'So If You're Poor, You're Dead'? Watch These Brits Gasp When They Find Out Cost of Healthcare in the United States

I have chronic sinus issues and multiple growths in my throat. One day at work I had blinding pain, tunnel vision, and huuuge pupils. One ER trip later (after I drove myself) I was faced with a whopping $5000 bill. AFTER insurance. For a sinus infection. I make $2.62 an hour plus tips. I pay $8000 in rent per YEAR. Not even feasible for me to pay it.

The nurses left me in the room for four hours hooked up to an IV saline bag since I was dehydrated. TWO CT scans later they told me :

  • I had a sinus infection and swelling was pressing on my nerves
  • they didn’t know what was up with my throat except it wasn’t cancer
  • they couldn’t do anything for me there and I need to see a specialist

Total bill was almost $7000 for them to tell me this. They sent me on my way with a $150 prescription for antibiotics. Final bill showed up a few weeks later.

I was fighting this bill for months. After fighting them enough on it I finally got it reduced to a few hundred.

I’ve been dealing with these issues for over a year now. I’m too chicken to go to the specialist because I’m afraid the bill will be up into the tens of thousands.

/r/worldnews Thread Link - commondreams.org