since I got my broken leg fixed for some of my monthly income.

Holzkohlen ,

hippocratic
I guess named after Hippocrates

tdawg ,

Why is this getting downvoted to hell? This is fucking funny

smokeppb ,
@smokeppb@lemmy.ml avatar

In my experience, they sell the debt to a collection agency and you start getting nasty phone calls. That, on top of the other stuff you would expect like credit history hits. These charges I got insurance to figure out they were bogus, like billed for receiving treatments my grandmother never got, medications never administered, you name it. Took a lot of phone calls and getting a lawyer though. The whole system is irredeemable.

Kalkaline ,
@Kalkaline@programming.dev avatar

US healthcare is full of waste, greed, and deception. For how much we pay as a country, we should be getting better outcomes and our healthcare workers should be paid better, but neither is happening.

iwasgodonce ,

at least where I am in texas, they tell you what it will cost before you go. When I was in utah, I asked them beforehand what it would cost and they said it would be impossible to know until after the procedure was done. The front desk person said even they weren’t even allowed to know the prices beforehand.

Kalkaline ,
@Kalkaline@programming.dev avatar

That was a federal law change, not a Texas law. You think Texas politicians give a fuck about their constituents?

iwasgodonce ,

good to know. yeah, it didn’t seem like the kind of thing for texas to do on its own.

UFODivebomb ,

Which not all hospitals are following… The fine for breaking the law is less then the “competitive advantage” of screwing over consumers.

healthaffairs.org/…/hospital-and-insurer-price-tr…

bouh ,

But! But! Capitalism is efficient! /s

Psythik ,

OH MY GOD THEY CALL YOU. THE HORROR! WHATEVER WILL I DO?

Seriously, though, who cares? All you gotta do is not pick up the phone. If you’re younger than 40, you’re not answering calls from random numbers anyway. So they ding your credit. Big freakin’ deal. Credit scores are pointless since none of us can afford to use credit anyway. And it all goes away after 7 years, like it never happened.

The only people who agree to pay hospital bills they can’t afford are suckers.

Cyberwitch_7493 ,
@Cyberwitch_7493@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

This comment is so out of touch that it sounds like you’re drowning in a swimming pool of gold wtf.

I can barely afford regular-ass doctor’s appointments and my monthly meds. My credit score and abysmal income literally defines where I can rent an apartment, and that’s why my commute is over 40 minutes via highway without traffic.

If I go to the hospital and it’s not worker’s comp, I’m SUPER DUPER FUCKED, and I know that’s a pretty typical situation.

pinkdrunkenelephants ,

Grow the fuck up.

Medical debt will ruin a person’s credit record, denying them access to housing and even some employment. It absolutely does matter and is not trivial.

CADmonkey ,

He was down voted, because he told the horrifying truth.

The latest version of FICO doesn’t even account for medical debt under a certain amount.

If enough people just stopped paying, the whole thing would collapse. But there’s always someone who gets scared and pays up.

merthyr1831 ,

This actually works lmao some people just refuse to pay and they eventually drop the debt collectors

Psythik ,

It really does work. I’ve never paid a hospital bill ever. Yes your credit is fucked for the next 7 years, but all you have to do is have some patience and your score will recover. Debt collectors can’t do shit if you won’t pick up the phone. I’m a Millenial; not picking up the phone is all I know how to do.

SquishyPandaDev ,
@SquishyPandaDev@yiffit.net avatar

So this isn’t far from what you should do if you’re uninsured. Ask for an itemized bill. Refuse to pay their initial offer. Suddenly the hospital will be quick to lower your bill and work out a fair payment plan. Hospitals hate collections as much as you do

Edit:
Oh, forgot to mention, this is what insurance does. You’re just acting the same

azimir ,

And how about when insured and it’s still insane? I had a regular checkup on a medical device. The doctor 15 minute long “how’s it going, looks fine, see you in a year” was billed at $360 and using the machine to check that the device was fine was $250. With other add one the total “cost” was $690. Outrageous.

Insurance (supposedly good) paid about $300 of it. Holy crap. A single visit to have a doc say you’re good at a rate of $1450/hr ended up being more than I can save in a month. Complete insanity. I’ve gotta get out of this country.

Knusper ,

Hmm, by what metric are the USA the richest country? Wealth of all citizens combined?

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

It’s like how in every city, there’s a Number 1 Chinese restaurant.

You can just say it it doesn’t have to be true

MarkTheBob ,

Average wealth of the people that matter (.0000001% - like 3 people) of the population

azimir ,

Wealthiest country, not healthy country. The US is not a developed nation anymore. Developed nation is a moving target, both because the bar raises as other nations move forward, and as tech/health advanced happen. A nation must keep investing in itself to stay in the developed nation category. The US stopped investing in itself seriously in the early 1980’s and we’ve been coasting on May fronts since then.

We have immense wealth in the hands of corporations and the handul of individuals who really own them. The concentration of wealth is worse than during the Gilded Age of the Robber Barons that ended with the Great Depression and union wars.

The wealth has pushed up the cost of living while driving down the income of people not in higher positions already, creating a gulf of destitution anyone now joining the community must face. Some make it over, but more and more are not making the leap, and many who used to be past the hump of establishing a household and having a middle class lifestyle are backsliding into the gulf of destitution (that’s me).

Corporate profits are at all time record highs while effective incomes are lower than they’ve been in many decades. The nation as a whole has lots of money, but the average person is being crushed by greed and no protection by our government. We’re a rich, but failed nation now.

MapleEngineer ,
@MapleEngineer@lemmy.world avatar

I don’t understand this. Can someone explain it in Canadian?

Peruvian_Skies ,
@Peruvian_Skies@kbin.social avatar

Getting sick in the USA is like going to one of those fancy restaurants where the prices aren't on the menu and are always a lot higher than they should be, eh.

new_acct_who_dis ,

Except you also can’t eat anywhere else or make your own food at home, so you have to eat at the fancy place

Jah348 ,

Well that’s super not how debt works.

expatriado ,

they can fuck your credit score and garnish your state tax returns

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

Credit scores are made up.

Their only value is for loans and credit.

Fun fact - rich people don’t have credit scores. Interesting isn’t it?

guyrocket ,
@guyrocket@kbin.social avatar

Do you have a source for that? I've never heard that before.

Eavolution ,
@Eavolution@kbin.social avatar

We're not particularly rich, but my mum had never taken a loan before and when she was trying to get a phone contract, a company told her she couldn't get a contract with them because of this.

Aux ,

Everyone has a credit score, but rich people don’t take regular loans.

monk ,

Everyone has a credit score

Hello, American.

expatriado ,

of course credit scores are made up, you don’t find those in nature, but for millions of people it affects where they can get a place to rent and if they get hired

WtfEvenIsExistence OP , (edited )

If everyone has a low credit score, no one has a low credit score.

Source: I have a relative who is a landlord that had to start renting to people with low credit because he couldn’t find an applicant that meets his “credit requirement”.

Neato ,
@Neato@kbin.social avatar

Their only value is for loans and credit.

Incorrect. But let's assume you are. This means you cannot: Buy a house, buy a car, take out a loan, get a credit card. For expanded uses, you cannot potentially: keep a credit card, rent a car, rent a home, get a job. Credit scores are made up bullshit invented in the 80s to hurt poor people. But they are still used to, get this, hurt poor people. Rich people don't have credit scores because they have collateral for all their loans that's a lot more liquid than a house.

persolb ,

You can buy houses and cars without a credit score.

If you want other people to buy your stuff for you, that’s when you need credit.

Neato ,
@Neato@kbin.social avatar

Yeah sure. People who can't pay hospital bills and default and destroy their credit can save enough to buy houses and cars straight cash.

You should probably reread the thread.

SuiXi3D ,
@SuiXi3D@kbin.social avatar

Their only value is for loans and credit.

Tell that to every landlord and property management company.

notacat ,

Also, fun fact, your credit can be used to calculate the price you pay for insurance, a required thing even if you outright buy a car or house. So there is no escaping it.

WtfEvenIsExistence OP ,

Insurance isn’t required for a house, althought that’s a really bad decision since all it take is one bad cooking mistake to lose your house.

ramenbellic ,

Insurance is required if you have a mortgage, which is necessary to be a homeowner for 99% of folks.

ramenbellic ,

Wealthy people absolutely have credit scores, and leverage loans and credit every single day to expand and protect their wealth.

Anything can be a fun fact if you’re just making stuff up.

Nice_Melt_Pleb ,

State tax returns? What, all $40 of it?

JohnDClay ,

I think they actually can if you’re unconscious

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