[rosege]

My mum was on holiday in the US and had to go to hospital in NYC. For 2 days in hospital - no operations and only a few xrays - the bill was around $30,000. I had a look at the bill and over $10,000 of this was for drugs. If she had been given what they said she would have been dead. Basically the hospital just made up a number and fudged expenses. We asked friends about it and they said the way the system works is that they give you a bill then you negotiate - usually you pay around 30% of the first amount - pretty similar to the way bazaars work around the world. Luckily she had travel insurance so just gave it all to them to sort out.

[fma]

You can also get out on a payment plan that lasts for like 20 years. Then after a few years the hospital writes off the debt and says you don't have to pay - assuming you haven't declared bankruptcy yet.

[nojvek]

We had a baby. Bill is north of 25k. We paid about 3k out of pocket, rest was covered by insurance.

Even then it’s a pretty crazy amount for what is supposed to be a routine delivery. No epidural was administered.

I can see why young people aren’t having babies. You work like a dog to pay rent and barely make it. Having a kid puts those finances in jeopardy.