U.S. Life Expectancy Drops for Third Year in a Row (2018)
I moved from the EU to the US...<p>Toddler had a seizure (first and last ever). Called 911. $1300 for a 1.5 mile (per Google Maps) ambulance ride to the hospital plus a $300 bill just towards "medical care" for the ride (none actually given).<p>Then $800 for the ER, and a seperate $400 bill for the doctor (who sent us home after telling us to come back if more occurred but otherwise give child's tylenol and go see the child's pediatrician on Monday).<p>Did I mention that both the ambulance company and the hospital have a local monopoly? There's no price competition, no choice to be made, nor could there be in a medical emergency.<p>The problem with all of these is: If it happened again, I'm genuinely going to think "is this an emergency enough to justify a $2K medical bill?" That shouldn't be how medical treatment is decided.<p>The whole "capitalism will solve it" thing just isn't working. I cannot shop around for medical care, I cannot see prices, and insurance is $1300/month for essentially no benefit (except to turn prices from bonkers to incredibly high).