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?

Every time I watch something like House I think, how much would that cost?

The American health care system is a complete shit show. It's not typical of a private system. It functions way worse than a marketplace ought to. Even more so than the issues with not having a universal healthcare system (and they are bad) the US has allowed special interests to capture markets and force up prices and that is (literally) killing us. Healthcare in the US costs way, way too much and that means that their private system is unaffordable to a huge number of people who would be okay paying for it (or for the insurance) if the care was billed at the rate it is in other developed countries.

In 2017 the US government spent nearly as much per head of population on healthcare as the UK government. Yet it used that money to only cover a minority of its citizens. With private expenditure (employer plans, private insurance contributions, copays, deductibles, etc.) spending was nearly 3 times as high, population wide outcomes were relatively poor and many people went bankrupt due to healthcare costs.

One point that comes across strongly on this thread is that in the UK people look at the shambles that is the American system and feel more grateful for the NHS. In the US people look at the shambles that is the NHS and feel more grateful for the American system.

Everyone is setting the bar too low. We need to look at really good healthcare systems, think about how they could be even better, and work towards that.

BUT the facilities are amazing, modern, fully staffed, no waiting lists and referrals happen instantly. I had a melanoma diagnosed and removed within a week thanks to preventative skin checks that happen routinely there. I also had a mammogram annually from 40 and cervical smear annually.

Healthcare for everyone is a human right but the UK's NHS is not providing adequate preventative care due to inadequate funds. The buildings are old and unsafe. We need a middle ground. I'd be happy to pay for more preventative checks here and that revenue reinvested in the free service for others.

Indeed.
My dbro has been in the states 25 years
Before he was let go, he was paying 600 dollars a month for his contribution towards insurance, his employer was paying 3 times that.
Now he has no job so no insurance and like many pasty faced brits in a hot country has a history of skin cancer. He has also previously had a minor stroke. There is literally nothing he can do.

Pretty much.

Medical bills are a leading cause of homelessness, bankruptcy and suicide in the US.

"Breaking Bad" could never have happened here in the UK, as the storyline would have been "Man gets cancer. Receives treatment. The End"

There is a YouTube documentary on this and it’s so sad to watch. There was an American guy who sawed his fingers off with a large appliance (accidentally). He packaged up the fingers and when he got to hospital, he didn’t have insurance and could only afford to have 1 (maybe 2) fingers sown back on. The rest were just discarded. There’s another documentary about a young man who died because he couldn’t afford to buy insulin so had been resorting to buying it from somewhere like Target (is that a thing??) Anyway, he was ok for a while but then passed away 😞 So disgraceful.

Insurance also pushes UP medical costs - just think of how veterinary care has soared since we started insuring our pets. (Unscrupulous) providers put all sorts on the bills, and charge top dollar because they know the insurance is paying for it.

I hate to be a nitpicker re Breaking Bad, but WW didn’t just cook meth to pay medical bills (which if you’ll recall his old and very rich partner offered to cover, but he refused out of pride). He wanted to pay for Walter Jr’s education, and a reasonably comfortable life for his wife, as he was the main earner. Plus, as he confessed at the end, he was good at it.

That out of the way, I’m another dual citizen, and there’s no way I’d move back to the States for precisely this reason. It’s beyond fucked up. The UK has its own problems (including house price inflation as the national religion), but on balance, it’s far more civilised here.

Does anyone (US Mnetters in particular) know if Biden has a view on this - just thinking of Obama-care and that Biden was a protege of Obama?

Anecdotal but I have many American relatives including interestingly president of non- medical insurance company. Without exception they are astonished at our NHS and bemoan the US system. These are generally wealthy and with insurance and including surgeons and other medics. The ONLY negative thing those who have experienced nhs first hand have criticised is the lack of parking and the cost of it.
My experience of the us system (elderly relatives) included - great care, lots of parking , lots of seemingly unnecessary procedures/appointments, a different doctor for every single aspect of health hiking up costs and hindering overview/linked up treatment. every time we had an emergency situation time spent sorting out insurance whilst relative actually waited for treatment in what may have been life/death situation was horrific to experience.
In fact I remember having to discuss insurance and sign forms just literally minutes after my own dad had died when the ambulance showed up at his home (and there was some problem for my sibling on the phone about even which ambulance was the right one to call). In fact it really was all awful just awful.
Massive culture shock right there.

And even if you do have insurance....
My DSis who was paying a bomb for herself and her daughter, managed to cut a finger very badly.
I said, ‘well, at least you’ve got insurance.’
‘There was still the excess,’ she said.
It was $2000 - for a cut finger.

Our NHS is AMAZING! I can't speak too highly of it.

Of course it has its faults - but many of these are due to underfunding by successive (largely Tory) governments who are determined to bring in private health care by the back doo - as Chomsky says to destroy a system, you underfund it, claim it isn't working then dismantle it - an that is what is currently happening.

Last week my DH had to call an ambulance for me during the early hours. I had terrific, crippling chest, abdominal and back pain. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even cry, as it was so painful. I thought it was a heart attack.

We were warned ambulance would be a bit late because they were on another call, but that not to worry, they'd get to me asap and to try to keep calm.

They were there within 10 minutes having unloaded previous patient and speeded all the way to me. I had blood tests and a scan. When they knew it was safe I was given painkillers. I was given extra blankets because even in the hospital I couldn't get warm. I was offered food (couldn't eat anything but was offered). I was frequently checked on by the nursing and medical staff.

It turned out to be gall bladder, so horrible but not life-threatening. I remarked to my husband that I couldn't imagine what it would have cost in the US,

And everyone was incredibly kind and reassuring, too. It is a WONDERFUL system - and comparatively very cheap, despite what politicians would have us believe.

I can concur re HeronLanyon's experience of itemised bills; my son's treatment for one morning's stay amounted to $3K and that was all individually itemised.

It was the first day of our holiday in a city that we had only visited once before but the hotel reception staff were great and one of them even drove us to hospital. That act of kindness helped make a stressful time far easier.

Once the details re insurance and payment was sorted out it felt less stressful. The doctor who treated my son knew exactly what was wrong with him, gave us printed sheets detailing what this was and she told us she had seen another person with this condition that morning (we met that family in later on at the entrance; they told us they had been to another hospital previously and they had no idea what was wrong with their daughter).

Would my son had been diagnosed here in the UK: yes I think so but it would have taken longer.

I’m convinced if we didn’t have the NHS in this country we’d never vote to create it. The right wing press would brainwash everyone into saying its socialist/communist like they do in the States. At best we’d end up with a half and half system like they have in Ireland.

The only reason the right wing tabloids and Conservative Party pretend to cherish it and support it ideologically is because in First Past the Post it would be electoral suicide to outright call to dismantle it. But they don’t really support it, not at all. That’s why their second best tactic is - over a period of decades - to constantly label it as underperforming, bloated, poor value for money etc. Slowly erode trust over the decades.

The modern Conservative party is the party of chop up and sell everything to the highest bidder and smear anything done for the public good as a whole (as opposed to shareholders and rich Party donors) as a waste of money. That is their true ideology. It’s not even a Conservative Party at all in the true sense of the world.

@PandoraVox

I hate to be a nitpicker re Breaking Bad, but WW didn’t just cook meth to pay medical bills (which if you’ll recall his old and very rich partner offered to cover, but he refused out of pride). He wanted to pay for Walter Jr’s education, and a reasonably comfortable life for his wife, as he was the main earner. Plus, as he confessed at the end, he was good at it.

That out of the way, I’m another dual citizen, and there’s no way I’d move back to the States for precisely this reason. It’s beyond fucked up. The UK has its own problems (including house price inflation as the national religion), but on balance, it’s far more civilised here.

Yes, but it wouldn't have occurred to him to cook meth if he hadn't thought that he was going to die before he had a chance to fund his son's education etc. He only found out he was good at it because his illness pushed him to do it.

(And I agree he was an *rse about refusing help - his pride should not have stood in the way of his family's peace of mind).

Can anyone explain this -
I might be being simplistic but I think Republican Party are generally against universal healthcare? And Republican Party have a large proportion of Christians? I just don’t see how they can align Christian values of compassion and care for the poor with not being in favour of helping people, and improving access to healthcare for all?
I know it’s not that simple and of course those aren’t just Christian values, but I really don’t get that mismatch.

What surprised me was that even if you have insurance (paid for by your employer plus a big chunk out of your wages) each time you have a procedure you have a 'copay' so you still pay a percentage of the cost.

@Cam77

I’m convinced if we didn’t have the NHS in this country we’d never vote to create it. The right wing press would brainwash everyone into saying its socialist/communist like they do in the States. At best we’d end up with a half and half system like they have in Ireland.

The only reason the right wing tabloids and Conservative Party pretend to cherish it and support it ideologically is because in First Past the Post it would be electoral suicide to outright call to dismantle it. But they don’t really support it, not at all. That’s why their second best tactic is - over a period of decades - to constantly label it as underperforming, bloated, poor value for money etc. Slowly erode trust over the decades.

The modern Conservative party is the party of chop up and sell everything to the highest bidder and smear anything done for the public good as a whole (as opposed to shareholders and rich Party donors) as a waste of money. That is their true ideology. It’s not even a Conservative Party at all in the true sense of the world.

Hear, hear - short-term profit for the few prioritised over the long=tern benefit of the many.

Sadly we have no strong opposition any more - Blair was the death of true Labour, and all of the other parties are so busy being "woke" they can't formulate a decent policy for people to get behind)

It was $2000 - for a cut finger [shocked]
I have private health cover through work - the excess is only £200.

How is insurance through work places comparable? Do different employers offer very different types of cover to their staff?

@RuggeryBuggery

Can anyone explain this - I might be being simplistic but I think Republican Party are generally against universal healthcare? And Republican Party have a large proportion of Christians? I just don’t see how they can align Christian values of compassion and care for the poor with not being in favour of helping people, and improving access to healthcare for all? I know it’s not that simple and of course those aren’t just Christian values, but I really don’t get that mismatch.

You would be surprised what people can justify to themselves. Cognitive dissonance doesn't get anywhere near it.

When you really read Jesus' words - he was pretty much a communist (or at least a left-wing socialist), but these are the people who pick and choose which bits they want to follow.

Rich men greasing themselves up to get through the eye of a needle . . .

Fair enough, @SchadenfreudePersonified. It took the financial challenge of getting sick in a dog-eat-dog capitalistic system to expand his horizons as a chemist, then go on to become a capitalist par excellence.

Have you ever watched secret millionaire? The one in the US, the low paid workers are always in serious medical debts and that's why they can't afford things like college. Usa is a dream for the rich and hell for the poor.

@selondongal

How is insurance through work places comparable? Do different employers offer very different types of cover to their staff?

It seems to be that way.