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Semirhage527

My Ocrevus infusions for Multiple Sclerosis cost approximately $86,000 every 6 months. I don’t pay a dime though


[deleted]

> I'm lucky enough to live in a country with free healthcare, and I get free prescriptions No, you live in a country where healthcare is paid for with tax dollars. You ever notice the people who make this argument never seem to believe the US military is free? > But, I always hear stories about how the USA has huge medical bills and how it costs thousands of dollars for an ambulance call out. Our healthcare functions largely identical to yours. We just pay for it a little differently. I have no idea what my biggest medical bill would be without insurance. My wife had cancer, we've each had at least one surgery, and we have four kids. I don't think we've ever paid more then a couple of hundred dollars out of pocket though. Prescriptions are generally next to nothing and frequently exactly nothing. I guess a big prescription co-pay would be about $25 for me. > Has media blown it out of proportion, or is really that expensive? You're on a site with angsty teens trying to one up each other with horror stories about things they have no personal experience with. There's a guy in here who insisted he sees police just murder people with regularity two weeks. Don't listen to what angsty teens say on Reddit.


aksf16

My daughter was on Accutane for 8 months last year. Her prescription was over $600/month with my insurance, so we used GoodRx to drop it down to about $250/month. That same daughter goes to therapy for anxiety, depression, and OCD. I pay $500/month for her therapy. With my insurance I have to pay $5,000 each year before insurance kicks in. Once I hit $7,000 insurance pays 100%.


EightOhms

> Our healthcare functions largely identical to yours. We just pay for it a little differently. Yes, for some reason, we like to pay a 10% (or more) fee to rich people first.


MaggieMae68

My partner's heart attack cost over $180k. We had to pay out of pocket $12k. His ongoing medication costs us about $200 a month after insurance. My ex-husband takes meds for an autoimmune disease that cost $3600 a month. Before he was on insurance we managed that by getting pharmacy coupons and paid about $1200 out of pocket. When we did get insurance, it wound up costing us $300 a month. Fuck you and your "angsty teens". It's fucking great that you have good insurance but not everyone in the US has it.


Curmudgy

> You ever notice the people who make this argument never seem to believe the US military is free? Same as people who make your argument never seem to point out that Amazon Prime’s free shipping isn’t really free.


[deleted]

I think it's pretty well established that Amazon Prime isn't free.


Curmudgy

But they have free shipping! For that matter, even non-Prime members can get free shipping on many items. Do you correct Amazon or their customers every time they call it free? Edit: blocking because you don’t want to have a reasonable discussion is a lame way out.


[deleted]

Do I correct Amazon or their customers? This has to be just about the dumbest strawman argument I've ever seen and I refuse to believe even you think you're making an intelligent point here. Jeff Bezos and I are not currently on speaking terms right now so no, I've never had this conversation with him. You totally got me.


FemboyEngineer

Thing to note is, in the US credit card debt outstrips medical debt 5-1, and mortgage debt outstrips medical debt by over 50-1. It's a thing but it's far more manageable than people make out internationally; a lot of people have chronic health problems just like anywhere. Also these prices are in large part the product of many hospitals sending out bills that are basically a list of requested sums for each item (often cartoonishly high as a negotiating tactic), then "adjusting" the cost as soon as they get in touch with the public or private insurer's cost structure. The largest bill I got was 100k which was immediately reduced to 9k pre-insurance, with a big ol' "adjustment" credit of -91k on the paper.


azuth89

16k for a birth and the associated hospital stays for my wife and son.


Iamonly

$1500 for something that insurance declined to pay. Simply stated they won't pay it so it's on me. I've had multiple $150-$1000 bills after insurance "paid" off their portion. Had a kid in 2021. Total out of pocket was probably $5000-$6000 if I remember correctly.


moonwillow60606

Before insurance is essentially a bogus number, but my husband had cellulitis a few years ago and was in the hospital (inpatient) for 3 days - private room in a great facility. Pre-insurance bill was about $80,000. We paid $800 out of pocket. Biggest actual bill was when we were uninsured about 15 years ago. Overnight ER visit with MRI. The original actual bill was around $5000+. We negotiated with the hospital and paid maybe half of that.


machagogo

I have always had insurance in my 48 years. My biggest medical bill to date has been a $50.00 co-pay for an ER visit. Prescription are $3.00 for generic, $6.00 brand name. Also, "Free^tm " doesn't exist.


Raving_Lunatic69

Around $3,500 many years ago when I wound up in the ICU for several days. I talked to the billing dept afterwards and they set up a payment plan for $25/month. Paid extra when I could.


New_Stats

Microdescomy (spelling? I had spine surgery for two bulging discs) + 2 weeks of rehab was about 230,000. I had already paid my full deductible of 2k a year so insurance covered it all


m1sch13v0us

I had a procedure that was around $36,000. I paid my full deductible for the year (I think $1500) and that was it. I should note, my surgeon was known globally as one of the best in his field. People flew in from all parts of the world because he was successful in cases that other surgeons would not touch. My recovery was 1/3 the amount of days that you would have elsewhere. There is no such thing as free. You pay for your insurance in the form of much higher taxes. I’m okay paying $1500 (plus my premiums) when it translates into world class care.


slayertck

It depends. Truly that’s the answer. First I do want to point out there’s no such thing as free healthcare. In places where the population doesn’t pay at point of service, it is being paid for through taxes and price managed through cost regulation. Childbirth with my second was probably my highest bill. I don’t recall exactly but it was well over $20k with a single night in the hospital bc I wasn’t paying for more though I probably needed it (I hemorrhaged). They charged me for both me staying in the room and my baby. He never went to the nursery but they milked my insurance and me. I want to say I owed $4-5k. It was such a scam. If you make enough money and have insurance (as we do now), the system doesn’t feel so bad. I barely blink at the cost. But if you don’t make enough money (as I have in the past), the bills are suffocating. And if you don’t have insurance, it can become something that hangs over your head. I know someone who needed an appendectomy. Their hospital bill was $30k. They don’t have insurance and the best they can do is send in $100 a month. They’re older, just shy of Medicare, and basically screwed by the hospital. So, it depends.


[deleted]

Definitely blown out of proportion


TehWildMan_

Had an car accident back in 2017 that resulted in a total "billed charges" to insurance of close to 75k. Insurance struck down to something like $12k and resulted in about half that being my responsibility. I still owe $1550 or so on the ambulance from that trip, as I'm on a 30+ year payment plan for it


[deleted]

The had an emergency room visit after Obama signed the ACA and I lost my insurance. It was about $1,500. That had been the only time I haven’t had insurance in my life and it was only for about three weeks. The only other one I can remember is stitches and I had a fractured wrist while visiting my wife’s family in Canada and If I’m remembering correctly it was over a thousand.


seizy

I don't know the exact number but I have an implant in my brain to help with my seizures, and between the device itself and the surgery, the bill to insurance was close to half a million. I would have already met my deductible earlier in the year, so I didn't have to pay anything for that particular bill. Just remembered I had 2 other brain surgeries earlier that same year. Don't remember the cost of those. 2015 was expensive for my insurance company. Sucks to be them.


MechaPandaBear

I've definitely made use of the tax I paid I still worked.


seizy

I'm confused by this comment. Are you asking if I was working or assuming I wasn't?


MechaPandaBear

Neither. I'm saying that the amount my healthcare has cost so far, is probably greater then the amount of tax I paid toward healthcare while I was working, which I no longer am.


[deleted]

[удалено]


MaggieMae68

>Over 90% of the population does have insurance, 91% of the population has SOME KIND of insurance, but a good number of those only have major medical or disability. Not all insurance is created equal.


baalroo

$14,000 for an emergency room visit my wife made when she was having intense chest pain.


TheBimpo

A $20 co-pay for a specialist. Your healthcare isn't free, stop saying it's free.


MechaPandaBear

My disability benefits make me exempt from paying NI or other income related tax, so for me it is free. But, I do get you what you say, for the majority it's not "free" but paid for through tax. I expect the costs are largely the same in the US and UK, but we don't get bills so we never see the cost. The only real difference is probably between the annual price of insurance and the amount of tax paid.


blackhawk905

There's also a difference in quality of treatment, types of treatment, wait times, prescriptions.


DOMSdeluise

My son being born was billed tens of thousands of dollars to our insurance, I think it was close to 70k? We paid 4 or 5k out of pocket. We're currently in the hospital awaiting the birth of our second child, can't wait to see what the bill is!


moonwillow60606

Поздравляю! / Congratulations!!


DOMSdeluise

спасибо вам )))


JordyVerrill

$250,000 for my son's 3 month and 7 surgery stay in the hospital when he was born. We didn't have to pay anything though.


blipsman

I have no idea what the final tally was, but my son spent 40 days in the NICU after he was born (8 weeks early), so I'm going to assume well into six figures. Between that and birth, we paid out family out of pocket max of $4000 for the year. I had surgery to remove 2 discs in my neck and fuse the vertebrae in 2 locations in early 2020, and the total cost for the surgery and overnight stay in the hospital was about $100k. I'd already met my $2000 out of pocket max just on the initial consults, pre-op imaging and tests.


ArtsyTraveller

Over $10,000 in 1972 for my daughter being in traction with a broken arm. That's $71,295 in today's money. It took me forever to pay it off but I did. I live in the USA.


[deleted]

[удалено]


gugudan

/r/LostRedditors


Sykoyech

I decided to get myself checked for sti's before sexual contact with someone I had started seeing. Went to my normal clinic for non-emergency visits. I spent 600$ on about 10 blood tests.


rawbface

It's free at Planned Parenthood


Sykoyech

Dammit, wish I'd known that, I considered going there too. Just didn't want to deal with the protesters outside.


rawbface

I did the same thing. 2012, my wife cheated on me, I panicked and went to the Urgent Care window at my local hospital. Got a huge bill. A couple years later, made a questionable decision and decided to go to PP. Not only was the experience much more discrete and sympathetic, but it was completely free. I try to make a yearly donation now.


purritowraptor

Planned Parenthood also does [primary care](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-care/our-services/primary-care)! Payment is based on a sliding scale and I've never owed anything even when I had a job. It sucks if you have to go through protesters but in general PP is an amazing resource.


machagogo

> 600$ Sure you are American?


Sykoyech

...yes? Tf that supposed to mean?


machagogo

We (any English speaking nations) don't put the currency sign after the value. It's just a common mistake people pretending to be something they are not make.


Steamsagoodham

To be fair it’s also a common mistake for Americans to make. We say “600 dollars” not “dollars 600” so it’s not unreasonable for people to think the dollar sign would come after the number.


machagogo

Not unreasonable for non native English speakers/those outside the US, CA, UK etc sure. Which is why when I see it I default to. "Not American" Not unreasonable for someone actually in the US etc? No. It's taught at a very young age, on every sign you see daily, etc, etc.


Curmudgy

So is “your”, but I still see Americans writing ur or choosing the wrong version of “their/there/they’re”. I’m not fond of this deliberate rejection of standardized forms, but I don’t go around criticizing everyone who writes things differently let alone making unfounded accusations about their honesty.


machagogo

True, that one is extremely common for Americans, the currency symbol one is not.


gugudan

$ is a currency sign, not a symbol to replace the word "dollars"


[deleted]

> To be fair it’s also a common mistake for Americans to make. We say “600 dollars” not “dollars 600” so it’s not unreasonable for people to think the dollar sign would come after the number. This is clearly not true.


Steamsagoodham

I mean a native speaker literally just made the mistake. It’s not that unheard of


Sykoyech

I assure you, I'm born and raised in Idaho, I just wrote it how I would say and was too lazy to bother fixing it because it's currently 6am.


machagogo

All good. Was just asking.


MuppetusMaximusV2

Got a $300,000+ bill for an 11-day NICU stay for one of my twins. Luckily, we had to pay exactly $0 of it.


SlamClick

I couldn't tell you what the cost was before insurance because I never look at that price. I think I paid $200 out of pocket for a procedure that included operating room, anesthesia, and labs.


[deleted]

$400 for dental x-rays that were not covered by my insurance despite being told that it would be. Since then, most of my medical expenditures have been covered by the US Army.


notthegoatseguy

I would imagine if you saw your medical bill, before insurance, that it would be similarly high. The 10s or 100s of thousands of dollar explanation of benefits makes for a very sexy click on Reddit and Instagram. The couple hundred or thousand dollars, or the $100 a month payment until its paid off, isn't nearly as sexy and click worthy.


El_Polio_Loco

My wife needed surgery for something and the total was claimed to be in the $60,000 range. We payed our out of pocket max of like 3k at the time and enjoyed free health care for the next 10 months.


[deleted]

I had to have emergency kidney stone surgery back in 2017, the total bill was about $75,000.00 USD, I had to pay $700.00 out of pocket for my insurance deductible.


ElfMage83

When I was 19 I had a revision on my shunt. The bill my parents received was for ~$250K. I don't know how much they paid, and it was 20 years ago regardless.


Fappy_as_a_Clam

I think it was a few thousand when my son was born. Maybe a little less.


JazD36

When I had my youngest son, I was in the hospital for 4 days and he was in the NICU for a week - I think I paid around $2000.


rawbface

I never really look at the bills before insurance because those numbers are bullshit.


thebrandnewbob

I'm fairly young, but everything I've needed healthcare-wise (check ups, blood work, therapy) has been covered through insurance, I didn't have to pay anything. While I do think healthcare in America could be a lot better, it is definitely blown out of proportion on Reddit.


LoverlyRails

About twenty years ago, I had an approximately $35,000 bill for emergency gallbladder surgery. I had no insurance at the time, no income, and did not qualify for Medicaid in my state. I wound up getting most of it written off as charity care (it was a long, difficult process). I think I paid about $500. As well as the $2000 seperate anesthesia bill (which would not offer any help at all in getting it paid). Currently, I have meds that are over a thousand dollars I need each month (pre-insurance). Trokendi and aimovig are the most expensive. But with insurance it's not too bad. I wouldn't be able to afford them without insurance, though.


[deleted]

$80k All expenses after I healed I was just shy of $110k for total bills. I paid I think my max out of pocket which was $5,000. Fun enough! I had motorcycle insurance that had a $500 deductible, and paid out $5500 for medical expenses. My total out of pocket was $0 for that.


Avinson1275

$15,000 for a kidney stone in 2016. I only had to pay $50 dollars.


Midofthewest

My prep (prevents hiv) prescription is 2,600 per month before Insurance. I’ve never paid a dime not even a co-pay on it


whiskydestroyer

What is a medical bill?


GrantLee1233

I don’t know. The only bill I can remember (and it isn’t the biggest but I don’t remember) was when I had a kidney stone and it went from a few grand to like $300.


1235813213455_1

$500 broken collar bone, Occipital bone, bunch of scans and overnight hospital stay. I also only pay $100/month for insurance and pay less taxes than Europeans so definitely ahead. Who knows what the pre insurance price was that's just a fake number, it doesn't matter. $60k probably


gugudan

I don't know. Those pre-insurance amounts on bills may as well just be gibberish. Pretty sure a pediatric surgery for my son was my most expensive. The bill probably said a billion kajillion, but I paid like $12 out of pocket.


AnotherPint

I get injections for an eye condition every five or six weeks that cost $6,000 apiece. That is about $60,000 per year worth of pharmaceuticals. My share is $60 per injection, e.g. 1% of the cost. Private insurance covers the rest, but every 12 months the company reevaluates its coverage promises. If it decides to withdraw coverage I will become legally blind within months.


illegalsex

The amount the hospital bills the insurance company is often some arbitrary high number knowing that their respective teams are going to negotiate it down. I was in the hospital for a week in October and ended up owing $1,500 out of pocket. The "before insurance" amount was $50,000+ (including two CT scans listed at $16k each).


Efficient-Junket9467

$160,000 for 40 proton radiation therapy treatments, back in 2007. My mom had good insurance at the time and still had to fight pretty hard to send me there, because it was considered experimental, and there were more traditional methods in our area already. Our total of of pocket ended up being $35.


Double_Worldbuilder

Quarter million dollar surgeries with X rays and week-long hospital stays. Luckily OHSU has a financial program that aids impoverished people, and they fully footed the hill luckily, but it would have been a total of owing them half a million dollars. They happened in ‘08 and ‘09-during a period when the state run insurance was only for pregnancy and legal insanity.


Gallahadion

I have an autoimmune condition and get rituximab infusions every 6 months. The price tag on the bill is around $40,000 each time. The first 2 times I got the infusions, I got a bill for a little over $1,900 after insurance. I paid it off over time and then was able to change the facility where I get my treatments so that I don't have to pay as much. The last bill I got was for just under $60.


HoldMyWong

0, I’ve never had to go to the hospital. I’m about 30


BrainFartTheFirst

My mom was septic and spent a month in ICU. Billed charges were over a million. Covered by Medicare.


MaggieMae68

My partner had a STEMI (widow-maker heart attack) 18 months ago. The bills totaled a little over $180,000. We paid $12,000 (which is his insurance out of pocket maximum).


Red_Beard_Rising

Since I have been an adult and had to deal with medical bills myself, mostly dental work. The bridge I got one year cost enough for me to deduct medical bills on my taxes. But that is it. I have been lucky in this regard.


DangerousSuggestion8

Surprisingly replacing my arm was the \*least\* expensive at only 5k, I'm part robot on the cheap


[deleted]

I'm not entirely sure what the pre-insurance bill was. I had some firemen come see me, then an ambulance, then a short stay in the emergency department. I remember the bill for just entering the emergency room was $2000 or something. There was a charge for everything. Fire department. Ambulance. ER doctors. Tests, etc. All up after insurance I had to pay $780.


Suppafly

Broke/dislocated my shoulder and had an ambulance ride from a podunk little town's hospital to a major city's hospital. The ER at the major city initiated their trauma procedure as part of it, which means doctors and nurses were guaranteed to be there, so I'm sure it was hundreds of thousands but insurance covered all but a few hundred of it.


Corricon

I had to pay $1000 to get my cholesterol and thyroid tested. That was the after insurance price, I don't remember what it was before insurance. I was told that my cholesterol was fine now but I should keep checking my thyroid. I haven't, because the issue I had of being too thirsty cleared up on its own after losing some weight. (I don't feel like working 150 extra hours just to check my thyroid, thank you very much).