From a European perspective, the American healthcare system is absolutely insane, and I'm
genuinely baffled at how so many Americans accept it. What's worse, many apparently think they have the best system in the world. It's actively killing Americans, by making sure that anyone who lives anywhere near paycheck to paycheck (64%!?) will make the decision not to go to the doctor until they're basically dying. And that's the people
with health insurance. I've seen many crazy stories of how people were
personally stuck with massive bills because the ambulance took them to a hospital that wasn't in the insurance company's network, or even to a hospital that
was but they were then operated on by a surgeon who wasn't.
https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/deductible/
That's the official government website for health care, and their example is a $2k deductible. Is that normal? That's ten times what I'd ever have to pay in Norway. Investopedia's example is $5k. And then they explain that after the deductible there are still
copayments. I'm struggling to find a rough estimate of how much that could be, but Investipedia again suggests it could be $25 per doctor visit. That's about what I pay too, but it counts for our equivalent of a deductible.
I mean, I'm already hesitant to go to the doctor when I probably should, and that has nothing to do with money. If I were American I might just die.