Affordable, reliable healthcare? If you live in the U.S., it’s pretty much unheard of. If you’re unlucky enough to suffer an emergency while uninsured (or underinsured), you’re pretty much screwed, as one man’s stunning hospital bill shows.
A user on Reddit posted a photo of the itemized bill that he received after an infected knee sent him to the hospital for a month. The total adds up to more than half a million dollars.
$618,967.78, to be exact.
Photo Credit: Reddit
The bulk of the cost was for “room & care,” which totaled over $300,000. That means just occupying a bed in the hospital cost this man about $10,000 per day, which is truly unconscionable.
But the ridiculous prices don’t end there. Anesthesia adds up to almost $18,000, lab work is over $25,000, and medication is over $92,000. There are also sky-high costs for lab services, medical supplies, surgery, and even food.
Photo Credit: iStock
This particular man happened to be insured when he suffered this injury. The insurance company paid for nearly the entire bill; he owed just $21 out of pocket.
Still, the fact that these services cost so much in the first place is shocking. It’s hard to even make sense of it.
“Is there any logic to these numbers or did someone just mash the keyboard?” one commenter asked.
Many Redditors pointed out that this experience is distinctly American. Healthcare in other countries sure ain’t perfect, but medical costs are never this high, whether one is insured or not. Many people in other countries were aghast that this is the situation in the U.S.
Photo Credit: iStock
“It gets to a point where all you can do is laugh,” another Reddit user commented.
“It might have been cheaper just to amputate,” another joked.
Sigh!
