What do Americans do if they have no healthcare?

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Seeing posts on Reddit about the costs of routine medical visits and the astronomical breakdown of figures charged, but I'm assuming these are all covered by health insurance.

But what if you have no insurance. What happens if you get cancer etc. Are you left to die?

Most people from the military can get free government funded healthcare through the Veteran Affair hospital if they don’t want to pay their own health insurance. Sadly, this is the path my dad chose leaving his wife and children from having any health insurance. They don’t have access to the VA hospital either

@Happyhappyday

Wowwwweeee let’s do some America bashing here! The healthcare system isn’t universally bad, it’s just very variable & tied to employer. For me personally the cost of my health insurance plan is considerably less than the difference between the US taxes I pay (20%) & uk taxes we paid (top rate). However for that difference I can see MY dr same day, always, pretty much any specialist I need within a week or less & visits to things like PT aren’t limited. I pay $15 per visit or if I was to be an inpatient/have surgery etc it would be $15 per day. Facilities are literally a world away from the NHS facilities I experienced.

People over 65 are covered by Medicare, poor under a certain income threshold are covered by Medicaid & children are covered. It is not universally accepted but it is WIDELY accepted. Obamacare set out to provide affordable insurance for people who fall between poor & having employers who provide health insurance.

In a lot of cases you can choose your coverage, I could pay half as much into my plan but then have out of pocket costs at $10k, or I can do as I have and have basically no out of pocket costs because I know I’m likely to use a lot of healthcare. The US system gives people the option to choose how they want to spend their money.

I’m not saying it’s great and definitely not for everyon, for $$ spent, the outcomes are not enough better and the experience varies massively by state, a bit like the experience across Europe varies by country. It’s also appalling some people don’t have insurance, but for some of those people it would also have been a choice to pay less up front and cross their fingers they don’t get sick.

Well done, you have explained precisely why the US system is so awful. You, a higher earner save money and get the best healthcare possible whilst poorer people are shafted. It is certainly ‘not for everyone’.

I’ve often wondered about this and particularly how most people afford to have children. If even the antenatal care and birth are going to costs thousands and thousands that would rule most people out of affording it. But they do. How?

Well done, you have explained precisely why the US system is so awful. You, a higher earner save money and get the best healthcare possible whilst poorer people are shafted. It is certainly ‘not for everyone’.

My thoughts exactly when I read that post. Of course the system is great for that poster!

I lived in the states and needed an emergency appendix op (£6k folks!)

Initially they thought ectopic pregnancy

While waiting on the ward, there was a sign warning that if you had twins you would be charged for two babies 😂😂

Heavens! The NHS is brilliant and our taxes are low. So you're essentially left to die in the US if you don't have insurance?

@Happyhappyday we don't pay for our healthcare form our tax, it's from national insurance which is much lower. One thing all Americans I speak to about this forget is that you can still pay for private health care insurance if you aren't happy with the NHS. If you are a private earner it is often a benefit from your work anyway! I get private care as a benefit and have my husband and children added for about £62 a month with an excess of £80 per claim.

That should say high earner not private earner

In our experience if you are working and have healthcare insurance which is obviously a big if there are positives as well as negatives.

Child mental health services are easy to access and well covered.
Access is much better than the UK where the system barely functions.

No not really, people always find a solution for everything here. It is not reliable and very inconsistent as well frustrating, but there’s always a way. And It depends on the state and local charities. Some areas have free clinic (run by charities, not governments)

They probably offer hospice. My mom was offered it

I think there are some misconceptions here.

Someone mentioned pre existing conditions up thread - insurers have had to cover these since the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

There is Medicaid for low income families and Medicare for the elderly. My only experience with Medicare has been with my in laws, and there's been some issues which I'm working on with them but for the most part it seems like a good plan.

30 million are uninsured but apparently about half of those could be insured via Medicaid or the marketplace.

I think the right balance is to let those who like their private insurance keep it, and to expand Medicaid to more people. Hopefully this administration will make some headway on that.

I live in the US and only online have I heard these stories about how bad our healthcare is. When people in Britain waited for cancer treatments I saw both my surgeon and oncologist. I saw my regular physician with no problem. My son has no insurance but is under our medical assistance program. He got his vaccine by just showing his card. Hospitals have help for people. I'm not sure if we are lucky or people are exaggerating.

It’s the middle class who is paying the price for everything my husband is middle class,and we do get high medical bills and keep paying it.
Low income get free insurance (Medicaid)
High earmers also get FREE healthcare insurance but it is through their their employer.

Middle class don’t get any of these thing

@Happyhappyday

Wowwwweeee let’s do some America bashing here! The healthcare system isn’t universally bad, it’s just very variable & tied to employer. For me personally the cost of my health insurance plan is considerably less than the difference between the US taxes I pay (20%) & uk taxes we paid (top rate). However for that difference I can see MY dr same day, always, pretty much any specialist I need within a week or less & visits to things like PT aren’t limited. I pay $15 per visit or if I was to be an inpatient/have surgery etc it would be $15 per day. Facilities are literally a world away from the NHS facilities I experienced.

People over 65 are covered by Medicare, poor under a certain income threshold are covered by Medicaid & children are covered. It is not universally accepted but it is WIDELY accepted. Obamacare set out to provide affordable insurance for people who fall between poor & having employers who provide health insurance.

In a lot of cases you can choose your coverage, I could pay half as much into my plan but then have out of pocket costs at $10k, or I can do as I have and have basically no out of pocket costs because I know I’m likely to use a lot of healthcare. The US system gives people the option to choose how they want to spend their money.

I’m not saying it’s great and definitely not for everyon, for $$ spent, the outcomes are not enough better and the experience varies massively by state, a bit like the experience across Europe varies by country. It’s also appalling some people don’t have insurance, but for some of those people it would also have been a choice to pay less up front and cross their fingers they don’t get sick.

Not so sure about some of this Happy. I have had many experiences in the US system on both East and West coast. I had something to compare it to having lived in a few European countries before the US. First up is the fact that a For Profit system has to make money out of your illness - they do not make money out of you being healthy. That introduces a natural propensitiy to "promote" cures in the form of tests and invasive surgeries that are not neccessary. It is a well documented but not discussed enough downside. Tagging insurance to work, and having it as a "bonus" or "benefit" creates a system in which people become very limited indeed in their choice of job or their choice of risk. Neither is good for the economy or for creative development. It is obviously not good for the less well qualified but no less important workers. It also means many dfficulties for smaller companies, not least in their staffing of positions.
I do not find that the American system gives people the option of how they want to spend their money. Quite the opposite - it gives the system many options of how it will spend your money.

@arcof

I think there are some misconceptions here.

Someone mentioned pre existing conditions up thread - insurers have had to cover these since the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

There is Medicaid for low income families and Medicare for the elderly. My only experience with Medicare has been with my in laws, and there's been some issues which I'm working on with them but for the most part it seems like a good plan.

30 million are uninsured but apparently about half of those could be insured via Medicaid or the marketplace.

I think the right balance is to let those who like their private insurance keep it, and to expand Medicaid to more people. Hopefully this administration will make some headway on that.

Madicare is actually a very efficient, well functioning system.

@queenofthenorthwest

Makes me appreciate our nhs even more after reading that post.

Me too. I think the lack of affordable healthcare in the States is scandalous. Obama did something which helped but Trump was useless and didn't care. I'm hoping Biden will step up in this regard.

I have a dear friend in New York who has lost a lot of income due to covid; she would be in dire straits if she became seriously ill. She works hard on being fit and healthy but we all know that doesn't last forever. It really is survival of the fittest out there.

@HeronLanyon

I ended up In hospital in the us for a week some time ago. The bill ran to 20 or 30 close typed itemised pages. Every single time a nurse entered my room, every single tablet, each change of intravenous plus the cost of the content of the intravenous and on and on. No doubt I was charged for the time taken to book me in. Shocking on two levels - to see the cost broken down like that and the amount - something like 10k and this was some time ago. Just before I travelled I remembered about travel insurance and sorted some out - nearly didnt. Thank god. Makes me almost weep with gratitude and feel privileged to live here. So worried about us medi-giants eyeing up the nhs - already here in some london area g0 practice provision.

Makes me incredibly grateful too, to have our amazing NHS, and yes, I think something like three quarters of a MILLION people a year go bankrupt in America PURELY due to medical bills. And many policies don't cover everything (as someone illustrated earlier in the thread.)

I remember someone once, (about 7-8 years ago,) having faulty kidneys, and although her insurance covered the hospital bed, and nurses and doctors, it didn't include the dialysis. Cost = £7,000 a week.

I would HATE to be a poor person in the USA. You may as well live in a third world country, or somewhere like Cuba or Brazil in the favellas. At least you'd all be in the same position, just all poor. It sickens me when I see big rich (often famous) people in the USA bragging about their wealth, when 10s of millions are without basic healthcare. I'm not a communist, but there needs to be WAY more fairness.

That's why it boils my piss when people slag off our country, call patriotic people 'Little Englanders' and bigots and racists, say the Royal family are scrounging scumbags (and they always say 'living at MY expense,) and seem to think this country is a shithole, with a shit government. I always think (and sometimes say) 'well fuck off and leave then. Go and live in another country if this one is so bad! Ungrateful bastard!'

I am also glad to see our Union Jack being shown (and flown) more.

May put one up myself in the garden. Don't give a fuck what anyone thinks. Then again, most people I know respect and love this country as much as me, and are as disgusted as I am, with the attitudes that some people (often younger people under 40) have towards it.

@00100001

It's so weird that Americans object to universal health care on the idea that "why should we pay into a pot/pay for people who haven't contributed" etc.

Wtf do they think any insurance is?? do they genuinely think that when they pay for (say) car insurance, they're paying into their own individual pot and not subsidising other customers?

I cannot get my head around the fact that one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations ok the planet has such an archai system where...if you're diabetic you have to choose between rent and food or LIFE SAVING MEDICATION.

It's batshit.

This. ^ 100%. And @Happyhappyday is away with the fairies if she thinks the U.S.A health system is GREAT for everyone. It's the worst first-world health care system there is. Only looks after people with money.

There are many memes if you google “if Breaking Bad had been set in the U.K

If it’s not: he got substandard cancer treatments and died before season 3 than I’m calling shenanigans.

This. ^ 100%. And @Happyhappyday is away with the fairies if she thinks the U.S.A health system is GREAT for everyone. It's the worst first-world health care system there is. Only looks after people with money

Point of correction: it’s great if you’re rich or poor. If you are a business owner or lower working class, it’s very expensive for sure.

I know of someone who moved to America. His wife who was pregnant with twins decided to give birth in England as it was cheaper.

The affordable care act ended the exclusion of predicting conditions, thank God.

There are options for people with no insurance.
St. Jude's Hospital treats children with cancer totally for free. Even provides housing for parents who bring the children there.
Lion's Club International provides vision tests and glasses free for adults and children. They operate "Lighthouse for the Blind" to help with training newly blind in the use of braille, providing guide dogs, and in some cases providing employment for the blind.
Veteran's Hospitals provide treatment for the servicemen/women.
Shriners Hospitals for Children provides specialized care to children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.
The American Cancer Society, American Kidney Foundation, and other charities provide funds for research and for treatments of patients.
While we don't like the socialism idea, we are very willing to donate to charities. We just want to choose for ourselves, rather than let the government decide where our money goes.

So if you have a major illness and cannot pay you will get Medicaid, public insurance for the poor. The people who are screwed are people with some assets. It has gotten better because it used to be that predicting conditions were excluded and so if you had a gap in insurance at all you might lose the ability to get coverage or something like cancer or diabetes. That has changed. Now there are exchanges in each state where people can buy insurance with a subsidy from the government if they meet certain criteria snd many get insurance ethroguh their employer. I get mine this way, but it is expensive and barely subsidized. I am a teacher and make WAY MORE than I was read salaries are in England, but I also pay $1800 a month to insure my family and I have a 10k deductible. Middle class people should pay for insurance and if they don’t they are taking wild economic and health risks, but Americans bristle at the “nanny state.” There is currently a debate among Facebook friends of mine where they are calling colleges mandating covid vaccines to return to campus fascism and are threatening lawsuits.
Anti communism was strong, but much has changed. Progressives are pushing within the Democratic Party and younger people,Amy of whom have crippling education debt and insecure jobs, are increasingly politicized.
So many issues are linked. My ex husband is a physician and depending on the specialty pay varies a lot. Doctors usually have extraordinary debt and don’t earn until their 30s so they are a powerful lobby. Then add in drug companies and all the middlemen who have gotten into it.
I agree there needs to be reform, but I don’t know where to begin. I do think the exchanges and end to precasting conditions have been great changes.

@UhtredRagnarson

Well done, you have explained precisely why the US system is so awful. You, a higher earner save money and get the best healthcare possible whilst poorer people are shafted. It is certainly ‘not for everyone’.

My thoughts exactly when I read that post. Of course the system is great for that poster!

Exactly. Reading that post made me shake my head at the blind ignorance of the reality of life for people that can’t afford the poster’s insurance