A 20 year old American citizen who came down with appendicitis last October has posted his hospital bill online, and it’s gone viral.
The US remains the only nation in the developed world that fails to provide universal healthcare for its citizens, and most international reddit users could simply not believe what this young man was being charged for treatment they would receive without any bill at all.
Here is the bill.
If he hadn’t been on his father’s insurance, the original cost was over $55,000. The bill
was only lowered to $11,000 due to that fact.
Plus $16,000 for the operation. Seriously.
Citizens from near and far took to reddit to share their own experience of healthcare, and their utter horror at his experience.
Australian guy: Never even saw a bill.
Canadian mom? Her bill post foot surgery came to $60…and that was only to watch cable from bed.
The same appendectomy surgery cost just $25 for this Malaysian guy.
Meanwhile in the US of A:
Developing cancer under the US healthcare system saw this guy file for bankruptcy. At age 24.
Imagine being handed a bureaucratic death sentence because some health insurance firm tells you you’ve reached your “lifetime limit” for treatment. This guy’s cousin did…aged 27.
And this…well this is just ridiculous.
This sort of thing would be unacceptable in a third world country, but it is down-right dastardly in the richest nation on earth, which could well afford to ensure the healthcare needs of its citizens were met through a contributions based system. While the American right lambasts Obamacare as putting the government between you and your doctor (never mind that the government is only there to pay said doctor), they are quite happy to put health insurance companies and extortionate costs between you and the doctor. I know which I would rather have.
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