‘Don’t get sick. It’s too expensive’: medical debt is putting more Americans in financial crisis - eviltoast
  • 0110010001100010@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I remember when we bought a house 8 years ago (seems like a lifetime now) talking to the mortgage broker and he basically said they straight-up ignore medical debt because everyone has it and nobody would ever get a loan if it was considered. It’s utterly insane to me how the wealthiest nation in the world can’t keep its citizens healthy and out of debt.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      the wealthiest nation in the world can’t keep its citizens healthy and out of debt.

      But it can. The wealthiest nation in the world per capita is Luxembourg; then Switzerland. I think Norway finishes the top three. Excellent medical systems.

      CUBA’s consolidated single-payer healthcare system beats the US’s #30 rank. And does it far, far cheaper. https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/best-healthcare-in-the-world/

      As Jeff Daniels says in the first act of the first episode of Newsroom, " Yosemite?"

      • buzz86us@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        yes they do it cheaper because people aren’t afraid of going to the doctor and getting a $500 bill because the doctor’s assistant that was there for 10 minutes is out of network

      • Quereller@lemmy.one
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        11 months ago

        In Switzerland healthcare, is not bad but expensive. Insurance is mandatory and the same fee for every income. I pay about 12-16% of my gross income for the health of my family. Oh, and this is with the hospitals (and other things) highly subsidized with tax money. Health costs are problematic for the middle class.

    • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      That’s lucky of you. Many do take it into account.

      What’s nuts is that the majority of people declaring bankruptcy because of medical debt have insurance.

    • deweydecibel@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      The credit agencies do this, too. Medical debt is either not counted against your credit score or is weighted so little it won’t affect much.

      It makes perfect sense, because it’s not an accurate depiction of your credit seeking habits. It is debt that you did not choose to take on.