I have been painfully aware of how expensive and convoluted this system in the USA is since childhood. Growing up in a household that hovered right around the poverty line meant we didn't qualify for the free stuff but also could not afford to actually go to the doctor, so outside of emergencies, we didn't. Friends at school would talk about going to the doctor for a sore throat or ear infection to get antibiotics or leave school early for a "physical" and that was all such a foreign concept to me.

But as everyone here is probably already aware and heard, it's bad bad bad.

As luck would have it (bad luck is still a type of luck after all), I had a major health incident earlier this year. I had insurance, not even anywhere near the worst mind you, and it costs me around $10,000 USD a year.

The $1,000 ambulance ride was not covered. The ambulance company is out of network.

The $500 ER doctor, who I did not ever see or speak to, was not covered. He, too, was out of network.

The 2 ibuprofen I was given cost $40. They were not covered by insurance because it is considered non-essential and I did not get pre-approval. Also, my partner had to buy a drink from the vending machine to wash the pills down.

My overall out of pocket cost was over $3,000. Tough pill to swallow considering I'm unemployed. The bills didn't even start coming until about 2 months after and took 5 months until I saw the last of them (I think & I hope). The ambulance company sent a bill, the doctor sent a bill, the hospital sent a bill, but then each little thing that happened at the hospital was a separate bill -- one from radiology, one from the pharmacy, two different doctors, etc. One incident involving one emergency room visit was at least 8 or 9 separate bills, maybe more. And this doesn't even include the follow-up care & costs.