The American healthcare system
Upvoters62
163 Comments
Membership card cost: $1500 a month
Also, if you don’t get the candy bar, you will die.
Deductible $7000
And you can’t buy that candy bar with this membership.
Keep in mind folks, its not the workers, not the nurses, not the doctors attempting to take advantage of us, but the insurance companies and CEOs.
Insurance companies are legally required to send 85% of the money you pay them directly to those doctors/hospitals/drug companies. They are responsible for 15% of the cost of healthcare in the US. It's the doctors offices, hospitals, and drug companies that charge 2x+ what the...
It's a combination of things. Medical salaries in the US aren't the only component of the price difference, but it's a large part of it. A non-specialist doctor in the US makes $240k/yr-$388k/yr. Specialists often make $500k-$750k/yr. A non-specialist doctor in Europe make...
It really isn’t though. Insurance companies make like 3-5% margin tops, similar to grocery stories - it’s quite regulated. Most of the margin in the us healthcare industry is hospitals and pharma/durable medical equipment.. pharma and dme are at like 40% profit margin.
*You put in the card* #Card declined (Some guy 600 miles away) "Sorry, we don't think you need the candy bar so even though you pay us to help you pay for the candy bar, if you want it you still have to pay the full $5,450."
Unfortunately, we are finding these insurance are starting to use AI to automatically decline almost everything upon the first request and physicians offices are having to pay people to navigate that increasingly arcane and frustrating system.
Have you regularly tried every other cheaper option of candy bar to make sure that it's effective first?
This. The insurance companies act as the "death boards" withholding healthcare based on cost. Insurance companies should not be allowed to deny a claim that was authorized by a licensed medical doctor.
That's the whole consumer system in America. All companies pull this shit. Why do i need to get a different shopping card for every grocery store? It's all a fucking scam.
You don't. 9/10 times the checkout person will scan their own card for you so they get "points" while giving you the discount.
Just type in local area code + 867-5309
Idk what's worse, having to carry a loyalty card, or having to use an app At least I can usually just punch in a phone number for a card
"Your card doesn't cover Snickers, and we consider Kit Kats a pre-existing snack."
Only pre-approved candy is Twix.
The crazier thing is I just filled an RX and had to asked them to back it out of insurance because it was $200 less expensive with a manufacturer coupon. This goes beyond just RXs because insurance companies negotiate fee schedules as a whole with hospitals and doctors so some...
Exactly this, which is infuriating on a whole nuther level. If you have to pay out of pocket, it's better to not even tell the service provider you have insurance in the first place. If they know you have insurance, and insurance isn't covering it, you may be forced to pay the...
> “Your membership doesn’t cover this particular candy bar, so that’ll be $8,000.” > “I thought you just said it was $5,450?!?” > “That’s only if you aren’t a member.”
I think the real answer is basically: “I guess I’ll just starve,” or like me, “I guess I’ll just die then.” I was charged $5,000 for a 15-minute visit to a cardiologist just to be fitted for a Holter monitor. Then Philips separately billed my insurance $3,500 for the device I...
I currently have a kidney stone (nbd, had em for 15 years, get em every so often), Nurse: "Can you go to the ER?" Me: "No, I pay too much in the ER. Can you just send me some toradol/flomax and schedule imaging?" Nurse: "Ok, we'll schedule you to come in for a CAT". Me: "C...
Im proud of you, hope it goes well for you. Im uninsured and feel pretty good at 32 and think ill just live whatever my natural lifespan has in store for me
Caveat: Sometimes it's "Sure thing that will be $345" and without the card it's actually cheaper. Or sometimes you can use a free GoodRx card and it ends up being cheaper than your insurance. The US healthcare system is literally indefensible.
My uninsured wife had to see a specialist and we paid less then it cost me for a virtual appointment with my primary care doctor with insurance.
The sleazy middlemen have too much sway
We're paying a subscription for a 25% discount code that may or may not work.
Bad news, there is no discount.
Oh, it must cost you so much money to make this candy bar Company: Nah, cost us 5 cents to buy it from a group of scientists who just want everyone to have access to this candy bar.
And most of the research was paid for with your tax dollars, so the scientists are happy to share!
in the UK, candy bar is $3, but those that are hungriest get it sooner so there may be a slightly longer wait than if you wanted the candy bar in the US for $5k. Not a bad compromise right?
In my experience, the American healthcare system says it’s only $200 without insurance, but if you have insurance you HAVE to use it or that would be fraud, but without it, it would be way more affordable. But you NEED insurance or some doctors won’t see you. 🙄
This meme is spot on. My actual conversation at the pharmacy this week: "Hey, I’d like to pick up my prescription." "That’ll be $50." "WTF!? It was $25 last month!" "Well, without insurance it’s $1754." "Oh… that’s not bad I guess."
As someone who lives in Asia, I'm genuinely thinking Americans can hop on a plane to any Asian countries, go to a fancy vip private hospital and get the most expensive treatment, fly back and it'll still be cheaper than your average health scamsurance 💀
It's all a big scam, period. There's no good reason to treat Americans like this except that we continue to allow it. We allow our tax dollars to go towards the top 10% instead of back to the people. We could have free healthcare, free education, free childcare and a better...
Also they don't tell you it's $345 until after you've eaten it
Except the insurance companies aren't even paying that $5450. They pay a fraction in reality but tell you it costs this much so you're getting robbed twice.
Why are supplies so expensive?
Actually many times the price is lower when not insured.
The US "healthcare system" needs to go down in flames. This price gouging bullshit where profit > lives should be some shit that anyone involved goes to prison but hey we're MURICA. We do everything better than everyone else even though no one does things the way we do and ...
The wrapper doesn’t accept your card + 150$
My rich friend has healthcare but my fat mom doesnt. Wtf is that?
"I don't have a card, and I would like to see an itemized receipt." "Well now, it's actually only $125."
Don't forget the part where the same candy bar could be significantly more or less at the store 10 mins down the road. And costs different depending on which membership card you have
Honestly being an American and experiencing medical care abroad was like nothing I could even conceptualize. Went to Istanbul Turkey (medical tourism), for a full health check up after a health scare. It was unreal. Found a few companies online and communicated my needs a...
https://preview.redd.it/3kvbg75pssog1.jpeg?width=1096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f26eba31203ab3d3002a915a2433d6c0ed537a2f The analogy tracks
this meme is painfully accurate… like why is a band-aid $500 without insurance but $20 with it?? america explain 😭
Literally me right now while I'm getting my mammogram and breast ultrasound as we speak. Gotta pay $495. What my insurance covered? Probably the air.
I thought that was shopping at Costco. Going for one thing come out spending $1000.
Add to that the fact that that candy bars price differs un both instances, even before insurance pays. The 5K+ turns into 7K+ before Insurance. Then they pay more than what the candy bar would cost without insurance yet still leaving you with a bill. BS on EVERY level
More like the candy bar is $5450, you haven't met your deductible, but good news your insurance has negotiated a discount. You now owe $5448.86. Due in 14 days.
If only. Wait until a food specialist at your membership tells you they don't want to pay for that candy bar because it's outside of the membership. Also, another glaring problem with this analogy is that it's equating care-seeking with a fuckin candy bar. When my appendix t...
And if you don't buy the candy bar it has long term consequences.
Won't anyone think of the *shareholders*!
No lie detected. I just got a message this morning that even after insurance, my doctor's appointment is going to be $137 out of pocket. Just a check up. No issues happening, nothing broken. Just to get established with a doc because I moved last year.
My hospital ( in Florida) charges $80,000 - 90,000 for insertion of pacemaker. The hospital buys it from the company for around $5,000. Medicare will reimburse the least for the pacemaker at around 7-10%. Other insurance companies will reimburse around the same but mostly ...
This is so true, I cant believe how much they charge for basic things. Its ridiculous!
Opens candy bar “Actually your membership said they don’t cover candy bars that specific size. You’ll have to pay the full $5,450”
The only people who think this system works are the super rich who make money off it. I don't know a regular person or a medical professional who thinks this system works. As long as the people at the top are making money, it will stay the same.
Except that the scam is worse than that. If you don't have the card, the total cost is somehow less than if you have the card. Sure, you pay less of the cost, but the total cost is still higher than if you didn't have the card at all. What I mean is that insurance is such a...
It's also the two party system as it stands now.
And it's so expensive for us because the government pays $0.50 for the candy bar and some ~~poor~~ people don't pay at all.
"without the card" is the price the insurance companies negotiated to start the discount from. It's why some medical stuff costs 3-4x as much with insurance as without.
Also, without the candy bar you'll likely die
It's more like, 'Ok, I guess I'll just die then. Thanks!'
Actually what you don’t know is that in California it’s cheaper without the card. If you tell them you don’t have insurance they will discount it up to 80% and the rest will be subsidized by the government. Try this next time you go to urgent care. First give them your insuran...
The wild part is how quickly people get trained to feel relieved about the smaller ripoff. $345 for a candy bar? outrage. $5,450 without the card? suddenly $345 feels like a bargain. That’s basically the entire pricing psychology of the US healthcare system in one meme. Set...
More like: It'll be $345 but we'll bill your membership provider $5450. However, if you'd like to avoid using the membership altogether it's only $150 cash pay. The catch is, though, that it won't count towards the $10000 threshold of out of pocket spending required to mak...
No, it's actually "It'll cost you $350 without the card." "And with?" "$1750, insurance only covers the first $350." Because insurance-negotiated prices always suck more, and they don't even pay most of it until your premium is hit.
And yet the hospitals aren’t making money and some are going out of business. Insurance company margins are similarly thin (United healthcare’s net income margin is <3%). So… why? Where is all this money going?
> Where is all this money going? The mega hospitals/groups that monopolize rural areas, and pharmaceutical manufacturers that charge $12k for a medication that costs them $10 to make and R&D that was primarily funded by NIH grants. Those same pharmaceutical manufactur...
Cost me 200 bucks to have 7 sutures removed. I was in there all of five minutes. I should have just removed my own damn sutures. And yes I have health insurance
i had something like this happen once
except you need that candybar or you will die
That's also becoming how we buy groceries. No membership card, pay double or triple the cost.
Darn! **MY** insurance doesn't cover candy bars!
Yes, and people keep choosing this by not electing Dems every time so they get enough majority to make these changes we want, but they are inconsistent so we lose progress each time they regress to maga. *** Proudly not too bright, Their children have no future, They elect r...
That's also groceries in Canada. It's weird.
that picture looks really old for a millennial!
"Damn I don't have a membership card" "Ok, we'll knock down the price from $5,450 to $900" "Wait really? Well I can't pay $900 either." "Ok then how about $250?" "Wow that's cheaper than with the membership! Actually you know what, I found my card." "Okay that will be $34...
Also you can't not buy the candy bar
you forgot the part where if you need a special candy bar to save your life it’s only 5-10k and not a few million but ok
American health insurance is nothing more than discount coupons. These policies don’t insure anything.
Except instead of a candy bar it’s a life saving operation or medication.
That's not American healthcare at all. If it was, they wouldn't tell you how much the candy bar costs until *after* you've eaten it.
In case no one has mentioned it, the Candy Club card only offers the discount if you meet its $1200 deductible. Also, the max per year benefits payout is $670.99 (post deductible).
Benefit maxes don't exist in the US anymore for the vast majority of people thanks to the ACA/Obamacare. The only exceptions are companies with fewer than 50 employees and religious groups.
What would healthcare cost if insurance didn’t exist?
Except in those wonderful situations where the treatment/service is even more expensive with the insurance..
This also reminds me of those people justifying those stupid fucking fast food apps. Here, let me give you a way to steal my info and deliver me ads so I can save 50 cents on a shitty ass burger.
"But there's nothing we can do about it," said hundreds of millions of people!
A system that protects paedophiles and promotes racism.
*healthscare
Don't forget, the patent on that candybar was given away to make a better world.
Add to it that without that candy bar, you'll be disabled/dead.
It's basically a loyalty card program. Spend enough in deductibles and copay, then you get the perks.
Left out the part that the card has a $26k annual membership fee.
The country needs to talk more about how insurance companies are incentivized to overpay for care from hospitals. The insurance companies by law are required to spend 85% of premiums on care. They get to keep 15%. Would they rather 15% of $100B in spending or would they rather...
https://preview.redd.it/vyk50dw3cnog1.jpeg?width=1380&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=713e78dd574db8fb9e765a5a1dcacb1e50e44e41 never forget
"Now let me just add the *non-member discount*, we add this cause we can't bill the membership company for random stuff, and if we did that to you it'd cripple you in debt"
HEY NOW! In other countries you have to stand in line to buy your candy bar. You ever think about that??? Granted, so do we, but the horror!
Dont forget that they dont even tell you the prices until AFTER you have eaten some of the Candy bar.
It's worse than this. I can choose not to buy a candy bar. I can't choose not to have health care ( pedants noted. Ofc. I can choose not to seek Healthcare in an absolute sense)
My ex there wouldn't get a medical inspection when she got a suspected broken toe when I wasn't there. My god. When are you actually going to do something about how fucked over you ALL are ?
It's FAR worse than this.
Americans will put up with anything 😂
But instead of getting the stores to lower their prices to reasonable levels, many on this site seem to think we should just get the government to pay the unreasonable prices. - my 2 cents
It's called price anchoring; it's a real tactic in marketing.
My medication is $270 for a month's supply WITH insurance, without insurance there's a coupon system that takes it down to about $50...
Had a small surgery paid $3000 out of pocket and billed insurance 30k. I bet it would not cost more than $1000 in other countries, I was in and out of the hospital within an hour
Except also not less. That guy who posted his bill then after he applied his insurance it went up. Apparently the not insured got a huge discount and he didn't.
America is a shithole, and always will be.
By “candy bar” do you mean a complicated surgery or freshly developed medication lmao
That’s every healthcare system. The difference is Americans pay the bill themselves while the government pays for it in all the better countries.
What's the name of this phenomenon or theory? I swear I've read about it in a topic about negotiation tactic...
Don't forget also having to waste a quarter of your income just to be given the great privilege of also having to pay a shitload of money for any doctor visit. Bonus, you also get to pay a ton of money for your prescriptions! Best part: if you lose your job, nothing is co...
It worse. You can only buy the candy bar at certain places and after you eat it you may get another bill
I've heard Europeans call American health insurance a "health coupon." Pretty accurate honestly.
Last year I had surgery. They asked me to sign that I would agree to pay the charges incurred. Before signing, I asked to know what the charges would be. They couldn't tell me. I mean I knew how it would go but I enjoy making that point. No other industry operates this way...
There are cases where, if you're uninsured, you can potentially negotiate your bill down. The reason for this is because the hospital or health care facility is billing you the unnegotiated rate which is intentionally high because most insurers negotiate that rate down and ho...
Worked in a pharmacy for a few years, quickest way to get a customer to stop harassing you about the price was to tell them what the price without insurance was
Don't forget the part where you could pay an extra 150 dollars in taxes and receive as much candy as needed but you're not capable of basic math and so if taxes go up that's just money out of your pocket.
Sometimes, without the card, it costs $245, but you have to pay $345 if you have the card because that is the price they agreed upon with the card holder.
That's not how it works for me. Its more like "You aren't allowed to buy that candy bar. Even though you have permission and your membership plan says you can buy it, you can't buy it. Oh, the reason? Its not necessary according to the sales person who's never sold candy bars"
Meanwhile the same candybar in Canada is $1.50.
Wait til you find out what a deductible is
Most important part: This entire conversation occurs after you had to eat the candy bar in order to survive
The difference is you can just not buy the candy bar and you won't die. You also know the cost of the candy bar in advance rather than getting a bill for it a month after you've already eaten it. The US Healthcare system is just glorified extortion. It's like paying the...
Even this assumes you know what the cost is going to be ahead of time, which is far from the case. $345 is just for the candy bar, not the wrapper, or the bag they put it in, or the building you eat it in.
Legalize medicine
I went to a doc-in-a-box on a weekend for an eye infection. I was asked how I wanted to pay, with or without insurance. I said with insurance because one would naturally think that it would be less expensive. She then asked, are you sure? It’ll be $250 with insurance or $75 bu...
I have to get my wisdom teeth surgically removed in 4 days. I just got a phone call today saying my insurance is the only insurance provider that will not cover wisdom teeth removal if you have both dental and medical insurance with them. I was originally supposed to pay 1.5k ...
It’s ok, you can always go to Canada or Mexico to buy the same candy bar for $2
This but the candy bar is an ER visit
My favorite part is when you still haven't met your deductible so the card does literally nothing
Sometimes it costs more with the membership too
Oh and a co pay.
No. Nobody is saying "it's not that bad I guess". Everyone agrees that Americans are paying way too much for medical services. Where are these people that say otherwise? What's the other option, though? Tell them no? Die? Become a doctor yourself? Burn down the insurance off...
Here in Canada, we pay a fraction of US health insurance costs, as taxes, and the biggest cost is the parking at the hospital. Which is a ripoff, don't get me wrong, but I'm bitching about $12 here. Parking at my doctor's office is free.
They also don’t tell you the price until after you’ve eaten it.
Also if you don’t eat the candy you’ll die
Tussin low? Put a little water in there. Shake it up... MORE 'TUSSIN!
bruh imagine being a desert and suddenly hearing "fortunate son" playing from the clouds , its over for u
They keep voting to keep it that way so they must like it that way. The American people be simple.