She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death, they wanted more money

Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by varjag on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @11:04AM (#37309005)

If you can afford it the healthcare in the States can be quite good. And there's a massive number of Americans who can afford it. I can't say off the cuff what share of the population is that but Americans being ever on the verge of bankruptcy is mostly a cliche.

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Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by soco on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @11:41AM (#37309569)

The case presented by the article is of an American who can afford it, yet I would still call it legalized abuse. Just like the other cases here in the comments, none of them of Americans on the verge of bankruptcy. And either way: the real possibility of getting bankrupted by your health bills signals systemic disinterest towards the (even when poorer) tax-payers. Maybe you agree with it, state models can be different and I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to each, but at least let's call it for what it is.

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Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by orwin on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @11:39AM (#37309547)

I mean, in France we have a 'life expectancy' metric (82.5) and a 'life expectancy with good health', which is on average, the age someone born in 2023 will reach before getting daily pain or start loosing independence. The number is 76.5 year old (10th in Europe).

What's 'funny' is that our life expectancy with good health match USA life expectancy this year.

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Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by soco on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @11:42AM (#37309584)

Maybe because on average in USA you die from your first illness. Yes, I'm sarcastic.

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Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by HDThoreaun on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:00PM (#37310745)

American culture places a lot of importance on individualism. This means people are free to make choices that will lower their life expectancy without fear of judgement. So Americans don't live as long. Doesn't really prove anything about the quality of health care.

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Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by rwmj on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:07PM (#37310828)

I can assure you that eating and drinking yourself to death is entirely possible in France too :-)

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Re:She paid husband's hospital bill. A year after his death,... by HDThoreaun on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:31PM (#37311161)

Us obesity rate 36%, france 17%

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