To be appalled at people dying in the USA because of the cost of insulin

[WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]

A 27yo man in Virginia, who had type 1 diabetes, died last month because he couldn't afford to pay for the insulin that he needed to keep him alive and healthy.

Up to the age of 25, he was covered on his step-father's medical insurance, but once he turned 26, he was on his own. He was in a low-paying job which didn't come with adequate health insurance, so he saw no alternative but to buy the much less effective (and much less suitable for his needs) cheap variant over-the-counter at Walmart and then ration it to eke it out as much as he could.

I saw a report today suggesting that this is far from the norm. One family has a child whose insulin costs them £1,200 a month. It's their biggest single family outgoing and they sometimes have to sit in the dark or the mother go without food herself to be able to afford it. Of course, as he grows, he will be needing to eat more food and therefore need more insulin. Whatever would the family do if they had another child who developed T1D?

At best, it seems that ordinary people can find themselves very limited in their job/career choices and will often have to take any job based on what insurance cover it comes with, rather than one based on their skills, abilities, qualifications, experience, interests etc. At worst, the poorest, most vulnerable and/or least educated will not be able to get into any job that comes with the cover they or their families need.

It's much, much cheaper in Canada, so Americans who live anywhere near the northern border travel over and stock up there whenever they're able to; but the USA is a huge country, so this will not be a feasible option for the vast majority.

We see and hear all of the heartbreaking reports and appeals from poor countries in Africa, Asia and eastern Europe, but THE USA?!?!

I know our NHS is far from perfect, but we have an immense amount to be grateful for.

How do American MNers manage to deal with this; or indeed, people from anywhere without an NHS or similar public set-up? Are these the full, true facts? Are people in the richest country on Earth really just tossed into the trash so easily and left to die for getting ill?

The idea is that the sick 4 year old’s parents should have worked harder to pay for it. (Obviously i don’t agree). But I guess if you have never had state provided healthcare for generations, if you have never had the experience of walking in and out of a hospital sans bills, you cannot fathom a world where that happens and you have to assume that in such a utopia there must be a price to pay (HVs will snoop on me or whatever). I know that most of my middle class educated American friends just cannot compute a system where they don’t spend hours on the phone to an insurance company or when their child falls a bit sick on holiday, they don’t check which hospitals are covered by their insurance. If you don’t live this life, and it is the only life you have known, it is hard to understand it.

...I guess if you have never had state provided healthcare for generations, if you have never had the experience of walking in and out of a hospital sans bills, you cannot fathom a world where that happens and you have to assume that in such a utopia there must be a price to pay...

It's this, plus it's only now that a full generation of people raised needing health insurance are coming of age. When I was born, health insurance was a luxury top-up item and doctor's fees weren't ludicrous beyond belief. It's only in the last 30-40 years that this has really shifted.