r/boringdystopia • u/EmilyG702 • Jul 17 '24
Corporate Control đź How is this even allowed..
361
u/Brandonazz Jul 17 '24
Staying alive is not medically necessary, just take 2 aspirin and walk it off.
That'll be $35 for the aspirin.
100
u/MrAppleSpiceMan Jul 18 '24
$80 co-pay to walk it off. and $168 for a pair of shoes to walk in. you can opt out of the shoes but we'll never tell you how
22
Jul 18 '24
[removed] â view removed comment
8
u/ablinddingo93 Jul 18 '24
So theyâre not allowed on planes, right?
Sounds like something Richard Reid would have
158
u/joseph4th Jul 18 '24
Iâm starting my own business. You pay me money every month, and then I tell you what food youâre allowed to eat. You have to go to restaurants that are in network. You also have to get your appetizers and desserts preapproved.
-53
u/DevilsMasseuse Jul 18 '24
Actually, controlling what people eat might be just as effective a health insurance.
20
u/magicman419 Jul 18 '24
Ehhh I donât know about just as effective lol. It could help with some things sure but for a lot of conditions it doesnât make much if any of a difference
12
u/BlueberryBubblyBuzz đ Jul 18 '24
Are you telling me I shouldn't try and cure cancer by eating fruit? This guy, Steve Jobs, was telling me differently. Who do I believe?
2
u/RedMiah Jul 19 '24
I suggest the one who is alive.
2
u/BlueberryBubblyBuzz đ Jul 19 '24
Damn it, fruit sounds so much better than chemotherapy. Are you sure?
1
u/Bmkrocky Jul 18 '24
this isn't wrong - so many conditions are linked to poor dietary habits - from heart disease to diabetes and a lot of inflammatory issues and intestinal disorders and stomach issues
67
u/psichodrome Jul 18 '24
I wonder what an alternative system looks like.
Maybe one where everyone pays a percentage of their earnings to a collective fund whose sole purpose is to maximise health outcomes for the maximum number of people with the least inefficiencies for corruption.
but I hear the citizens of America only get medical care if they work for the right employer
34
u/TShara_Q Jul 18 '24
Technically, if you stay soul-crushingly poor, you're allowed health insurance too. But that's it's own issue, because if you work extra hours and make a little too much, or get a job that doesn't offer health insurance, you might just be fucked. I lived in an old RV for a while because I wasn't allowed to make enough to pay rent while staying on Medicaid. I only got out because an old friend saved my butt. $20k a year gross is not livable.
We need universal healthcare so badly. But Heaven forbid we give workers an iota of autonomy in this damn country.
8
u/TonyWrocks Jul 18 '24
But hardly any providers accept Medicaid (the American coverage for the poor), so you can't get an appointment even if you have coverage.
I'm retired but we withdraw investments (to realize "income") in an amount each year to keep us above Medicaid-level poverty so that we're not stuck in that hellscape.
2
u/TShara_Q Jul 18 '24 edited Jul 18 '24
It highly depends on your area. Options are certainly limited where I am, but it's still been miles better than not having health insurance at all. Right now, those are my options.
But people shouldn't have to stay ridiculously poor just to (possibly) have some options. We need a nationalized system that covers everyone.
Long term, I'm hoping to leave the US. I happen to be a dual citizen by the luck of my birth. So I'm trying to get out by going to grad school in my birth country.
2
u/TonyWrocks Jul 18 '24
Congratulations on having two visas. This is my plan as well, however I might have to"donate" 750,000 Euros in Malta to make it happen.
1
u/TShara_Q Jul 18 '24
Thanks. It's not something I earned, but I'll use it to get to a better and safer life. I still have had to teach myself the language (family never taught me) and I'm working on getting my paperwork. Congrats on having 750,000 Euros lol. I'm just trying to save 15,000 or so.
5
u/EmilyG702 Jul 18 '24
Thats true. Not all employers offer medical. Especially if youâre part time.
4
u/TheSorcerersNut Jul 18 '24
And many employers will keep you just below full-time so they can get the most work out of you but not have to offer benefits
1
52
u/Impossible_Frame_241 Jul 17 '24
LOL I am Australian. Can someone explain what this means?
101
Jul 17 '24 edited Jul 17 '24
[deleted]
38
u/sinsaint Jul 18 '24
A small addition/correction, but ER won't reject you, they just don't solve problems that aren't life-threatening. It's not necessarily their job to fix you, it's their job to keep you alive.
Just expect a large tab.
7
u/Varixx95__ Jul 18 '24
This is trauma team fucking mafia shit. I thought this was cyberpunk economics not current USA situation
4
u/vxicepickxv Jul 18 '24
The cyberpunk part comes in when the armed ambulance crew comes in to recover you because you're dying.
14
u/RB1O1 Jul 18 '24
TLDR: American is a corporate shithole where medical insurance companies get to prioritise profit over health and life.
9
u/Impossible_Frame_241 Jul 17 '24
That is the most insane shit I have read.
I go to the doctors, walk in, and see a doctor for free. Walk out with a prescription thats been heavily discounted due to my government healthcare (medicare) and buy my medication for like 7 bucks at the chemist that's built right next door to the doctors.
Fuck me bro what an absolute joke
46
u/Moosefactory4 Jul 17 '24
Health insurance is such a purposely confusing commodity that has unclear use-value. Depending on the company, the plan, the medical facility, the type of tests, the diagnosis, the medications, etc⌠some of the cost of your visit may or may not be covered. It is the most beaurocratic and inefficient middleman service that actually does everyone a disservice
31
u/ElaborateCantaloupe Jul 18 '24
In the US, health insurance is mainly through your employer. Healthcare is so expensive that no one can afford it without insurance. A single uninsured health emergency can leave you bankrupt for life. Itâs how employers keep employees terrified of losing your job and keeping you in jobs you hate because you need the health insurance. Only the wealthy can take the risk to go it alone and start your own business so you get to be the one to oppress other people. All the while they will explain how being poor is your fault because everyone has the same opportunities.
20
u/PollutionMany4369 Jul 18 '24
American here.
My husband has type 1 Diabetes, which he got as a kid. Itâs a condition he has to deal with for the rest of his life and he has to have insulin every day or he will die. Heâs an otherwise very healthy guy - rarely ever drinks, doesnât smoke, eats healthy, is a healthy weight, and was only 29 when the following story happened.
About four years ago, his job changed insurance companies for whatever reason (which he pays $500 a month to through his paycheck) and at the same time, his insulin pump he had been using for almost a decade finally died. He was holding it together with glue, tape and prayers basically. And he needs to have continuous insulin - especially when heâs sleeping - or he can die. So he filed a claim with insurance through his doctor. The following âred tapeâ story happened and took WEEKS:
His doc said hey insurance - he needs a new insulin pump.
Insurance company - but does he really?
Doc - yes, really.
Insurance - you sure?
Doc - yes!
Insurance - canât he just inject himself with insulin?
Doc - thatâs what heâs been doing these past few weeks while you guys have been jerking us around, and heâs getting sick from the lack of continuous insulin through the night.
Insurance - we need to have you talk to -our doctor-
Doc - seriously
Insuranceâs Doctor - but does he really need it?
Doc - HERE IS ALL THE DOCUMENTATION TO SHOW HE HAS HAD THIS CONDITION SINCE CHILDHOOD AND HERE IS HIS LABWORK TO SHOW THAT HIS SUGAR LEVELS ARE ELEVATED AND HE NEEDS THE PUMP TO KEEP THIS IN CHECK - and to stay ALIVE.
insurance doctor - took three more weeks to decide
Insurance Doctor - Ok, you can have a new pump⌠but weâre only covering 60%. Your part of it is $3,000.
And thatâs how I almost lost my husband at 29 years old.
They do not give a single shit about human life. They simply donât. Itâs cheaper if we just die.
12
Jul 18 '24
Basically giant insurance companies in America can just say no to basically anything. Obama actually passed a bill that would get rid of the âpre existing conditionsâ so to put it mildly before Obama in America if you had diabetes or cancer and then got a new job with different healthcare they would most likely not cover any of your âpreexisting conditionsâ because you had them before you had insurance. Basically we give our money to giant insurance companies who just tell us why they canât and donât have to cover any of our medical bills. My mom was on blood thinners a few years ago and I was living in Thailand. She asked me to see if I could find her medication her doctor prescribed because in America with health insurance it was $350 a month and she needed 6 months worth. So I went to the local pharmacy and bought the exact brand, mailed it to her all for $200.
11
u/mingy Jul 18 '24
I am Canadian but my doctor is ex-pat American from Ukraine.
One day I mentioned to him that my brother had died of a hemorrhagic stroke. Because blood vessel defects can be congenital he decided to order an MRI. After we were done I asked him how he compared practising in Canada vs the US. He told me "Back home, I would have had to have a girl on the phone with the insurance company for a week to approve that MRI. Here I signed a paper. Also, people there always want to know what it is going to cost whereas here they are concerned about their health."
Of course because of our crazy house prices the poor guy could afford a house back there but not here ...
-11
u/Ethan-Wakefield Jul 18 '24
One thing the others answering you arenât saying is, if an insurance company overrules your physician, in general they need a physician of their own who can name medical cause to deny. I knew a guy who did this for a living. He was a board certified physician. He had practiced medicine for 15 years before working for an insurance company, and they required 10 years experience minimum. His pay is not linked to denying claims.
So while this is definitely a problematic system, itâs not quite as bad as âwe done feel like paying so get screwedâ.
8
u/mingy Jul 18 '24
That's funny because in places with universal healthcare they don't typically have doctors overriding your doctor's decision.
You know, because your doctor actually knows all about your health, needs, etc..
Oddly enough one doctor is usually enough.
3
u/s0618345 Jul 18 '24
It is linked as if he approved every claim he would be fired. I worked for a health insurance company as a nurse I quit as it was not ethical.
13
u/Clickbait636 Jul 18 '24
I have EPI and I am reacting really negatively to the medication used to treat it. My Doctor wants to try using a gerd's treatment to treat my epi. But to do so she has to diagnose me with gerd which I do not have so the insurance will approve the medication.
13
u/cnote5 Jul 18 '24
Pharmacy Benefit Managers. PBMs. Federal law allows them to do exactly that. They are insufferable. This is the madness of our system in the US.
Vote Blue and let us get rid of them with Single Payer.
5
u/TonyWrocks Jul 18 '24
A huge majority of Americans want universal coverage, but that same majority won't vote for Presidents, House members and Senators who will make it happen.
3
5
u/InfiniteBoxworks Jul 18 '24
This is allowed because people prefer to fight with paper instead of lead.
2
u/Middle-Hour-2364 Jul 18 '24
That's easily the maddest thing I heard about the USA, but yeah, some, something freedom
2
u/FlamingPrius Jul 19 '24
Wonât someone think about those Insurance company execs who canât even afford to but a third housing complex? How are they to build empires with only three homes for personal use and dozens of multi unit housing complexes over which to landlord?!? Some, Iâve heard, only have one pleasure yacht and one racing yacht! Can you imagine their pain? And sure, if some kids have to die of diphtheria or whatever ailments are currently running roughshod thru the underclass well, thatâs a sacrifice theyâre willing to make.
2
u/elathan_i Jul 19 '24
The US sounds like a dystopian nightmare. I switched to a different type of free healthcare in MĂŠxico (we have 3 distinct public systems). 1st appointment, Doctor just asked me if I was on any medication, I just said the names and got prescriptions for all of them, for free. IDK why gringos go insane about wait times, I spent 2 hours in line (without an appointment vs 15 min with an appointment), 30 min at the doctor's office and walked out with over 10k MXN worth of prescriptions. If I had to pay for those I'd go broke in 2 months.
1
u/Meowjer-threat Jul 21 '24
To be fair, I was in a situation where I went to a doctor asking for a note to give my insurance. I expected him to run some tests on me or at least ask me some related questions. He just asked me "what do you want?" And I said I wanted a note. He just wrote that down.
That being said, I believe the insurance system is wrong... insurance should be made to help people... the amount you pay should cover the administrative expenses but IT SHOULD NOT BE PROFITABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS!
1
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