Read on Twitter
extremely grim and also darkly funny to see all the british people sharing anecdotes about US healthcare as the horror stories for if the NHS gets privatized (to be clear, they're right to do so, however bad you might think it is here it's worse)
i feel like a lot of people outside the US don't realize this, so here's a quick breakdown:
we have to pay premiums out of pocket before any care (~$800/month)
when we get care, we have to pay for it until we hit a deductible (varies, usually in the thousands)
only after that point does insurance kick in and pay a PERCENTAGE of your costs after deductible(usually 80%)
when we get care, we have to pay for it until we hit a deductible (varies, usually in the thousands)
only after that point does insurance kick in and pay a PERCENTAGE of your costs after deductible(usually 80%)
and, of course, that's only if your doctor is in network. how do you know if your doctor is in network in an emergency? there's no way to know, and you have no control over it. you can get transferred from an in-network doctor to an out of network one in the same hospital
what this means is: before insurance pays for ANYTHING AT ALL, you're already several thousand dollars out of pocket MINIMUM, on top of your premiums which you have to keep paying, and after that insurance will still only pay for a PERCENTAGE
there is a thing called an "out of pocket max" after which point insurance pays for everything but it's usually very high ($7-$10k)
oh and this isn't getting into amublances, which unless specifically carved out by your insurance, can easy run you $3k or more. and mental health? lmao
YEAH THIS IS ALSO A VERY GOOD POINT, DENTAL IS TOTALLY SEPARATE FROM ALL THIS AND IS EXTRA CHARGES https://twitter.com/flakealso/status/1199736995729170437
and *orthodontics* are usually not covered as part of dental, that is its own separate thing and considered "cosmetic" a lot of the time (which is utter bullshit. i couldn't eat sandwiches before i had my second round of braces because my teeth couldn't bite together)
YEAH I ALSO FORGOT VISION TOO. THIS IS ALSO A SEPARATE CHARGE AND A WHOLE DIFFERENT INSURANCE SYSTEM. HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE BAD EYES FUCKO https://twitter.com/flakealso/status/1199737297794547712
anyways @ my uk followers please christ vote labour i'm begging you
people are continuing to point out other horrifying insurance things i forgot, like the fact that prescription coverage is basically a lottery https://twitter.com/treehat/status/1199740354590851073
your doctor can literally say "you need this drug" and your insurance will go "hmm, no, actually, you can't have that. you have to try these other, cheaper drugs your doctor specifically did not prescribe"
shit like this is why your blood should boil whenever anyone frames abolishing private insurance as "taking away your choice". what fucking choice. in this system you AND YOUR DOCTOR are entirely at the mercy of some dude in indiana who denies claims for a living
