memes

My wife and I had a baby last week via elective caesarian in the Australian public system. It was a fantastic experience. The doctors and surgeons were amazing. The midwives were amazing and super helpful. We were there for three nights and nothing was ever a problem when we needed something. The only charge was the cost of a new birth control implant (the actual implantation was free).

They have also been doing follow up home visits to check how my wife and our baby are going since she was discharged, all still free.

I had a loved-one have to be intubated and was on life-support for around 3-weeks. The total bill in the end was over 2 million USD.

Fortunately I was unemployed at the time and had state-subsidised low-income healthcare so I paid very little out-of-pocket. If it had happened when we were working it probably would have cost us over 50k in deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.

Do not ask me to make it make sense. I have lived in this "system" my entire life and I hate every moment of this dreamworld nonsense.

one of the richest countries in the world yet doesn’t have universal healthcare

We're working on that ... the "richest country in the world" part, not the universal healthcare part.

And you should see the price of a pack of biscuits in the hospital shop!

You have to watch the news constantly to make sure to time your hospital stay during times when your local state or employer isn't in the process of repealing your right to life-support.

In America it costs about $20,000 to have a baby.

https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/childbirth-without-insurance

Thats a rough average of with, without insurance, need a c section or not, etc.

Thats also about 1/3 of a median US yearly salary/wage.

Meanwhile, politicians seem to mostly have no idea why childbirth rates are going down, but they are also mostly sure that they hate immigrants.

Our country is a dumpster fire, please do not come here, you will regret it.

It's really fucked. Unless I am actively dying I will not go to the hospital. I barely cover rent. Weird new pain? Well hopefully it goes away and isn't a symptom of something worse...

But like, think how rich 10 guys get off that. They're so cool.

My next door neighbour and close family friend (when I used to live in the states) had a freak accident and required a heart transplant.

The cost of the transplant surgery and all related medical expenses would have put his family into astronomical medical debt for the foreseeable future. He opted to just die and donate the rest of his organs instead of putting his entire family in debt forever.

He left behind a wife, a daughter, and a special needs grandchild who him and his wife were raising because their daughter had some drug problems.

America is the disturbing confluence of Virginia colony's desire to make some money no matter the spiritual cost and the Massechussets colony's desire to control the spiritual life, no matter the cost in money.

My routine colonoscopy was over $1000 and insurance covered alllll but $300.

You get the friends and family rate?

That's a pretty decent rent for a room, probably also including meals?

Many year ago I lost my job and just as I got a new job but before my insurance could kick in, my appendix ruptured. I had to get surgery and was in the hospital for 3 days, the bill came to something like $25,000.

I negotiated with the hospital, they reduced it to $11,000 and set me on a payment plan. After I paid off the $11,000 they sent me to collections for the other $14,000. Those fuckers.

I refused to pay it and it tanked my credit rating, which made it difficult to get a home loan five years after.