92% of American adults aren’t going to a doctor because they cannot afford it. The health insurance industry must be dissolved & all of its executives criminally prosecuted for murder, conspiracy, an…

Can we please gets some socialism up in this bitch already?!

A lot of times, you just get a big bill without them doing anything useful for you.

"shocking"? I feel like anyone living here could tell you this 💀

What's shocking is our inaction.

People pay a fortune in premiums, then another fortune in deductibles, before they can even use their insurance. Most families never actually get to that point unless they are "lucky" enough to have a family member who gets sick or injured badly enough to meet the deductible. Then you can finally use your insurance for the rest of the year.

We paid for years, and got literally nothing out of it, until I fell off a roof and got a bad concussion, and a big enough bill that our deductible was met. That was in September, so for the next few months we went to every doctor we needed, got every test we'd been putting off, etc. It was the only time we got full use of our insurance, so we took advantage of it, after paying in tens of thousands of dollars for years.

Medicare 4 All would give us full use of our insurance on January 1 every year, without having to worry about any deductibles. It might cost a couple of hundred extra dollars in taxes, but you'll save $600 month in health insurance premium, and $4500 per year in deductibles, so you'll come out far ahead, and have actual health insurance.

92% not going and yet I still have to wait 6-8 weeks for a visit with my PCP, to be mostly ignored and referred to a specialist, then 6+ months for a specialist to be told I need to go back to my PCP to redo all the diagnostics they did at referral because the results are too old now...

Brits love to complain about the NHS, and rightly. After 14 years of right wing governments underfunding it it's on it's knees.

However if someone tried to replace it with an American style system we'd make the way the French protest look tame.

All of the hospitals in my state were purchased by Atlantic Health.

My friend works for the hospital. The highlight of their quarterly meeting is how much profit the hospital now makes.

Why do hospitals need to make profit?!

Why are corporate owned hospitals even legal?!

I hate this timeline.

The survey that the article is based on seems pretty fishy to me. It's conducted by some financial services company that is mostly involved in selling financial products, not doing research. The methodology section is pretty threadbare and they don't provide the survey data itself.

The figures are also way out of line with more reputable research organizations like the KFF which estimates that 17% of Americans delay or avoid healthcare due cost.

Is 17% still really high and an unethical travesty in the wealthiest country on earth? Yeah. But there's no way that 92% of people are skipping the doctor due to cost. Just as an example, the top quintile of earners in the US make more than 300k per year. I doubt that anyone in that group in delaying or avoiding healthcare due to costs and yet the survey would mean that a good chunk of them are.

And they are still paying for that insurance they can't afford to use.

It is cheaper to keep people healthy through preventive care than it is to treat illness. From a taxpayer point of view, a single payer system would save us money.

But people are so propagandized in this country that they seriously think private insurance is the better option.

I don't have data, but as a pharmacy worker one thing that seems very apparent to me is people with non-european/white names getting way more insurance rejections.

Also, insulin and inhalers should not be so consistently headaches to deal with. Inhaler insurance issues make me want to rip my hair out.

Is this true? How do people vote for parties that don't change it?

Time off work is also a huge factor

If you're screwed up political system that's responsible. I'm pretty sure the US is the only country in the world where bribes are actually legal. Bribery is illegal even in Russia even if it isn't actually enforced but at least they don't pretend that what they're doing is right.

You won't move over to green energy even though it's more economically viable because of lobbyists.
You have private health care because of lobbyists.
Your food would be considered toxic by every other nation, but it's allowed because of lobbyists.

By all means shoot some health insurance CEOs nobody will shead the tear for them, but they are the symptom not the cause. If your country allows lobbying then don't be surprised that you get lobbyists.

The health insurance industry must be dissolved & all of its executives criminally prosecuted for murder, conspiracy, and treason.

I think the end of the states is more likely and easier at this point. That broken ass system is just embedded too deep.

Such a big task infront of future american generations if it survives. I was baffled the other day when I heard an american be surprised the rest of the world have unfavorable opinions of them. I think the first issue to tackle is education.

70,000 Americans die every year due to lack of access to health care.

How quickly do you think an issue would be addressed if it killed 70 billionaires a year?

I just spent 5grand out of pocket because the doctor made me take a sleep test. They charged insurance nearly 20 grand.

They told me they found nothing and I was fine. I pointed out some flaws in their test but they weren’t interested in my opinion.

I cancelled my follow up appointment bc I can’t afford it, at least until this is paid off.

Also, I am not fine. I am very very tired.

Did you know if you meet your deductible they will won’t pay until you also meet the Out of Pocket Maximum? What’s the point of the deductible? I have no idea.

This is the exact set up for a Black Plague event. I know people tend to hold a grudge over the Covid Lockdown, but do we really need to see bodies topple on the street before realisation is made?

This makes every zombie movie way more realistic than it has any right to be.

For me, I think it's more the unpleasantness of being ripped off than affordability. It's such a fucking scam.

also some doctors are jaded asf, if they see a couple times in a row they become frustrated and annoyed with you.

Smells like freedom. No wait, kinda like burning toast? I'd go to the doctor but it's too expensive.

Remember, billionaires are nothing without their enablers like your local news anchors lying to you, their protectors like your local PD, or your neighbors in the military who would take orders to kill you for standing up for yourself and your community. Billionaires are inaccessible, their protectors and enablers are not.

I have not had insurance my entire adult life, because it was too expensive, and the jobs I was able to work didnt offer it. So I only go once a year, when I'm forced to in order to get my meds for the next year.. and any issues I have, I hope and pray linger until this appointment, because I cant afford to pay 200+ dollars every time i have an issue that i need a doctor for.

the only experience I've had with insurance, in my adult life, is handling an elderly relatives medical issues. They have medicare.

Medicare is fucking awesome. Anything they need, poof, its done. no delays, no awaiting approvals, just get it fucking done. Most of their drugs are free (at least until trump gets rid of part d..), and the one that isnt, is only like 5 dollars, for a 90 day supply (so 20 bucks a year for meds). They have had multiple major surgeries, and the copay was like 30 dollars each time.

Not once have they ever been told they cant have a treatment, or that they have to go through some bullshit process of trying 3 other things before they can get the treatment the doctor orders, nothing.

Medicare is fucking awesome and everyone should have it.

Awww we have abundance? The world is always getting better? Science is so cool? We can do so much more?

Who's we? I had to stitch an injury up with a sewing kit last week. I didn't get antibiotics. Half my friends don't get to sleep in houses. I'm the only person I know who regularly eats real food without fear of shitting myself because my entire apartment is shelves full of dirt and grow lights.

Even for me, with health insurance, one of the reasons I tend not to seek health care is due to the surprise and unpredictable costs. I've already fallen into that trap twice this year alone.

The very first thing I did when I was choosing a plan for this year was filter the list down to the ones I could afford which said they covered all my prescription meds and for which my current health providers were "in-network". That left 2 options.

When I went to get my first round of refills, several months into the year, they said I had to have prior authorization for one of my meds. After going through that process several times, provider who writes the prescription has to jump through the hoops with insurance to get the authorization, the insurance finally came back and said "we don't/won't cover this prescription." My provider was able to find a cheaper, older alternative that works, but I pay out of pocket 100% for it.

Then came my annual physical, which is free with insurance. Because of the meds I'm on, the nurse said they needed to do some blood tests to check for signs of problems. Never mentioned that those tests would cost me extra and obviously I did not know. Wouldn't have mattered, because they wouldn't have been able to tell me up front how much it would cost so that I could make a financial decision about it. In the end, that free annual visit cost me almost $400 that I was not anticipating. The bills started showing up months later, so it completely blindsided me.

Last year was even worse. I had one of the best insurance plans offered through the ACA. Then I had an accident that landed me in the hospital. The ambulance ride was not covered at all, the service was "out-of-network" so I had to pay 100% of that. The 2 tylenol I was given for pain management in the emergency room cost me $40 because insurance would not pay for them without prior authorization. I hesitated to even call for help, hoping I could stop the bleeding myself, because I knew it was going to be an expensive trip to the ER and boy was it ever. Not to mention the follow-up appointments and treatment that was required.

Healthcare in my country sucks and politicians have been trying to destroy what's left for forty years, but healthcare in the US reads like a page ripped off from a dystopia.

I can afford to go to the doctor, I just can' afford that and the time off work to go.

Going to the doctor costs like $400-500

It's insane

And It's the corporation that runs the clinic that gets to see the benefits from that, not the doctors

Enjoy the decline.

The leadership of US medical of the last 25 years should be prosecuted, have their wealth taken from them, and their kin removed with them on a biblical scale.

The removal method? Guillotine

There's also those in the opposite situation: Stuck unemployed on Medicare because getting a job would make necessary healthcare too expensive. What a country

Yes. Pretty much all I can say living here for 55+ years. Yes.

Count me as one. I can't be bothered to take the time off or pay for a diagnostic procedure. If it found something, I'd be extra fucked anyway. Why bother?

Why is it shocking? The us is a capitalist and egocentric entity. It is the greed and the violence. The result is they don‘t care for each other. And you know it.🤷

I've been putting off allergies/sinus issue for a bit, just to hoping it would go away on its own. This morning I woke up with a sore left ear and jaw. I could hear the bubbling in my ear. Took some Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen to help. The pain returned by lunch. Decided to go get it looked at on insurance. Still cost $310 to get some Amoxacillian prescribed. I am fortunate to be able to afford it and yet it still hurt me financially.

Does anyone have more information than a screenshot of a headline?

I've been to the doctor twice in the last 20 years and one of them was an emergency. It has been longer for the dentist.

There are other reasons - one being that doctors aren't really offering treatments, just finagling their way to defining a "solution" or excuse for the symptoms you're exhibiting. Many people experiencing problems are out looking for their own solutions. I don't blame poor medical training, just the squeezing of their metrics for maximum profit.

Ah yes. Freedom. Don't y'all love it?

Thinning the herd, just as Project 2025 planned.

Meanwhile me with gay healthcare, is going to see specialists within the broader category of my niche disease.

Although to be fair, it took 1.5 years to get an appointment, availability have declined the past few decades

It would be better if it actually was an open market like Japans medical system. They cap the profits on materials and treatment. They also have to list prices so you can actually compare and contrast the costs of treatment. Insurance companies are now the backbone of the US medical system, even owning and operating entire medical providers. Their business model is to maximize profits and deny care wherever possible. It'll be difficult to dismantle that relationship now.

Just think of all the missed revenue in both insurance and medical sectors /s

Then why aren’t they going?

in another time, that would have a better chance of happening since we used to go after racketeers. now, we have them in the actual government so thats not even in consideration

I stopped going, time and money

Instead of prosecution couldn't the executives be dissolved too?

Me neither

Can you imagine, and I’m not saying it’s wrong, but the initial wait times if/ when it becomes free? Like it will take 3-5 years to sort itself out

I call bullshit on this stat

And democrats will brag about how they fixed healthcare 15 years ago by killing the public option.

Not dissolved but it needs to be severely overhauled and they should be require to have actual medical knowledge.