| > are healthcare costs generally this high in America Yes they are ridiculously high, even after factoring in cost of living / currency rates or as a %age of monthly salary, if you are comparing it to costs in a different country. 1 month after coming here (to America) from India (1999) I had to get wax from my left ear cleaned as it was blocking my hearing. They squirted some liquid in my ear and got the wax out. 2 weeks later, I got the insurance Statement. It cost $ 800. I was astonished. In India a year before, I'd paid a Doc 100 Rupees (at that time, $2 equivalent in USD) for the same exact thing. A month later, I had a chest x-ray taken, and some weird quirk in insurance it wasn't covered. So I had to boot the bill. $ 576 for 1 single chest x-ray. My take home at that time as a software engineer was about 2500 / month after tax and deductions, so this was 23% of my paycheck! Health Insurance coverage is too closely tied to employment. In order to get continued coverage, you are more or less working "for the man" till you die. |
Well, that's just a rip-off price.
>Health Insurance coverage is too closely tied to employment. In order to get continued coverage, you are more or less working "for the man" till you die.
At age 65, you can enter the single-payer system!