If you look at lists regarding which countries have the best Healthcare System, you'll likely see Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands and Singapore somewhere on the list. But how do they compile? Such lists well taken into account is how much countries spend on Health Care. The quality of that Health Care, the availability of it. And of course, how effective it is in keeping the country's populist healthy. Another thing on the list is how much people might have to pay up front for the health care if nothing at all. This is one of the reasons you won't find the USA on these lists with the American Media, often telling us being sick in the us can bankrupt a family today. We'll find out how this happens. In this episode of the infographic show us Healthcare System explained before we begin to explain the system, we might ask if medical bills do actually caused so many problems in the USA, according to CNBC. That is indeed a fact. With one report saying, medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy Group C in the country. How many bankruptcies no one knows exactly. You'll find some statistics saying that around 650000 Americans every year go bankrupt because of medical bills. President Obama said there was a medical bill related bankruptcy in the US every 30 seconds, but that was way back in 2009. But these numbers have been contested. And Skeptics tell us there is always more to bankruptcy in these cases than just medical bills. Maybe those bills were just the straw that broke the camel's back.
But one thing we can take from the stats, even if not entirely accurate, is that America, a country so developed and Rich, might not be doing a good enough job looking after its citizens. The website, the balance, wrote a very balanced article on this topic. It came to the conclusion that one must save in America as sickness or accidents can lead to astronomical bills. The advice it gives save for a rainy day in a hospital bed, and live a life in line with not getting an ailment, often unavoidable such diabetes. Shouldn't the developed Nation have safety nets in place, though? That's a question. Many Americans ask how many Danes go bankrupt? Because there were unfortunate enough to be hit by a bus. We might recall the recent video that went viral of a woman who had her leg trapped by a subway train in Boston. Don't call an ambulance. She cried as shocked bystanders witnessed her bone coming through her leg. Why? They asked, she replied. Do you know how much an ambulance costs? So what's going on? The department for professional employees tells us this. The American Healthcare System is unique, at least for an advanced Nation that's mainly because the USA is the only industrialized Nation without Universal Health Care coverage. That doesn't mean it doesn't spend a lot on Health Care. In fact, it spends a lot hell of a lot about 179 percent of the GDP in 2016 or three point three trillion dollars. We're told that American shop for health insurance, just as they shop for anything else around 156 million, are kids are insured through their work, which is called employer-provided private insurance. Then you have publicly funded Medicare for old folks in the disabled and Medicaid for the poor. It's thought around. 120 million Americans are part of these schemes.
That's why the system has been called a public-private hybrid. But when we talk about insurance given or subsidized by employers, it all depends on what kind of insurance you have. It may not pay for everything. So some people still end up going bankrupt. Then you have the Affordable Health Care Act, or ACA AKA Obamacare, which attempted to make it easier for employers to give better health insurance plans for their workers. It also made it possible to give the maximum time limit for short term insurance plans and make it possible for employers to give their workers pre-tax cash to buy their own coverage. As we said, though, insurance providers don't always give you exactly what you want. The usually have a network of doctors or hospitals, and you must use them. And in some cases, you are not always covered for the treatment you need. In the just some people with pre-existing conditions couldn't afford their insurance or were even denied it, which is just a part of cutthroat capitalism. Obama Care was put in place to prevent this. But let's go back to insurance. When you choose a plan, you must look at these things. Deductibles, co-payments, coinsurance and premiums. The package You by, according to these things, might save or break you premiums are what you pay. Even if you don't make a claim, these can be very high. Coinsurance is a percentage of the cost you pay. A deductible is what you pay before. Insurance pays for anything which can be as much as ten thousand dollars. A co-payment is what you must pay for every visit to the hospital or clinic, and you'll pay that before the insurance company pays anything. So choosing the right plan is important.
As one writer puts it, you've got to be an oddsmaker on your own health. So what if you have no insurance? As we said, there are government funded schemes for those in need. Also, because of the emergency medical treatment and active labor Act of 1986 hospitals can't just turn you away. If you're at the doctor with blood spurting from your neck, there's also the Hippocratic Oath, which means all doctors must try to treat you the best they can and do it ethically. But if you can't pay, there will be a bill. And in the us, it will likely be a large bill that could lead to debt collectors coming for you. Your wages being garnished part of the money, taken out your credit being ruined, having a tax refund withheld someone wanted to take your house, or you get suffer bankruptcy. But surely those with decent insurance won't hit rock bottom, not according to the Kaiser Family Foundation that tells us more than 25 percent of us. Adults with insurance have difficulty paying their medical bills. You see, we are told that 63 percent of Americans who have had these medical bill woes had to spend most or all of their savings on those bills. Another 42 percent had to get a second job. Cnbc wrote in 2018 only 39% of Americans have enough savings to cover a thousand dollar emergency experts tell us Americans should downgrade their lifestyle in case they get sick, even if they have insurance as going bankrupt could mean, you might not get a loan again, or be able to rent a house, or even get a job. Sure, the poor and needy might get government help.
But those that fall somewhere in the not poor, but far from being comfortable category are often those who have to risk average insurance and the possibility of getting sick ruining your life. Another thing we're told is that one in 10 Americans delay getting treated because they're worried about the cost. That's what you might call a vicious cycle, because waiting can just make things worse. Some folks can't even afford the deductible, even when it's just five hundred dollars. The bills themselves May often surprised those that got treated according to a story in the Atlantic. And 2014 one man had a herniated disc surgery in America. He made sure you had enough cash for the surgery. As the article said, fifty six thousand dollars in hospital charge the forty three hundred dollar anesthesiologist bill and the rooted 33 thousand dollar fee for the orthopedist. But there was an extra hundred and seventeen thousand for an assistant surgeon that it turned up. One would think at these prices, you could walk out of the hospital not only fixed, but in a Hugo Boss suit with the keys to a new car and two tickets to the next World Cup final. But no, you get fixed and leave with only a Big Bill. This is mainly because of administrative costs. This sometimes ridiculous cost of drugs. The fact that you pay for the possibility of doctors being sued, sued, paying health care workers, wages, new technologies and medical institutions just charging you what they want. We're told by Readers Digest that some hospitals charge $8 for a mucus recovery system. Hmm. They're usually called tissues and investigation revealed. One patient was charged fifty three dollars per pair of non-sterile rubber gloves. Sterile gloves were more total cost for the stay just in gloves was 5141 dollars that plastic cup. They used a hand, you your ten bucks with an average of $440 of cups for a patient stay in the hospital alcohol swabs, of which you may need many $23 a time one person was charged $137 for an IV bag, the cost of that bag. One dollar. This is mostly due to something called the charge Master, which allows hospitals to charge Out of This World prices. These codecs of costs are Hospital specific meaning each Hospital makes up its own prices.
These codecs of costs are Hospital specific meaning each Hospital makes up its own prices. Some critics have called such costs fiction and are critical of the lack of transparency. Hospitals provide about this hidden menu. The loser, of course, is the consumer whose life may depend on that five-star menu. Vox reports that one woman who hit her head and went to the ER left with only an ice pack and a bandage, her bill 5751 dollars, her insurance paid $862, and she had to pay four thousand, nine hundred eighty nine dollars. Okay, she paid for assistance and expert evaluation, but in fact, most drugs or treatments will cost Americans much more than citizens of other countries. In fact, the Washington Post tells us America has the most expensive but least effective Healthcare in the developed world. Now, you might see why people in the US are going bankrupt and why the country is not on any best Healthcare lists. This is a huge debate in America. And today we may have been quite critical of the Healthcare System.
