A couple were told they faced a $200,000 (£146,500) medical bill when their baby was born prematurely in the US, despite them having travel insurance which covered her pregnancy.
$200k? did the hospital make the baby?
Usa: dear tourists, the old have a baby in usa trick will also be tarrrifed and taxed.
UK tourists: how u gonna do that?
Usa: evil grin
It sounds fake but its real. If they got a car and ran a baby over they’d have paid 1% of this. Our system is so deeply fucked up.
Oh wow and people wonder why people aren’t having kids…
If you paid protection money to another gangster but then they didn’t protect you what would likely happen?
The gangster apologizes and deeply regrets the situation but does not return your money.
I mean not if you go to those not really a hospital “clinic” things they have then its like $12k.I know people doing that.
I’m guessing if something goes wrong at one of those then you’re royally fucked though.
Plus a lot of people aren’t vaccinating their babies now so no need for the hospital. I know these people.
I hate Americans.
Just out of interest: Would U.S.-Americans be allowed to found a non-profit health insurance organization?
Allowed to, sure. But it would quickly be crushed by the companies that have way more resources to draw on…
Yeah the better option is for a multi state compact for a public option. I know Washington has a bit of a public option. That said, you get no subsidies if your employer offers minimum contributions to the health insurance of their choosing.
Edit to finish the thought: we need universal single payer, but barring that we need public options and real choice, including choice over where to apply our employer’s contributions. It wouldn’t fix everything that universal single payer would, but it would enable you to have the freedom to not need to change doctors every time you get a new job.
Allowed? Technically yes, in the same way people are allowed to start local broadband co-ops or like grocery stores or whatever else.
The problem comes when you have to actually make people aware you exist and have a service or product for sale, and “compete” with the national/multi-national corporation who have infinitely more resources than you do.Just look at how Walmart and now Amazon have put just about every mom and pop shop out of business. They can move in, drop prices so low locally long enough to put you out of business because they have other areas locked down already and covering the losses. Then once they have the market locked up they can charge whatever they want because you have no other options.
Almost certainly there already exists a non-profit health insurance organization, they just don’t have the resources to advertise on all the major channels and across the interwebs like all the predatory ones do.
Travel insurance is a scam. I used to pay Allianz for cancellation insurance every trip but the one time I needed to claim it they denied it.
It’s not safe to travel to the US while pregnant or sick, they will take everything from you.
It’s not safe to travel to the US while pregnant or sick, they will take everything from you.
Until Trump they also claimed the baby as US citizen which is dangerous because they demand taxes from their citizens whereever they are on this world.
It’s just not safe to travel there ever
I’m certainly not going back until at least 2029. Let MAGA eat itself over the Epstein files and the next president reform the gun laws (as both sides are now talking about it) and then I’ll think about it.
🤦♂️
I love the 'Achually, you are supposed to beg the hospitals and rely on your insurance shady deals." Comments in this thread.
Just so we are clear, you know the US is the only country with running water that also charges it’s citizens to remain alive, right?
This is NOT normal. Not the amount, the situation.
Listen, I think we’re as barbaric about this as any reasonable person, but we really aren’t unique. Mexico, Egypt, and the Philippines aren’t doing so great, but they’re all modern nations with modern infrastructure in their urban areas. India has even worse health insurance than the US and while yes they’re still building out their plumbing systems, Mumbai and New Delhi are modern megapolises.
LOL not unique! Where exactly do you think the US stands when comparing their nominal GDP per capita with Mexico, Egypt, the Phillipines, Mumbai or Dehli?
US: #9 out of 193
Mexico… 71. Egypt… 134. Phillipines… 126. India… 140
Why don’t you take a look at the healthcare systems of the countries in the top 10 GDP per capita and make an actual apples to apples comparison, hm?
Yes, we’re a profoundly broken country in how we use our wealth. But you were over here acting like no other country that isnt entirely and devastatingly impoverished is failing it’s citizens this way, and I’m pointing out that no, once again we fall in line with developing nations rather than developed ones. And for those of us who wish for it to be a functional country, I think my framing is much more useful.
And i apologize for assuming you’re a European who knows nothing of anywhere beyond the Eurosphere and assumes developing nations don’t even have running water.
This is what’s so fucked up about being an American. Every time there’s a complaint about the system, some “good soul” comes out to explain how you avoid it.
Healthcare is expensive? Oh you have to negotiate with your doctors, your hospital, your insurance, and get it fixed.
Internet is too expensive? Oh you’re supposed to call them every few months to have them lower the prices by threatening to quit.
Oh, fast food is too expensive? Oh use the mobile app and take a picture of your butthole to get it back to normal!
Insurance company trying to evade one job it is supposed to do
You pay them to keep their lawyers on retainer
You get hired to help out a business in a emergency situation. You do nothing and get paid month after month. A couple years go by and finally the phone rings.
Hey man, we really need you right now! Come on in!
“Claim denied, I will see you in court.”
insurance
Some of them probably don’t even have the means to help, they just get lawyers to avoid accountability and write ridiculous terms for their policies, and in the EXTREME case they actually need to fix something they probably outsource it lol
“But what about helping our people Bob!?”
We need a real life Mr Incredible to do that to every insurance CEO. Throw through 6 concrete walls.
From what I’ve heard from Americans working in hospitals is that this bill is what the hospital writes but they only charge a small amount and declare the rest at their own insurance as a loss. So the couple would end up with a bill of a few hundred dollars, nothing more. This is common practice, is what those people told me. I don’t know if this is the case in every state though. But it sure is one weird fucked up system.
Insurance companies make deals with hospitals along the lines of “We’ll pay 1k for this procedure which should cost 300 bucks, or 40% of your standard rates, whichever is lower.” So the standard rate becomes $2500.
Then the insurance company will require a 40% “copay” based on the standard rates, and the patient ends up paying the $1000 and the insurance company doesn’t pay shit despite collecting hundreds a month in premiums.
If you tell them you don’t have insurance they’ll frequently discount the fee to the $300 it should cost.
And this is embraced because profit is capped to a percentage of payouts
Is that a legitimate business strategy?
I just send my customer a bill for a ridiculous amount, then my customer negotiates for something significantly less, and I can write off the difference?
There must be more to this. It’s too good to be true.
It is for the people who are getting paid, which is the insurance companies.
If it wasn’t, it wouldnt be the awful dystopian norm for the past 40 years here this stupid country.
I’ve also read stories from people who have negotiated how much of their bill they paid. Fucked up indeed.
Our first baby was born 5 weeks early and had to spend about 3 weeks in the NICU before we could take him home. Nothing major, just monitoring and a careful feeding regimen to make sure he would make it, as sensitive as they are when born that early.
My wife had to pay $30 for the 3 days she rented a bed in the maternity ward ($10/day). That was our total bill.
Second child we paid nothing.
Nothing negotiated, just how it works in my country. ✌️
And we have people in Canada that want to go to the American system.
Is made me realize there are a lot of people who will vote against their own interests as long as their neighbors can’t possibly get undue benefit.
Insane 😢
US health insurance pulled the same shitty tactic on me with my first born.
Both our kids were charged 6,000 to be born . . . Fun trick, where they charge the baby, since the mother has probably hit their out of pocket max, and that lets them jack it to the family max.
More Luigis please.
Can’t you declare bankruptcy for the kids then? Though that would probably fuck with the credit score? But I have no clue how that works.
I feel like you should be able to tell them to go fuck themselves, since children can’t sign contracts.
Oh, that’s the fun part of it - it’s your debt, but on the children’s insurance. They’re moving the care from one patient to another (to max out family out of pocket charges), but the parents are on the contract and can be sued.
After a nine month legal battle, Zurich has reversed its decision and told the BBC it was sorry for the stress caused.
Yeah, very sorry I’m sure. Oopsie, we accidentally fought a nine month legal battle to avoid paying out the exact thing the insurance is for
Arguing the care wasn’t covered because the baby wasn’t named in the insurance despite explicitly covering pregnancy-related care is ghoulish behavior. I can’t fathom how you can argue that seriously and not feel like a piece of shit.
“We’ve now strengthened and clarified our wording and guidance so other families travelling abroad at this stage of a pregnancy do not have to go through this experience.”
TLDR: the next couple is fucked
No, what this means is that they have increased premiums for anyone at 33 weeks of pregnancy and added something about premature births that will cost more if you’re traveling to America. Either that or put in specific language excluding coverage for premature births. Either way, insurance companies are a scam.
Like ‘hey, your baby is not covered, it’s 43 minutes under due’
Not trying to victim blame but do not go to America.
Also dont have kids
They’re Brits
I don’t see how the advice doesn’t apply. Do not go to U.S.A
Evwn Canadians should recons8der a US visit
Maybe your scummy government should’ve reconsidered their complicity with the US regime a long time ago.
Their virtue signalling because the big bully you were always friends with and help in their scumbaggery is now temporary bothering you.
hypocritesWhich government is my government? I don’t live in North America.
Ech, on re-read I see the problem … my apologies. I was typing too fast for my own good.
I meant that any Canadians considering a US visit shouldreconsider
It means Brits are the closest to the US with Canadians.
They love the banana republic.
Despite the temporary spat they will be back aiding them in their imperialist looting and mass murder
ah ok yeah I agree. Their elites seem to be quite “chummy” as brits would put it.
