Well, yes - it's the same in Colombia. I lived there for four years. I was able to travel in South America relatively inexpensively and was on vacation in Chile. The bus I was on hit the bus in front of it and I ended up with two broken ribs. I was brought to the ER by my tour guide, afraid that I was going to be in for thousands of dollars. My Colombian insurance company said, "pay out of pocket there, then send us the bill and we'll reimburse you." Being American, I was like, "yeah, right!" But I had not choice. Interestingly, the entire ER bill OUT OF POCKET for an MRI, X-RAY, and Emergency room doctors was ONLY $500. In the states this would have been $20,000. Long story short, I sent the invoice and my insurance reimbursed me. Another time, had to have foot surgery. Didn't pay a THING. And my insurance only cost $30/American per month. The poor in Colombia get FREE health care, because they just CAN'T pay, and I don't mind that my $30/month goes to help them. (But imagine - that's ALL IT COSTS.) Yes, our system is fucked.
Only $500? That's incredible. That type of injury would easily bankrupt many of us in this country. And $30 a month? I paid $300/month years back when I thought it made a difference and the coverage was STILL trash. The system is absolutely fucked.
Yeah. I mean, I’m not psyched that some messed up dude shot and killed a guy, but on the other hand, it’s got their attention. “Stake holders” should not be making bank off of our suffering.
Wooooooooooooow. The difference is staggering.
The way I couldn't even imagine this level of care...
Well, yes - it's the same in Colombia. I lived there for four years. I was able to travel in South America relatively inexpensively and was on vacation in Chile. The bus I was on hit the bus in front of it and I ended up with two broken ribs. I was brought to the ER by my tour guide, afraid that I was going to be in for thousands of dollars. My Colombian insurance company said, "pay out of pocket there, then send us the bill and we'll reimburse you." Being American, I was like, "yeah, right!" But I had not choice. Interestingly, the entire ER bill OUT OF POCKET for an MRI, X-RAY, and Emergency room doctors was ONLY $500. In the states this would have been $20,000. Long story short, I sent the invoice and my insurance reimbursed me. Another time, had to have foot surgery. Didn't pay a THING. And my insurance only cost $30/American per month. The poor in Colombia get FREE health care, because they just CAN'T pay, and I don't mind that my $30/month goes to help them. (But imagine - that's ALL IT COSTS.) Yes, our system is fucked.
Only $500? That's incredible. That type of injury would easily bankrupt many of us in this country. And $30 a month? I paid $300/month years back when I thought it made a difference and the coverage was STILL trash. The system is absolutely fucked.
Yeah. I mean, I’m not psyched that some messed up dude shot and killed a guy, but on the other hand, it’s got their attention. “Stake holders” should not be making bank off of our suffering.