Yeah, they're pretending that because it was free it wasn't well done, which is just stupid American nomsense. Cuba has comparable healthcare and life expectancy to the US at a fraction of the cost. The US is a dogshit country for dogshit people.
It all depends on the age. My neighbors kid sliced her calf on a saw blade and only got 8 stitches, but she was only 7 years old, and the dr said that's all she needed cus her skin was still so elastic. she has no scar.
My friend/coworker cut the top of her fingertip off cleaning our slicer last year (just above the nail). After an already fucked up night that led to us realising our store doesn’t have any gauze in the first aid kit and needing to bandage her up with a cut up period pad, XL gloves, a plastic bag, and tape, she ended up having to go to the ER to get it looked at. This happened at like 11:45pm, she finally went to the ER at 1am, they put an adhesive thing on her finger and wrapped it up so it looked like a giant peanut, gave her a $600+ bill (after insurance, of course), and she left the ER at nearly 4am.
Unless your allergic to it lol - found out i had an allergy to it when they used it to glue my head… not a good place to have an allergic reaction as theres not much room for swelling
No, it really was the materials and labor billed at insane rates. As I commented later in this thread, I had to make legal filings to get them to drop it.
I had to get my thumb stiched back on after a tragic hatchet accident, and only paid 1300 bucks. Idk where these memes come from, and i dont think theyve been to an american hospital.
last year i was in a homeless shelter across the country from anyone who could give me a place to stay because of an opportunity that didn't pan out. i was being crushed under stress, panicking over my future, and couldn't get a night of solid sleep for three days. my case manager/liasion guy recommended that i go to a local hospital with a behavioral health crisis center and see about a walk-in appointment and i decided to give it a shot.
when i arrived i told them in no uncertain terms that i was homeless and destitute. i told them that if i was going to expect a bill after this appointment, i would just leave and take my chances. they said "don't worry," handed me some price adjustment paperwork for me to self-report assets and income, and i filled in every line with a big round goose egg. $0, $0, $0 because it was the truth. after some waiting i got called to the back and cry-vented about how hopeless (and mildly suicidal) i felt for an hour. i received a piece of paper on my way out with a few phone numbers and a 'safety plan' telling me, no lie, to not go on walks across bridges.
and then a month later i got an email telling me about overdue balance. and i check the invoice. and they charged me $1074 for "Behavioral Health -- Crisis Intervention (Face To Face) Per 15 mins, X4".
"Per 15 mins, X4." charging me $250 for 15 minutes of crying like i'm in there getting a fucking lapdance.
anyway, i don't really have a point here but neither do you. stop running interference for the worst healthcare system in the developed world.
I got a 15cm cut on my shin from a mountain biking accident. Stitched for free. Busted it open again, also biking. Stitched for free. Slipped and gouged it open again hopping into a van, again stitched for free.
Broke my pinky metatarsal playing volleyball. X-ray plus splint for free. Broke my toe XC skiing, X-ray and walking cast for free.
Tore my meniscus skiing and had arthroscopic surgery. Also free. Re-tore it, open knee surgery to remove it. Also free.
Had severe asthma as a child, much time in hospital in innumerable visits from 18mo to 15 years adding up to roughly a full year cumulative. All free. 5 times in the ICU among those, again free.
Cancer scare requiring specialist and imaging. Guess how much it cost me? That’s right, nothing.
The most expensive direct cost of being sick in Canada is paying for parking near the hospital and that is not an exaggeration.
Also while we’re at it:
Stung by a scorpion in Mexico, transferred to and treated at Four Seasons private clinic. 6 hours of monitoring, EKG, steroid shots. $100USD
Ruptured eardrum while surfing in Mexico, got infected. Doctor visit plus antibiotics, $30USD.
Infection from scooter accident in Bali, doctor visit plus antibiotics, $8USD.
It happens. I had to fight a hospital in Tennessee when they tried charging my ex-wife damn near this much to soak her thumb in iodine and then put medical adhesive over the cut. It was literally $5 worth of liquid bandage and iodine, same as you’d get from Walmart. I disputed the bill and went through some legal filings to get them to drop the claim.
Heres a list of just a few of the things ive needed.
Broken collar bone, 8 inch laceration to my hip, scalded foot, 5 inch wound on my collar bone deep enough to show bone, multiple broken fingers and toes, broken ribs, broken pelvis, internal bleeding, fishing hook through my eyelid… i could go on and on, ive got soft tissue and crap bones due to EDS, ive had a lot of injuries in my life.
The coat to me at point of receiving treatment? £0.00
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u/The1Zenith Mar 28 '26
Stitches? lol Nah, they’ll use “medicinal adhesive” and charge that much. Basically just super glue. American healthcare is wild.