There are free health clinics, health fairs, Medicaid, Hospitals, and other groups that will help with medical costs. This idea that people that aren't rich or don't have health insurance can't get treated in the U.S. is bullshit. If you need medical treatment in the U.S. you cant get it. You may have to fill out a few extra forms or make a few phone calls, but you can get it.
They won't treat you for stage 4 cancer.
Dude... last time I got sick, (self diagnosis) they didn't spend 10 minutes trying to figure it out, they just stabbed me in the ass twice, once in the arm and said "SHOW ME THE MONEY AND GTFO". It was a shot of penicillin, a booster, and an anti-histamine in my arm. Oh they also gave me a bottle of hydrocodone... and a prescription for 20 amoxicillin.
I still wonder about why they gave me the hydrocodone... like... sleep? Let your lungs relax? Idk.
It did work >_>
It was a bacterial infection with bronchitis... but... in the ass!? Give me a fucking inhaler at least instead of the hydrocodone
If you didn't figure it out... allergy season can't stop me from smoking cigs.
Oh, total cost after co-pay: $250 just for visiting, $40 for each shot in the ass, $20 for the anti-histamine, $400 for the amoxicillin and $660 for the hydrocodone.
I didn't know that last part, but at the time I was on my mom's insurance plan... otherwise I'da tollemof
So... knowing what it was, I could have solved it, even with marked up prices, for $500.... and that's with the ridiculousness of the amoxicillin. But noooo
There are cracks in the system. People who for one reason or another do not qualify for care. Sometimes you make just too much to get care or don’t meet other restrictions like age, residency, etc. many clinics have very long waits, and certain programs will ban you for making appointments and not showing up as little as 3 times because the demand is so great. (Yes. It’s your responsibility to show up- but... well- let’s not get into that.) So there are options for health care but there are people who legitimately fall in between cracks. There’s also the fact that people may be unaware and lack the resources to find these programs even exist. However any publicly open hospital is required to offer emergency treatment. The caveat is that said treatment is only required to stabilize a condition they are not required to treat an underlying cause. For instance- if you have a bad heart valve and have a heart attack they must stabilize you, but aren’t required to do a transplant or valve...
... replacement. They stabilize, you leave, you have to come back each time it happens. If you have an infection that is life threatening because of a bad tooth- they will likely give IV fluids if required and antibiotics, but not extract the tooth. In fact- few hospitals have dentistry and especially emergency dentistry because of the emergency liability. Most dentists are private practices and America actually has a hidden dental health crisis because of that and poor dental insurance with low life time limits. The flaw of our system is that asides being a burden to those who must jump through these hoops and endure chronic conditions repeatedly and possibly die from what would have been a treatable condition- it also is a HUGE burden to tax payers and society to the profit of healthcare...
Hospitals must treat for emergencies but they are reimbursed by the government. That means that YOU pay each time someone must get medical care this way. But the people who use this system tend to be people who get little to nonpreventative care, and who tend to be high at risk with poor and unsanitary living conditions, exposure to elements, and poor diets and health routines. So when a homeless man gets a tooth ache that would be a $200 extraction- it goes untreated. Because of how and where he lives and what he eats he is more likely to experience rapid decay and onset of infection. That infection will become life threatening most likely with time. He goes to the ER for antibiotics and they must treat him. The cost is easily $500-1000 to the tax payer- far more than an extraction or to repair the tooth originally and provide cleanings and dental prevention. But the damaged tooth will likely become infected again, and one decayed tooth accelerates decay of other teeth meaning...
... repeat visits to an ER at $500+ each time. Each cycle not only increases his personal resistance to antibiotics, but the spread of resistant strains of bacteria. Each visit increases the likelihood he will be back. The hospital is paid each time and makes a healthy profit. The tax payer foots the bill each time and asides the possibility of public health risk we also face an increase in wait times and a stretching of resources in emergency rooms which are treating these “repeat” and “at risk” patients. From there- the infection can spread and lead to other complications. The risk of heart disease or other heart damage or even brain infection increases greatly from untreated tooth decay. These larger and more severe issues require even more money and resources that tax payers foot to stabilize but not treat the condition, until finally after a long period of compromised quality of life the patient reaches a point where they cannot be stabikozed or cannot get to help in time and...
The complications of the illness end their life. That is why programs like government funded medical care are not a waste of tax payer money. They actually benefit tax payers and the people they help. A real win win, except some people can’t see past the idea that someone else is getting something “free” and they aren’t. But when you ask these working folks who bemoan the “free ride” of others- if they would trade places, what do they usually say? I mean- if people on social welfare have things so sweet- why are you still working? You too could quit and get a “free ride” if you really think that it is such a good deal. Spoiler- it isn’t. So... in short- our healthcare system is flawed and it costs YOU because we are stuck on the fence and can’t commit to providing preventative care that would mitigate tax payer burden.
To the first guest (and all non-Americans), the health clinics, fairs, medicaid etc. are not very accessible and certainly not going to aid in stage 4 cancer on an initial visit. It's not "a few extra forms" it's an intense review of you and your family, your financial history (just lost your job or homeless for years), and not timely. I have EXCELLENT insurance and my simple, non-invasive, out-patient surgery left a balance of $700. The system is broken and the patients are going broke--or dead!
While I agree with your sentiments and most of what you say- I must point out that it is very likely that if he had gone to see a doctor previously he MAY have been diagnosed before he was stage 4 and treatment through an alternate program or plan MIGHT have been available. Sadly though- as you say, the system is broken and even those with insurance who see private doctors regularly can have early stage cancers that aren’t diagnosed, so the chances of finding a doctor with the skill and care for their patients in a “free clinic” type situation who would catch it let alone be able or willing to authorize the tests for early stage cancer are slim. In most cases when a human dies needlessly we would examine the precipitating factors and the events and figure out how in the future we can change policy or infrastructure to prevent such deaths. In a darkly “funny” way we don’t really donthat with healthcare despite its critical nature making such review prudent.
I suppose for the patients the industry mantra is: “If it’s broke, don’t fix it.” Interestingly enough that seems to also be the attitude the legislature and Americans have towards helthcare as well.
Dude... last time I got sick, (self diagnosis) they didn't spend 10 minutes trying to figure it out, they just stabbed me in the ass twice, once in the arm and said "SHOW ME THE MONEY AND GTFO". It was a shot of penicillin, a booster, and an anti-histamine in my arm. Oh they also gave me a bottle of hydrocodone... and a prescription for 20 amoxicillin.
I still wonder about why they gave me the hydrocodone... like... sleep? Let your lungs relax? Idk.
It did work >_>
It was a bacterial infection with bronchitis... but... in the ass!? Give me a fucking inhaler at least instead of the hydrocodone
If you didn't figure it out... allergy season can't stop me from smoking cigs.
Oh, total cost after co-pay: $250 just for visiting, $40 for each shot in the ass, $20 for the anti-histamine, $400 for the amoxicillin and $660 for the hydrocodone.
I didn't know that last part, but at the time I was on my mom's insurance plan... otherwise I'da tollemof