I am self-employed in the US. My small business is lightly profitable such that my ObamaCare health insurance premiums are completely covered by ObamaCare tax credits. I chose a "High-Deductible" plan (HDP) to qualify for a tax free Health Savings Account (HSA). If I didn't divert the maximum allowable amount to this HSA , more of my income would be taxed and my premiums would be higher. The money in this HSA can only be used for medical expenses. I also take Biktarvy for HIV. The list price of this prescription is about 3000 per month. The insurance company negotiated a price of about 2500 to 2700 per month instead of the full list price. My modest income also qualifies me for the Ryan White Care Act AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). ADAP pays my prescription deductible during the first 4 months of each year. After which, I have met the High Deductible requirements of the HDHP and the health insurance pays for the remainder of the year.
I had shoulder surgery in June. I don't have all the bills yet as I'm still in Physical Therapy but I think my shoulder will be more than double your example 10K number. Prior to the shoulder surgery I had an MRI required to diagnose the details of my shoulder injury. I used approximately $250 from the HSA to cover the co-pay on the MRI , as I had not yet completely met the annual Out Of Pocket maximum in my HDHP. Early in my rehabilitation from surgery my Physical Therapist ordered a pulley with which I could lift the post-surgical arm to achieve range-of-motion. I paid for that from the HSA because my ObamaCare health insurance doesn't cover Durable Medical Equipment (the pully) except under very specific circumstances. I also used my HSA to put gas in the car to get to the surgery and post-surgical followup (the surgeon's office shares a parking lot with the hospital - a two hour drive from home.
If it wasn't for the Ryan White Care Act, my annual out-of-pocket costs would be more than I'm allowed to set aside in the HSA.
One could superficially conclude from my experience with the US Healthcare system that it's not that bad. Looking closer we see too many "pieces" doing duplicative work. I'm fortunate than my HIV has a disease-specific government program. If I had chosen to skip ObamaCare, ADAP would pay my entire HIV prescription costs (and I would still be in pain wondering what was wrong with my shoulder and if it would ever get better). In response to the topic in the Top Post we now see another disease-specific government program bring born here : temporary price controls on some forms of insulin for some people.
One reason the US Healthcare system is so expensive is all these disjointed programs.