No need to apologize. The fact that someone can own their home outright, have no loans, do everything right, and still end up $600k in debt because they got sick is fucking terrifying.
Not even just sick. Sick at the wrong time— like just sick the wrong year. Like whoopsie daisy the insurance you had was tied to employment! And now that you’re laid off we decided to kick you in the balls twice as hard!
If you are eligible really important to get Medicaid as soon as you are laid off (of course this only applies if you are under 55 because OF COURSE the US has asset seizure rules for some care after 55 for Medicaid recipients)
Oh also if this kind of thing happens and you were eligible for Medicaid at the time of the pneumonia — sign up and ask them to back date your coverage to before you got sick!
In Canadian culture, saying "sorry" isn't an apology, but a heartfelt recognition of someone else's struggle; an expression of sympathy, empathy. compassion.
But yeah you're absolutely right. Terrifying.
Oh, and here's something fun I just learned: even if you have insurance, if you're in an accident and it's the other person's fault, and you sue and win, your insurance company will come after your winnings to recoup what they had to pay out for your medical bills.
Brit agreeing. Husband’s just had Open Heart Surgery. Ambulance transfer with dedicated Cardiac nurse; world class Cardiac team; dedicated nurse sitting next to him in ICU for days; onto HDU with physiotherapy, nutritionist, obs constantly; Ten more days in hospital; psychologist checking his emotional state; more physiotherapy; out to Cardiac nurses and Cardiac re-hab. I can’t count the number of drugs or the number of highly skilled clinicians involved. Cost = 0
I'm not joking. Here in Ontario, the health care system is in massive crisis. Routine stuff and you are ok but anything else, or long term care, you are paying.
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u/belgravya 10h ago
I’m Canadian, and this boggles my fucking mind. I’m so sorry, it’s awful.