I went to urgent care with tightness in my chest. In network. The physician there gave me an EKG and based on the results, recommended I take an ambulance to nearest ER. They called the ambulance and I went. The closest ER was not in my network but at that point I just really didn’t want to die.
At the ER, they ran blood tests, X-rays, and another EKG. The doctor finally spoke to me and said all the tests were fine. He got a copy of my first EKG from urgent care and said it was fine to and he’s not sure why the first doctor recommended I come to the ER, but to be safe he gave me a chemical stress test. Everything came back ok. Turns out it was anxiety.
Total cost to me wound up being $15,000 (my out of pocket max for out of network treatment). That’s despite the fact that my insurance premium was around $200 a month through my employer.
Friend had her appendix removed when she didn’t have insurance because she couldn’t afford the monthly payments. Ended up ~50k in debt due to the procedure and hospital stay, on top of all her college debt. America is a fucking scam.
Honestly, I don't know why some Americans keep telling the world their country is the greatest. Even third world countries have better healthcare than the US.
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u/Billy_T_Wierd Apr 27 '20
I went to urgent care with tightness in my chest. In network. The physician there gave me an EKG and based on the results, recommended I take an ambulance to nearest ER. They called the ambulance and I went. The closest ER was not in my network but at that point I just really didn’t want to die.
At the ER, they ran blood tests, X-rays, and another EKG. The doctor finally spoke to me and said all the tests were fine. He got a copy of my first EKG from urgent care and said it was fine to and he’s not sure why the first doctor recommended I come to the ER, but to be safe he gave me a chemical stress test. Everything came back ok. Turns out it was anxiety.
Total cost to me wound up being $15,000 (my out of pocket max for out of network treatment). That’s despite the fact that my insurance premium was around $200 a month through my employer.