I spent 3 hours in the ER on the 15th. I just got my $11,000.00 bill in the mail.

This is also why I will never be an organ donor. I have actually talked so many people out of becoming organ donors because if you don't have insurance they won't even put you on the list for a transplant.

Also...a little short story about organ donor...my friend died in a motorcycle accident about 20 years ago. His family donated his organs. About a month later the family received a bill for 50K for harvesting the organs. Needless to say they obtained an attorney. I would have been sick and probably ready to kill if my son/daughter died and I was generous enough to donate his/her organs and then be CHARGED for it...I'd be damned! I would have asked for the organs to be "retrieved" with a FU.

If you need an organ please don't count on me for one...if I cant get you certainly won't receive...and that goes for most people I know.

Originally posted by groingrinder
I had an EKG and a urine test and a ultrasound. Plus some intravenous pain killer. My hands are shaking uncontrollably right now because I am so ticked off. MEDICINE SHOULD NOT COST THIS MUCH. I have lost my job and make $50.00 dollars a month. To be fair I must say that Banner Baywood discounted my bill by $8,000.00 so that my final bill is only $3,000.00, but I still cannot pay that when I only have fifty bucks a month coming in. I owe the Radiologist $460.00 dollars for their test and I still have not gotten the bill from the ER doctor who will bill separately. I will update this thread after I talk to the financial responsibility representative from Banner Baywood.

Folks, you don't want Commie Care, you know the stuff from UK or Canada, Then lower this bill to $500.

I feel your pain and completely understand where you are coming from. I tried warning people the our Healthcare system is heading towards what they have through out the rest of the industrialized world. And there's the solution to the problem. Although other factors need to be taken into account such as inflation and doctor school, but I hope everyone get my point.

And it is going to happen whether you want to or not because if this man don't pay his bill, the local government does and it eventually puts that bill to higher property taxes. And when your in government at such a low level, you put pressure on your local Congressman and Senators to fix the problem and trust me, Congressman love to listen to what the local authorities have to say if they want support from the local political parties.

Enjoy folks.

Originally posted by MasterCylinder
The US healthcare system is a complete joke. I am an American expat living abroad just for this reason. What I find the most surprising is how brainwashed the average person is about the situation.

A couple years ago I was living in Canada and a friend of mine in Texas told me "I hope we don't get the type of heath care system they have in Canada." I told him the health care in Canada was great and better than I ever had in the US. He said "No that is not true. I saw a report on Fox News and they said the system there was inferior and the US system was far superior" (for whatever retarded reasons I don't remember).
WTF, I lived there and he still thought what Fox News had to offer was the truth.
good luck with that as you all go bankrupt...

He saw it on FOX...and maybe even read it on ATS. Why can't you just admit that you are wrong and have no idea what you're talking about?

reply to post by sirbikesalot06


What do you find so abhorrent about 'Commie Care'?

Shouldn't people be treated equally as opposed to their level of income?

Originally posted by Gazrok

seeing as how Obamacare was written by the insurance companies I dont see any end in sight

That's exactly right...and it's why it won't pass. It is NOTHING like what was expected during the election trail (of course, many of us knew that, and so didn't vote for him, hehe...)

Not to be impudent...but is not the existing system the way it is because it had to be...shall we be polite and say 'adulterated'...in order for your crooked politicians to vote for it?

Is it not profoundly different from what was originally proposed by Obama?

Originally posted by Estharik
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

Buy some land, maybe make some traps? Don't come at me with attacks sir. Usually, I'll give you a smart answer instead of an intelligent one.

/\Obviously
Since you missed the entire point...showing your ignorance:
So I will spell it out for you: L A N D is H E R E for E V E R Y O N E IT should not be bought sold or owned... DUH!

The comic strip THE DUPLEX by Glenn McCoy published this apropos comic today:





That comic may only be available at that link today, December 29, 2010. The comic shows a patient sitting on the edge of a doctor's examing table. The doctor is staring at an X-Ray he's holding in his left hand and is saying:

"These X-Rays of your wallet don't look good."

reply to post by ufowatcher87


Can you explain to me how in these situations you should act if these happened in USA and also what would be the cost of all of this?

1.
I disclocated my shoulder for ten times and the doctor said it would need an operation. I was on line for the operation for 2 months ( because it was not critical operation so no need to be in hurry ).

I spent two nights in hospital after the surgery. And I also had physiotherapy two times after I was released.

What was the cost for all of this? 25euros (€), that about $30. How much would that cost in USA?


2. I had to go to a x-ray because I had fever and I was caughing and the doctor thought that I had something wrong with my lungs ( asthma etc ) . They took x-rays ann I had antibiotics.

The cost was 18€ + plus 10€ for the medicins. How would that have been in USA?



Can someone in here explain to me why the system in USA can be in anyones mind better, when people simply go bankrubt because of hospital/medical bills??


We have taxes and thats why hospitals are "free", only a minimum charge.

There are also private hospitals and medical centers where you can go without waiting in line, but it costs more.

And if you think that the medical "standars" in my country sucks, then why didn´t for example David Beckham come to USA for his surgery? No, hi came to my hometown and near to my apartment to get the best possible treatment in it was not in USA.

In my opinion the medical system in USA is just to make more money for the rich and for the medical industry.

I haven´t yest figured out what was so wrong with this Obama medecaresystem in someones mind?

He got a huge chunk of the bill written off, then he is probably eligible for Medicaid or something like that. The people who are hurt by the health care system are those who are working full time but making just a bit too much money to have any of the bill written off and they can't afford insurance. I know someone who falls into that category and it is sad. They had an ER visit and found out that they made about $3500 more than the limit to have any of the bill written off. The only health insurance they can afford on their income has a $15,000 deductible - yep, $15,000. All that does is protect them from losing the house - maybe. To get insurance that would have a reasonable deductible, they would have to pay around $800 a month in premiums - when someone only makes $2000 a month, they can't afford that kind of premium. So they are stuck until they run up enough bills that they lose their house and everything else, then they probably will still not be eligible for anything because they still make too much money for Medicare or whatever it is. Too many people in this country fall in the crack as far as medical care goes. This person would be better off to quit the job and sell the house and go on welfare - then could get free medical care - the system is just totally screwed up.

where are you from johnny? im in saskatchewan.

Originally posted by sonofliberty1776

Originally posted by MessOnTheFED!
Health care should be free PERIOD.

Really? So if health care is free, who pays the doctors, nurses etc..? Who pays for their schooling and training?

I predict your answer will be "The Government". If so, what gives you the right to steal money from me just because you are sick? Do you also have the right to steal my money because you are hungry? Homeless? Because your Audi is in the shop? or you can't buy another carton of cigarettes? GET OFF YOUR LAZY A$$ AND GET A JOB!

Agreed agreed agreed agreed.

OP.. if you are an american citizen you should know what the costs will be, before going to a hospital (especially if you can't afford it).. coming on ATS isn't going to pay your bill. $50 a month? Why do you have internet then? I pay $90 a month for mine, the cheapest I've seen internet is $20-30. There are holes in your story.

Maybe get a job? That might help. Unemployment is supposed to help out while you find a job.. not while you sit at home and say your hospital bills are too much. The shortness of breath and chest pains.... helps me make sense of your crazy story.

Also somehow you're still complaining after they chopped off more than half of your bill....

You even said you'd pay them 5 dollars a month? You think they'll agree to a payment that will take 50 years?

I can't believe this thread is on the front page.. this is sad.

Originally posted by ldyserenity

Originally posted by Estharik
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

Buy some land, maybe make some traps? Don't come at me with attacks sir. Usually, I'll give you a smart answer instead of an intelligent one.

/\Obviously

Since you missed the entire point...showing your ignorance:
So I will spell it out for you: L A N D is H E R E for E V E R Y O N E IT should not be bought sold or owned... DUH!

So to people like you, not only should health care be F R E E, but now land
should be F R E E also? No one should own anything? What kind of dilusional
bubble do you live in? Put away the crack pipe.

Originally posted by colonelblake
where are you from johnny? im in saskatchewan.

A little north-east of the Centre of the Universe. For you Americans, that's Toronto.

And I get to post this cartoon once again...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a3d57d4767e0.gif[/atsimg]

reply to post by MessOnTheFED!
Its not free someone is paying for it, taxes and if you dont pay taxes then its free for you, but someone is still paying. Remember what grandpa said there is nothing free in this world,maybe in the next one. And yes I think we pay to much for health care. I also think we reap what we sow. By that I mean look at all the dumb lawsuits.

A lot of people in the US are too selfish to see how great the free healthcare system actually is. I would exchange 2 wars for free healthcare any day of the week.

I don't see why people are grilling this person who only spent 3 hours in the ER to get a $3,000 bill. This is the kind of things that should make people think wtf? what if that happened to you and you had no insurance or barely making ends meet? What if your child gets cancer and needs $70,000 to get chemotherapy (from what I understand it costs much more than that now).

Are you telling me that a doctor's time and all the equipment is worth over $1,000 an hour for some testing and painkiller? Your healthcare system is broken. It is broken because profit seems more part of the agenda than helping people out. You're shot? The doctor will see you shortly, here are 10 pages to fill out in the mean time. Oh you have no insurance? Perfect we have lay-away plans for your life, we make killer money off the interest and you get to live! win-win. But really it is a win for the hospital shareholders while the person who lived is living to regret selling their soul to live.

I would call them up and see if you can apply for indigent care, with your income or lack of you should easily qualify, pending state. I just had the same thing done as you (gull bladder failure for me) and I'm unemployed, my bill was reduced to $19 for the ER, still have to work out payment for Doc, ultrasound tech, meds, etc. but they will work with you even if it's a few bucks a month and will also reduce their bill on a sliding scale. I have always payed cash, could never afford ins. I also have two kids and have payed thousands over the yrs in med bills. Here's my take, some may agree some not, we US taxpayers pay out billions a yr to provide illegals health care including paying for their babies that they can't afford but they keep coming here and expect US citizens to pay for their child births, including benifits to their kids, what do they do, they keep having kids one right after the other. Someone has to pay for all the illegals that keep spiting out kids that they don't have money for and guess who pays we do. So....I've been unemployed for a yr, recently divorced and went to 0 income overnight and needed help. My pride kept me from going until I had no choice, if illegals can abuse our system the way they do, then you have every right as a US citizen to use the system to also get help, thats what it's there for, use it if you need to. Apply for indigent care it's easy to do, millions of illegals do every yr. and we pay for them, so I have no problem helping a citizen that needs help and you do.

Bottom line...

Health issues do not correlate to willingness to work, financial success, intelligence or any other remote factor that can make it a variable in the capitalistic scheme.

"Get a job"...has no logical support in the discussion.

Cancer doesn't care if you are 3 years old or 80, if you are a rocket scientist or janitor, a rich man or poor.

Disease could care less about capitalism....we need to stop pretending it does.

People who work hard and succeed do not get a free pass guaranteeing that they and their loved ones will not get sick, be in a car accident, contract an incurable disease.

There is absolutely no reason or virtue within the capitalistic equation that we should bankrupt people at random.

Disease doesn't care about capitalism and we need to stop treating it as if it does.

reply to post by Equinox99


What I find more bizarre is the notion amongst some posters in this thread is that a nationalised medical system means an automatic step towards Communism.

Originally posted by gncnew

Is this a joke? I pray it is. "Mental anguish and atrocities... "

"Senseless mega armies".....

For one, what the hell are you doing in the ER for mental illness? Why are they running tests on you if you've got PTSD?

Go get in a strait jacket if you're that jacked up ("... have a chance to understand":lol

.

20 days in the ER? You're lying. They'd have done surgery on you if you were in there that long. AND if it's because you're jacked in the head, you would have been committed, not offered to stay in the ER you goon.

Lastly, because America has those "Senseless mega armies" - Canada doesn't have to. But if the US was like you, you'd be speaking Ruskie by now... sorry - fact.

The only facts you stated are the ones you made up, like the rest of the dumbed down Americans, you believe anything that is shoved down your throat. Saarrah Paallinn hurr durrr..

Dude, there's some seriously ill people out there and this could be your mom, your dad, your kids, and trust me it wouldn't be a kick in the ass that would solve the problem like you might think. So go ahead, laugh at the disabled, why am I not surprised? Oh yeah, you're just another cold heartless american... thanks for reminding me of why most of the world hates you so much.

You misinterpreted what I said about the ER, I didn't stay there for 20 days, I visited it 20 times in a month. I'm not the only one who ends up like this, there are tons of other people all over the world who suffer from the same disorder. Why am I even explaining this again? It's not like you have the ability, capacity or willingness to understand what I'm saying or comprehend what anyone with mental illness is going through...

And trust me, Canada does a fine job on Defense and Peace Keeping but we don't invest billions of dollars in invading other countries just and dictating them on they should live. That's where your tax money is going, into ATTACKING not DEFENDING; if you think otherwise, then you're crazier than I am for real.

Originally posted by finallianstallion
Can you explain to me how in these situations you should act if these happened in USA and also waht would be the cost of all of this? 1

1.
I disclocated my shoulder for 10 times and the doctor said it would need an operation. I was on line for the operation for 2 month ( because it was not critcal operation ).
I spent two nights in hospital after the surgery. And I also had physiotherapy 3 times.

What was the cost for all of this? 25euros (€), that about $30. How much would that cost in USA?

2. I had to go to a x-ray because I had fever and I was caughing and the doctor thought that I had something wrong with my lungs ( asthma etc ) . They took x-rays ann I had antibiotics.

The cost was 18€ + plus 10€ for the medicins. How would that have been in USA?

You have my deepest condolences... I am truly apologetic and wish that you hadn't received such barbaric and substandard care. One would have to harken back to the 1960's in the USA to be treated so poorly. Two months for surgery? Outrageous! Two days in the hospital post surgery? Barbaric in a Third World kind of way. Physical therapy three times? Maybe in the first week... With six to eight weeks to follow. X-rays and antibiotics for your symptoms? If you want to stake your life on a "thought" that's your business, I'd prefer a real clinical workup before committing to any therapy.

How would it gone in the USA? Infinitely better. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia came to the United States when he needed treatment... Not anywhere else... And with good reason... There is no finer healthcare available anywhere else in the world.. Think of it in terms of automobiles... The King will only have the finest, not some Yugo.