# What happens in the US when an uninsured person needs health care? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2011, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711 "2011-09-09T10:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/61 "2011-09-09T20:53:46Z")
A good friend, who’s been unemployed for about two years, was recently hospitalized for about a week with heart problems. His bill is over $50k USD. I’m quite sure that would have been at least a year’s \*gross \*pay for him, even when he was still working. It’s still up in the air how much he’ll actually have to pay; he recently got on disability due to other health issues, but he also has some money left in savings that he’s been living off of while looking for a new job, so he may not be eligible for government-provided health care coverage. When I had a pulmonary embolism two years ago, I was in the hospital for about two days (ER and then ICU, just for the telemetry). IIRC, the total bills were about $15,000 USD; fortunately, I had health insurance at the time, so I was only responsible for less than 10% of that total. > [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I’m sorry but what the fuck is the use of an insurance where when expenses encoured are higher than the policy, you’ve got to pay the rest? Not all policies have a lifetime maximum; most lifetime maxes I’ve seen are around the $2M range; and IIRC one of the benefits of healthcare reform is that lifetime maximum benefits on essential care will be against the law, so those will all go away if they haven’t already. > [@Maastricht](#): > > Do most people in teh USA have a fair estimate of the cost they are likely to incur, or do they just fear it will be “more then I can afford” ? Base costs vary wildly from provider to provider, and there’s no good way to compare them. The tools are\* just now \*starting to be built to allow people to “comparison shop” for procedures they can plan for. Then, on top of that, plans tend to be structured \*very \*differently, with different kinds and levels of coverage. Copays, coinsurance, deductibles, lifetime maximums, out-of-pocket maximums, and premiums all factor into how much even a person \*with \*insurance will pay for care they’re given. Individual insurers also all negotiate separately for their costs with each provider, so costs can even vary between similar plans from different providers. > [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > It’s like what Churchill had to say about democracy. It’s the worst system except for all the others that have been tried. Except that there are systems currently active that are demonstrably better than the U.S. one (better outcomes at a lower cost). So that analogy doesn’t work at all. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/62 "2011-09-09T21:25:14Z")
Jesus Christ you guys have it bad. And people think universal health care is a **bad** thing. Even in Pakistan if you are ill you will get attention and not worry about any bill and fairly small costs for meds. Unless you go the private route bin which case you are fucked. But “fucked” seems to be the default in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/63 "2011-09-09T21:48:13Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Yes, but we have all that freedom and liberty and stuff. And not only that, but also we’re allowed to call the Queen a [loon](http://www.gocomics.com/getfuzzy).[sup]1[/sup] Please be assured that I don’t have any personal animus towards Canada or the Monarchy, but I did think this was one of the funnier _Get Fuzzy_ strips in a long time. [sup]1[/sup]_Get Fuzzy_ installment; if you read this today you’ll see the right one, otherwise you’ll have to search for it. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/64 "2011-09-09T22:15:14Z")
And then you think you’ve followed all the rules. You check with the hospital and the insurance company and the hospital is in-network. You check with the surgeon and the insurance company and the surgeon is in-network. You heave a sigh of relief and think this will all be covered by your insurance minus just the co-pay. Well, it turns out that the freaking anesthesiologist, whom you didn’t pick and whom you’ve never even met, is not in-network and charges more than what the insurance company considers “reasonable and customary” for out-of-network providers. You end up paying more for the anesthesiologist than the surgeon and hospital combined. Or you need to go to the emergency room and you carefully pick a hospital that is in-network. But the hospital contracts with a doctors’ professional corporation to staff the emergency room and the doctors are not in-network. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/65 "2011-09-09T22:23:20Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Bankruptcy typically will not leave a person homeless. Some possessions will be confiscated, liquidated, and distributed to your creditors. This is only true if you own possessions outside of usual household items. They won’t come and take your TV (even your 60" LCD HDTV) or your Wii. You may have to liquidate possessions like leisure boats, vacation homes (but not necessarily investment properties if they generate income), and maybe your second (or subsequent) car, but not if it necessary for both spouses to commute. > [@](#): > > You will have a difficult time getting insurance, finding a good job, finding a doctor willing to work with you unless you pay up-front, or getting credit in general. Also not necessarily true. Getting and maintaining homeowners and auto insurance may be more costly, but not necessarily more difficult. A doctor will require you to pay like anyone else who self pays, up front or billed, as per their practice standard. Getting credit will be more difficult but there are credit card companies that specifically seek out people toward the middle-ish of a term of bankruptcy to “help” them rebuild their credit (with fairly steep terms, but still an opportunity). > [@](#): > > Bankruptcy can and will absolutely ruin your life, especially if you are sick. Our household just came through a bankruptcy, it ended last month. Our lives are anything but ruined. We’re actually significantly better off than we were when we entered into it. Our credit is\* better\*, we didn’t lose our home to foreclosure, we no longer have any consumer debt save for our mortgage. Is it the best thing in the world? No. But is it the worst? Absolutely not, and not ruination, by a long shot.There’s no need to be both a doomsayer and a fount of complete _misinformation_, especially in GQ. > [@Maastricht](#): > > People, can we keep this on topic about health insurance? I still want to know how much of an financial disaster gettting sick without insurance is. The long and short of it is that it will depend greatly on where you are, what sickness you have, and what is necessary to treat it. What sort of hospital you go to, what sort of work you do, what your family situation is (single vs. married, parent or not, etc.), what sort of savings you have, there are just too many variables to say flat out. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/66 "2011-09-09T22:47:01Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I’m sorry but what the fuck is the use of an insurance where when expenses encoured are higher than the policy, you’ve got to pay the rest? I think you are misunderstanding what was said. The comment was about how much the policy was worth, i.e. the maximum it will pay out, not what the premiums are. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/67 "2011-09-09T22:59:53Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > This is only true if you own possessions outside of usual household items. They won’t come and take your TV (even your 60" LCD HDTV) or your Wii. You may have to liquidate possessions like leisure boats, vacation homes ( **but not necessarily investment properties if they generate income** ), and maybe your second (or subsequent) car, but not if it necessary for both spouses to commute. > . (bolding mine) They will let you keep homes that you’re renting out? 😕 Well, if you have it hard regarding healthcare, you have it easy regarding banckrupcy. The closest equivalent over here will only be validated if you can show that your chances of ever being able to reimburse your debts are pretty much nil (say, you’re a 50 year old former housewife who never worked and has no realistic chance of being employed as opposed to a 25 yo with a good education), and anyway, you would have to sell first pretty much anything you own (kiss good bye to “your 60” LCD HDTV") . And even that option is a rather recent improvment. Before, you couldn’t ever discharge your debts and could be stuck with them for your lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/68 "2011-09-09T23:10:12Z")
The last quote for catastrophic health insurance I got was $700 a month, with 60% co-insurance and $9000 deductible. So If I had a major hospitalization like I had in 2008, it would cost me over $17,000. Thanks for insuring me against catastrophe, motherfuckers. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/69 "2011-09-09T23:11:57Z")
A couple more data points for you, Maastricht: Four years ago I had an attack of appendicitis and my husband took me to a particular hospital. When it was all said and done, my insurance company refused to pay because the hospital was ‘out of network’. I had been too ‘out of it’ to check on which hospital I was supposed to go to, and hubby and our regular doctor didn’t think about it. The surgery and four day’s care in the hospital came to about $18,000. The hospital agreed to charge me what they would have charged the insurance company, which was a little less than half that. I agreed to pay them $100 a month. Needless to say, I am still paying on that bill. Last spring my niece was in a car accident and was taken by ambulance to hospital, where she recieved Xrays and an MRI (everything checked out okay). The bill for that was $2,400. The hospital agreed to give me a 20% discount if I paid in cash, which I did. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/70 "2011-09-09T23:19:32Z")
Oh, and regarding the vulture clerks in the ER: last time I took hubby to the ER, we had not been there ten minutes when a clerk came around and wanted to know if I could go ahead and pay the deductible for his insurance, which is $500.00. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/71 "2011-09-09T23:28:40Z")
I just looked up our claims record for this year. My wife had a problem with her shoulder, that was billed at $1500, and the follow up physical therapy sessions were about $200 each. My 5 minute appointment to get my INR checked once a month is $26. My wife’s checkup with here retina doctor was a bit over $200. She had three retinal operations, only one of which resulted in an overnight stay (they finished so late they didn’t want me to drive her back) and that cost somewhere around $50,000 all told, not counting the cornea replacement and lots of office visits. The online record doesn’t go back far enough to cover some other interesting procedures. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/72 "2011-09-09T23:34:29Z")
Another data point: A little over two years ago I had no insurance. I had been having intermittent chest pains for weeks - which, having no insurance, I ignored. Until I decided it was stupid to ignore chest pains, friends urged me to get it checked out…so I went to the city hospital ER because I knew they would do cardiac testing and whatever first and ask questions later. I was there for about seven hours after being admitted right away (coming in with a chest pain complaint means you don’t get stuck in the waiting room.) They did an EKG, blood tests, a chest/lung x-ray and stuck me in a bed with a needle in my arm and various monitors stuck to me. Thne cardiologist wasn’t due for rounds again until the next morning, and the ER doc urged me to stay overnight so I could be seen by the cardiologist and go through stress testing or something. But I was already getting nervous about how much this was going to cost me, and since every test they ran indicated a perfectly healthy heart and possible a chest-muscle pull, I discharged myself before dinner, against “doctor’s orders.” My heart is absolutely fine - it was probably a chest-wall muscle pull which can mimic heart attack symtoms. The bill was $1,900 and change. I think they’d already discounted the charge since I was uninsured - someone with insurance probably would have been charged a lot more. That’s been my previous experience when uninsured - most medical practitioners cut uninsured people a big break on charges, but stick it to the insurance company (probably compensating for lowered charges for uninsured people.) The billing department was totally cool about letting me pay it off over about six months. I really resisted getting checked out because of the cost, but finally decided I’d feel really stupid (and maybe dead) if what I was ignoring was a heart attack, or an incipient heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/73 "2011-09-09T23:52:16Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > This is quite the opposite of what is typical. If you look at your hospital bill after insurance pays it, it explains the work done for you, the cost the hospital charged, and the negotiated cost the insurance company pays. Insurance typically settles medical payments for much, much lower than the hospital would have charged an uninsured person. The reason for this is that the insurance company has the power to negotiate, as it represents hundreds or thousands of potential customers for the hospital. The discount at a hospital is for insurance, not a lack of it! I speak from direct experience that most of the time an uninsured person CAN get a significant discount from retail _if they ask about it_, which many don’t because they don’t realize they can negotiate. Typically, it’s referred to as a “self-pay discount”, but there are other terms. When I was 8 months without insurance in 2008 I was typically getting 40-60% knocked off retail medical prices _because I knew to negotiate_. Doc visits, tests, medications… if you’re uninsured it ALWAYS pays to ask if there is a discount, option, program to help you pay, whatever. Also, if you approach the accounting/billing department BEFORE things become overdue you can often negotiate payment plans. The hospital usually prefers to get _something_ rather than drag you to collections or court. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/74 "2011-09-09T23:54:17Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Bankruptcy typically will not leave a person homeless. Some possessions will be confiscated, liquidated, and distributed to your creditors. You will have a difficult time getting insurance, finding a good job, finding a doctor willing to work with you unless you pay up-front, or getting credit in general. Bankruptcy can and will absolutely ruin your life, especially if you are sick. It is possible to recover from it, with time - I personally know someone who was forced to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills and over time (about 6 years) was able to rebuild his credit rating back into the 800’s. Admittedly, not everyone does that, but while it’s absolute crap to go through it doesn’t mean your life is ruined _forever_. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/75 "2011-09-09T23:58:21Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Our household just came through a bankruptcy, it ended last month. Our lives are anything but ruined. We’re actually significantly better off than we were when we entered into it. Our credit is\* better\*, we didn’t lose our home to foreclosure, we no longer have any consumer debt save for our mortgage. Is it the best thing in the world? No. But is it the worst? Absolutely not, and not ruination, by a long shot.There’s no need to be both a doomsayer and a fount of complete _misinformation_, especially in GQ. Just to be clear, I was listing the likely consequences of declaring bankruptcy, not the certain ones. You happened to have better credit coming out of bankruptcy (which seems quite contradictory) but that is certainly not typical. Typically, bankruptcy makes dealing with a chronic illness very difficult. Typically, bankruptcy makes it more difficult (or expensive, if you prefer) to obtain insurance, a good job (as many employers do background and credit checks), non-emergency medical care, or credit. The cost of medical care, and associated bankruptcy rates, absolutely ARE ruinous for many people. You should be thankful you happened to come out on top, not calling it “misinformation” because the disaster happened to pass by you in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/76 "2011-09-10T00:04:14Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It is possible to recover from it, with time - I personally know someone who was forced to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills and over time (about 6 years) was able to rebuild his credit rating back into the 800’s. > > Admittedly, not everyone does that, but while it’s absolute crap to go through it doesn’t mean your life is ruined _forever_. I suppose “ruin your life” was a bit of hyperbole. I did not mean that after bankruptcy you’re doomed to wander the earth a restless spirit of despondency, with rotten fruit tossed at you by sneering hordes cursing your name. I meant “ruin” in the colloquial common usage sense, where your financial progress is erased, and it is much less likely you will recover and become successful again any time in the near future. Medical bankruptcies are not a walk in the park! They’re even worse than non-medical bankruptcies, because even after the bankruptcy, often you’re still sick! Being sick is very, very expensive in America. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/77 "2011-09-10T00:05:03Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > That is why iI asked if it is common for people to ask their docs about costs before agreeing with any treatment. Or if there is some kind of cultural taboo against that. Or if docs are not used to that question. Back when I was uninsured I tried to get cost estimates before having something done. And it’s damn near impossible. First, they equivocate with “well… if A then B but if it’s C then…” I’d ask “How much text XYZ?” and it was impossible to get a straight answer: “It depends on insurance and if they find A or B on results”… Then, finally, you get an answer for the cost of test. So you get the test done and pay and think it’s over. Then weeks later you get a bill from a doctor who “interpreted” the test, a doctor you never met and never knew about. Then a bill for, maybe, some sort of assistant or consult. Then a bill from the pharmacy, or for use of a special room, or… Well, you suddenly find yourself on the hook for two or three times what you had been told you would be. Then you have to go and try to negotiate those prices down from “retail”. No, there’s no cultural taboo about asking “how much will this cost?” The problem is, no one in medicine seems to have a freakin’ clue how much anything costs, and there’s always extra stuff being tagged on to the bill. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/78 "2011-09-10T00:09:28Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > You should be thankful you happened to come out on top, not calling it “misinformation” because the disaster happened to pass by you in particular. Excuse you. You’re the one, in a GQ thread, who said “bankruptcy can \*and absolutely will \*ruin your life.” That is not only a ridiculous generalization, it’s a pure falsehood. If you don’t want to get called on the carpet, don’t make incorrect and, in this case, shamelessly fearmongering assertions that are not based in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/79 "2011-09-10T00:13:11Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > [@VOW](#): > > > > If you ARE treated by the ER, you will be asked if you are conscious or your friends/family will be asked if you are not, what insurance do you have? They want the info NOW. > > Not true, in my experience. I went in, was obviously having difficulty breathing, and while the staff wanted to know who I was and what medical problems I had, they were completely uninterested in learning what insurance I had, or even if I had insurance. They wanted to get me breathing easily again. That’s what happened to me last time I went to an ER with breathing problems - they threw me on a bed (almost literally) and treated me first, THEN asked about insurance. Breathing problems is about the only time they do it in that order, though. I guess it would look bad if you died mid-sentence saying “My insurance is ---- AACK!” **thud** ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711/80 "2011-09-10T00:16:46Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Back when I was uninsured I tried to get cost estimates before having something done. And it’s damn near impossible. First, they equivocate with “well… if A then B but if it’s C then…” > > I’d ask “How much text XYZ?” and it was impossible to get a straight answer: “It depends on insurance and if they find A or B on results”… Then, finally, you get an answer for the cost of test. So you get the test done and pay and think it’s over. > > Then weeks later you get a bill from a doctor who “interpreted” the test, a doctor you never met and never knew about. Then a bill for, maybe, some sort of assistant or consult. Then a bill from the pharmacy, or for use of a special room, or… Well, you suddenly find yourself on the hook for two or three times what you had been told you would be. > > Then you have to go and try to negotiate those prices down from “retail”. > > No, there’s no cultural taboo about asking “how much will this cost?” \*\* The problem is, no one in medicine seems to have a freakin’ clue how much anything costs, and there’s always extra stuff being tagged on to the bill\*\*. Last year, a diabetic friend - thankfully insured - was admitted to hospital for a “simple” bladder infection. Complications ensued, including being prescribed a wrong medication that made her kidneys shut down, then getting MRSA, resulted in her being in the hospital for over a month. So, I’m thinking that hospital staff or doctors are going to be understandably hinky about giving a cost estimate for all but the most basic of procedures in case they’re called on the carpet later in a lawsuit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-the-us-when-an-uninsured-person-needs-health-care/595711.md?page=5)