Do Americans really avoid hospitals, even in serious situations because of the bills that follow after ?

Some do. A lot don't. For every person here saying they avoid the ER, there are people that show up for stupid shit with no intention of ever paying the bill. People who stub their toe on a piece of furniture days earlier and come in primarily for a work note. Last week, somebody came in because their mild sunburn hurt. The guy who came in for STD testing because his, and I quote, "penis is shrinking." The person with anxiety that doesn't want any testing OR treatment, so why go to the ER? The drug abusers hoping to get a fix. The person who had one episode of diarrhea 6 hours earlier without any other symptoms. The list goes on and on.

Maybe it's because I see a very skewed population (IE, only people that show up to the ER), but I swear there are more people who will show up to the ER for stupid fucking bullshit (NON-EMERGENCIES) than there are people who skip on medical care to avoid the bills. In my average day at work, more than half the people I see showing up in the ER are not for emergencies.

/r/TooAfraidToAsk Thread