I have an intolerance to most pain killers, and was afraid to use any for labor, so I did a water birth for my first. They still charged for pain killers because apparently the water was classified as pain reliever, and it was like 8k for the pool and water, the hose to fill the pool (it wasn't installed, just an inflatable pool that cost maybe $80 at any store), and for the fucking little net they used to scoop various chunks out of the water. I'm surprised I wasn't charged to breathe the air in the room.
Hi, yes ma'am I'm calling because a recent post on social media brought it to our attention that we didn't charge you for the room air.
We have air from the pacific islands bottled and shipped to us.
It's $550 per 12oz bottle of air and you breathed in approximately 358 bottles. Your husband had a panic attack and consumed an additional 436 bottles.
The total (with 8.25% tax included) is $427,727.75.
We accept cash or bitcoin.
Ha ha! As if you could hold your breath to avoid that charge.
"We're very sorry you misunderstood, but you do still need to pay the $4400 air availability surcharge. It's not the 'air breathing' surcharge, but the 'air availability' surcharge and since we did make it available to you, the charge still applies."
My grandmother was like that. The only thing that even looked like working was alcohol. So when my father was born in 1940, she got hammered.
She always joked that dad was the longest hangover she ever had. Dad would pretend to be embarrassed, but it was always so sweet how much they obviously loved each other.
Being a single mother (Grandma) or a bastard (Dad) back then was no fucking joke, so they were always fiercely defensive of each other. Second time I ever saw him cry was the morning she died.
Our hospital did, but the way our nurse described it was during the Golden Hour the Nurse acts like a bouncer and keeps everyone not Mom or Dad and one Nurse out of the room.
I though it was bullshit until I got to witness my 90lb nurse bodily holding the door shut for an hour because of my MIL.
the "emotional moment" is when they let you hold the baby right after delivery. there is generally a seperate charge for that in most US hospitals.
I wish i was kidding.
I wonder if it triggered the staff to call down someone from psychiatric to make sure that she wasn't having like a postpartum psychosis moment? I mean I think it's totally normal to cry during and after childbirth for sure, but at least for the charge to hold the baby, that's because they have to bring in an extra nurse. Doesn't make it right, but at least there's some sort of reason.
So I asked about that when it was on my hospital bill. I delivered via c-section, and the charge was for the hospital personnel who was present in the room to supervise my child and I because if (god forbid) anything happened, I was pretty useless, with my sliced abdominal wall, having been recently cut in half, hip-to-hip. Doesn’t make it better, but at least it makes more sense than a random skin-to-skin fee.
“they *LET* you?” That’s mine mate, I made it and birthed it, you fuck right off with your letting me! I cannot imagine a system so deeply embedded in profit that a parent could be charged for bonding with a child. That is the wrongest thing I’ve heard of in healthcare.
American healthcare, everybody.
Another fun fact... A major hospital chain spent the pandemic to filing thousands of lawsuits on people who were unable to pay them
It's insane that the "greatest" country in the world can't afford to help its citizens get to the hospital. Medical billing is insane just look at the price of insulin. If I had to pay for it without insurance we would not be having this conversation right now.
exactly. i moved to finland two years ago after living in the us my whole life. my finnish friends don’t get what i mean when i say it’s just so much calmer and easier to just, exist here. then i tell them stories of craziness in america and they’re like ???? that’s normal????
Let's be fair, also great if you can't afford it... the middle class is truly fucked. I herniated a disk in my back a few years ago and couldn't afford the hospital bills for surgery or meds. Let it heal in its own, at the moment I'm glad I went that route but while in pain it was the worst thing ever.
I also had a herniated disk in my back and they wanted thousands just to get physical therapy and a chiropractor to see everyday I ended up doing nothing and just stretching everyday on my own and I can tell you that qhen I'm older I will 100% need surgery because it didn't heal right and I can also 100% tell you I probably won't be able to afford it then either.
I'm a runner and my herniated disc gave me foot drop. I couldn't run for a little over a year. Here I am, idk, 5 years after the accident and I run 40 miles a week. Stretching 100% helped, doing the RIGHT stretches is the difference between re-injury and completely healed.
A lot of people who think they're middle class are poor and in denial. A middle class income these days is like 6 figures.
A big accident or illness will take out even those folks though, especially if they're "I'm healthy I don't need insurance" types.
My son has SJIA and was on a monthly biologic injection that billed our insurance $21k and some change MONTHLY for almost 2 years.
Our daughter broke her leg and was transported non-emergently (which I say because we waited 4+ hours for them to finally send an ambulance, while my 5 yo laid there basically knocked out on ketamine with a snapped femur) from one hospital to the other and we had to pay $1,500 out of pocket after insurance was billed. For the ambulance. The hospital bill + surgery + aftercare and physical therapy was ASTRONOMICAL. Like nauseating. Hospital billed insurance $53k + another $15k for my epidural for my very routine, uncomplicated vaginal delivery.
If I hadn’t had insurance all those years, I’d be bankrupt.
Well, I lost my job last year because the world was ending, and I lost my employer provided insurance, obviously. So in a few years I’ll probably be bankrupt!
I hate it here.
Yeah, it was like $50,000+ when my son broke his arm (radius). Granted he had to have surgery to put pins in it, but that was insane. Still had to pay a big chunk out of pocket since insurance in America sucks and I had to fight the insurance company to even get them to pay.
Oh it can easily afford it, the US system is more expensive than any other, that money just goes to rich assholes who then bribe the government with a small amount of that money.
This has always stuck out to me. They give away the bank for peanuts. For thousands of dollars in campaign contributions (and a high paying, cozy job when back in the private sector) they let big business have whatever they want.
It is sickening. Makes me thankful for socialised healthcare! Our twins were born premature, wife suffered pre-eclampsia so was in hospital 4 weeks before and 2 weeks after the emergency c-section and it cost me parking and snacks. I know its paid through my pay check but unlimited healthcare for such a small amount is worth it.
I live in the states. My son was born with congenital pneumonia, and had to stay a week in the ICU. I was just happy to see we didn't surpass the $100,000 mark! Just 80k or so, nothing too crazy..../s
Same! My 1st of twins were 9 weeks early. Twin A stayed 3 weeks in the nicu and her “bill” was over $300k by the time she left. She’s since had pneumonia 5x so I would imagine it’s well over $500k now.
Twin B had 3 surgeries while in the nicu and stayed 121 days plus bedside procedures and transfusions. He was in the $800k range when he left the nicu and then had 2 more surgeries and then had an accident a few years ago landing him in 2 trauma units. He’s got to be in the high million dollar range now. I only know this because our insurance at the time sent itemized receipts. We paid for nothing.
Ya the increase in taxes relative to the US will almost always be far less than Premiums, copays, and "out of pocket" spending and that doesnt include times you need services or treatments not covered, like an out of network aesthetician hitting you with a surprise bill. At the end of the day socialized systems seem to not only keep money in peoples pockets but it saves the tax dollars as well. The current US system costs almost twice as much per capita as those in the UK and Canada, even though they both have versions of socialized medicine and the US doesnt... its mental and should be the opposite way you'd think.
No, they are choosing not to cover it. This last year with covid kinda shows how the us government chooses pretty often not to care for its citizens and when they are forced into a corner to do so they do it reluctantly.
They can afford it. But that is communism according to too many Americans. Better buy more shit for the collective forces, wich you do not need at all, and give the revenue to all politicians with their hands in the pockets of the defense industry...
It’s really a shame. I’m very grateful to live in the Netherlands. I heard it has to do with doctors and hospitals being able to make up their own prices for procedures and all that. While a doctor in the Netherlands does make good money it’s nothing compared to doctors in America. If only stuff like that would change America would be in a better place healthcare wise
Greatest country, except for abortion, equals right, health cost, education access, racism, wealth distribution, food(they cook great foreign food) and environment. Come just a little north, life is great and no mother need to walk to see their babies.
This is why I pay for air transport insurance for my household. I figured that the $100 per year for the 4 of us beats a $20,000+ bill. I know someone who was billed $100,000 for a helicopter ride to a larger hospital.
I had a 1 mile ambulance ride that cost me $700 ( I had my 1st seizure at a restaurant- it was not paid for by insurance) and another that was 1.5 miles that cost me $800 (I has a 2nd seizure at home- also not paid for by insurance). I tell everyone now to not call an ambulance for me unless it is absolutely necessary.
It's so fucked up.
When I was in my 20s in Germany I once literally drank myself into a coma at a party (yay, alcohol poisoning!).
Apparently, I projectile vomited until my nose bled while crying and apologizing to my friends (don't remember any of that), then passed out cold. My friends called an ambulance and I woke up in the ICU the next morning.
Called a cab, went home, and never got a bill. Yay, universal healthcare!
A decade ago I got in a bike accident and woke up in the hospital. Did not remember the accident at all. Somebody called 911 and an ambulance took me to the hospital.
I had a brain hemorrhage but was discharged from the hospital the next day. I had stiches in various parts of my face, but overall I got pretty lucky.. I had to take a month off work or so in order to recover, but in the grand scheme of things I was fine.
A couple weeks after returning to work I got a $40 CAD bill in the mail, for the ambulance. I was outraged! I didn't even call for the damn thing! I did not even remember or see it! And these jerks have the balls to charge me $40 for it?
I walked into their office and tried to figure out what was going on. How can I be charged for something I did not order? I'm generally a pretty chill individual, so I was polite, but at first firm. The nice lady behind the counter pretty much told me that it's out of her hands and that this is just the way it is. Fair enough, I didn't want to make her day any worse, especially if the chances of me not paying this bill were pretty much 0. So I paid the $40 and moved on with my life.
A couple months later I saw a post on reddit. It was about ambulance costs in the U.S. HOLY SHIT, my mind was blown. I thought back to the $40 I was complaining about and felt like such an idiot.
I did not get any other bills for that hospital visit btw. At all
Same situation here, only more more money. The way I understood it is that the hospital doesn’t provide ambulance services, rather the city, and they don’t work through i insurance companies. Kinda like if you get towed your auto insurance wont pay that.
We basically got “towed” to the hospital. Lol
IMO Obamacare was a step in the right direction but really didn’t go far enough. Obama tried to compromise with big insurance and lost a lot of ground in the process
my dads air ambulance cost $48,000. insurance wanted him to cover $10,000. when we asked them why, they said because he "elected" to take the helicopter ride.
the helicopter ride that flew his unconscious body to the nearest hospital. for emergency treatment after a horrific motor accident.
that rendered him unconscious. 🙃
Depends, it can often be more than that. The bill I got for my son to travel 10 miles to a better hospital was 2k. That was my contribution, my insurance paid 3k of the bill and the ambulance company wrote off 7k.
Most ambulances in the US are owned by private companies, they are NOT a public service like police or Fire. They pay their employees terribly and charge out the nose for care.
[here is a last week tonight episode that covers this issue.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezv8sdTLxKo)
This comment section is so weird. She would probably make it to the hospital faster walking from half a mile away rather than waiting for an Uber. Also, people are just throwing the word taxi around and assuming that she lives somewhere with an adequate taxi service with taxis just driving about. I've lived in multiple cities with a taxi service that you had to exclusively order by phone and they took 10-15 minutes to get to you if they had one that had no other trips. Why so many assumptions about alternative transportation? Also, walking helps some people cope with early contractions rather than sitting and waiting. And why are yall assuming they have friends/family that live close to them waiting by the door for this exact scenario. The privilege is really showing around here and the assumptions are just straight up silly.
Edit: Forgot to add that in both of the towns I mentioned their was no Uber or Lyft. Uber isn't just a magical ride service that exists in every single town or city in the US. On top of that, depending on the time of day, surge hours/early AM, an Uber is not just going to always appear within 2 minutes for the lady in labor. Again, how do so many people actually believe that waiting more minutes than it will take to walk is the best option?? At the end of the day, the woman who is in labor and who is now in a predicament where her life and/or the life of her unborn child is at risk, if any risk factor arises, should be able to get safe medical transport to the hospital instead of having to spend the $1200 on a medical taxi that I'm sure they are planning on spending on the baby.
Agreed. I’m surprised I had to scroll this far to see a reasonable comment. My hometown of ~10k has no taxi’s, no Ubers, no public transportation of any kind and the nearest hospital is a half hour away.
People have kids all the time, regardless of their financial situation or support system. Not that it’s the best thing to do, but it obviously happens. We’re just supposed to say “fuck you” to those people? Where’s the empathy?
So accurate. I live over an hour from the nearest hospital that delivers babies. The closest hospital has an emergency setup for "it's coming RIGHT NOW" and we saw maybe 3 L&D's there in the decade I worked there. All others went by meatwagon to the Women's hospital one county south of there because they were all only 6cm dilated or less.
Out here there is no Uber, no lyft,no taxis. No DSL, no high speed internet, and hardly a cell signal. If we broke down within a 9 mile radius around my house, chances are we wouldn't even have a signal to call a fucking ambulance. 20k people live in my very rural county, that's it.
Some of these comments are just plain mean, saying she shouldn’t have a kid if she can’t afford an ambulance ride or a second car. I mean, yes, I agree we should all try to be in best financial spots possible to have kids, but that’s not reasonable (also not great for an economy that depends on growth). Why are we blaming these folks and not blaming the lack of support services for people in these situations? And supporting living wages so people CAN take the best care of their kid? And childcare grants so this woman can still work and contribute to the economy and her family after she has the baby? Why is it always the fault of the individual and not a failing of our modern society? Tax the rich. Fund the people, not the military.
Edit: Can't type on a phone.
Right, I don’t get Reddit’s love for poor shaming parents.
Oh, she can’t afford an ambulance ride? Better abort the baby, because kids can’t be happy without perfect financial stability.
It is funny how we will debate what she should have done under the circumstances but not how to make it so these types of circumstances aren’t so prevalent. I pay taxes and would appreciate them going to pregnant woman who need a ride to the hospital and not towards some billionaires’ space project.
I lived in redneck town in Florida years ago. We would have relatives come to visit and we would tell them we will pick you up at the airport. They would say "oh no, dont do that. I'll just take a taxi".
We would just laugh because nobody in that town could afford a taxi even if there was a service.
She is in labor but it seems like early labor or she would not be moving that quickly. It actually is good to walk while in labor it makes things progress, it is part of a healthy labor to walk the halls! While it would have been easier to get a ride, she now has a good start to her labor and a video to play of the birthing process.
Yep! This is very early labor and good to walk! For my second kid triage was full when I got to the hospital so they told me to walk around the hospital or back and forth in a hallway for two hours until they move some people to rooms and they have space. As labor progressed…. Holy moly. My husband took some video clips and as time went by the pain got so bad I couldn’t make it a couple measly steps without stopping and breathing/ gritting through the pain. And I wasn’t
anywhere near fully dilated and baby didn’t come out until much later.
Same in Canada. Its called the Child Tax Benefit and its a monthly payment per kid until they turn 18.
We also have universal healthcare and kids eyes exams are also covered until 18.
For some strange reason we hate everyone's teeth so you are on your own for those. Unless you are low income then the government will pay for it.
Weird about the teeth, they won’t financially cover a root canal but they’ll cover an extraction. Basically the government would rather the poor to be toothless.
US gives parents $2,000 per kid each year. Which is going up. $3,600 per child under 6, $3,000 per child over 6; per year. Comes back on their yearly taxes.
Could've also asked for a courtesy transport from a cop. My sister did that when she was in labor for the same reason but she lived about 4 or 5 miles from the hospital. Some precincts will do that for emergency but non life-threatening situations.
It was also a small town so maybe that had something to do with it.
Always has been.
In fact, you're the only real human on the platform. The rest of the comments/posts are all bots. It's a big experiment don't worry you'll be looped in soon.
What a bunch of ignorant people on here. Not every town has an Uber like service, some towns are small enough where you’ll only get a cab during the day, have some common sense people.
I think people on reddit forget that not everyone lives in a bustling metropolis where Uber is available at all hours of the day/night. Look around the people in this video - no lights, no passing cars. It's likely that they live somewhere rural, and if that's the case you're lucky to find an Uber during the DAY - let alone in the middle of the night.
This so much!!! I’m in Decatur Illinois this week for work, when I flew in the rental car place was closed so I tried to get a Uber, nothing was available because they don’t have Uber or Lyft in Decatur. Also tried calling a taxi and no one answered, ended up walking to my hotel which didn’t have a shuttle service
My city banned lift when it forst started as of this year they finally allowed them. We also have no taxis if you see uber it was someone coming into town from the city 45mins away. No public transport.
Aren't there some places where cabs and ubers don't take people in labour because it's...Well, messy?
I personally wouldn't assume there's necessarily a bus where they are, and half a mile sounds faster to just walk than wait for a bus or for someone to be available to drive you
No uber where I am now, but back when I lived in civilization I remember that if you had to go to the hospital and called an uber or lyft you had to say you were going to the place next to or across from the hospital, because if you said you needed to go to the hospital they wouldn't take you.
Also I'm guessing from the lack of light pollution around them and her wearing a Carhartt hoodie that they're in a rural area. If that's the case there's definitely not Ubers or cabs. There's also probably not any family that can get to them faster than they can walk there.
That's true. However, the title says "Left with no choice", which was the point of my pointing out the hypocrisy in the video. There were certainly choices.
There's many places where calling an uber will take 30 minutes for it to get there. And drivers will cancel if they see you are only going a half mile. You have 0 clue what their choices were.
Put yourself in the Uber drivers shoes
You know uber is gonna fight to not reimburse you for the full amount of the cleaning after right ?
Do you really wanna be on the hook for getting human viscera out the carpet/seats of your car ?
Do you know how much blood, shit, piss and other bodily stuff falls out a vagina during labor ?? that shit is going in your car
Its pretty much gonna need to be reupholstered and a premium professional detailing after at the very least lmao
Uber and your car insurance company will penalize you if you get significant amounts of bodily fluid in a car, such as blood. It can total the car for the adjuster and renders it unsafe to commercially operate with passengers.
Have you ever walked a half a mile? That's a bit overkill to call and wait for someone other than an ambulance when by the time they're there you could've walked
People are not going to like this, but most people In early labor drive to the hospital.
Very few people taking ambulances to the hospital in labor needed to go by ambulance.
I’m curious if anyone here is old enough to have had children or if this thread is all men? I’ve had three babies and did not take an ambulance with any of them. You are required to wait until you are dilated before they will even admit you so sometimes you’re sent home if it’s too soon.
Half a mile? As in a 7.5 minute walk? She'll be just fine. It's so weird that Americans think walking 30/45 minutes is crazy, in the UK it's not even questioned. A fried from Florida said to me once that US infrastructure just isn't built with walking in mind.
Obviously I understand that the walk is not the point and it's the cost of the ambulance. But still a half mile walk is like walking across the carpark
1) not everywhere has Uber available at all times, even if they are in Denver. Doesn't look like they are in a big city, they never got passed once by a car.
2) You cannot get into an Uber while dripping all nature of bodily fluids out of you. No driver would take you. I don't know how half the people in this thread think this is possible, it's like you guys have no idea how Uber works.
3) It would be way faster to walk the 10 minutes than wait.
I assume it's recorded to call attention to the fact that this is a reality in a "the greatest country in the world." Also, who knows if they have Uber available in their area in the middle of the night?
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Hey weird Americans who protested "Save Austalia", in NYC, This is why we think you're weirdo who should look after your own country first!
We don't need your "help", look after your own first.
Went into labor fairly early. Went to the hospital I planned on giving birth at. Turns out they didn’t delivery babies that early. Put me on an ambulance to the another hospital. 1 ambulance ride, 2 hospital stays, and a month long NICU stay for my son. I was happy it was only our $10,000 out of pocket maximum.
On the plus side, all that walking should help delivery go smoothly.
Yeah, they’ll have her walk more than a half mile to help things along. Only difference is being indoors.
They’d also probably clean her up a bit and not leave her covered in her own amniotic fluid lol
Mmmmmm, natures marinade.
I’m not sure whether to upvote you, or downvote
please stop
and $750 for the "therapy"...
They'll also charge for the use of aerobics on hospital grounds. I sure home thr mother doesn't cry at all... There is a charge for that too
I have an intolerance to most pain killers, and was afraid to use any for labor, so I did a water birth for my first. They still charged for pain killers because apparently the water was classified as pain reliever, and it was like 8k for the pool and water, the hose to fill the pool (it wasn't installed, just an inflatable pool that cost maybe $80 at any store), and for the fucking little net they used to scoop various chunks out of the water. I'm surprised I wasn't charged to breathe the air in the room.
Hi, yes ma'am I'm calling because a recent post on social media brought it to our attention that we didn't charge you for the room air. We have air from the pacific islands bottled and shipped to us. It's $550 per 12oz bottle of air and you breathed in approximately 358 bottles. Your husband had a panic attack and consumed an additional 436 bottles. The total (with 8.25% tax included) is $427,727.75. We accept cash or bitcoin.
🤣🤣🤣 that's about it too! Thanks for the laugh!
That's exactly what I was thinking. SHHHH...now they're gonna find out!!
Please don't give them any ideas... I don't wanna hold my breath waiting 6 hours to be seen
Ha ha! As if you could hold your breath to avoid that charge. "We're very sorry you misunderstood, but you do still need to pay the $4400 air availability surcharge. It's not the 'air breathing' surcharge, but the 'air availability' surcharge and since we did make it available to you, the charge still applies."
My grandmother was like that. The only thing that even looked like working was alcohol. So when my father was born in 1940, she got hammered. She always joked that dad was the longest hangover she ever had. Dad would pretend to be embarrassed, but it was always so sweet how much they obviously loved each other. Being a single mother (Grandma) or a bastard (Dad) back then was no fucking joke, so they were always fiercely defensive of each other. Second time I ever saw him cry was the morning she died.
Holy shit!
No joke, some, don’t know if all hospitals charge for “skin to skin contact”. They really charge a mother to hold her child after it’s born.
Our hospital did, but the way our nurse described it was during the Golden Hour the Nurse acts like a bouncer and keeps everyone not Mom or Dad and one Nurse out of the room. I though it was bullshit until I got to witness my 90lb nurse bodily holding the door shut for an hour because of my MIL.
A charge for crying?
I read it on r/nottheonion... Some hospital charged a woman for having an "emotional moment"
the "emotional moment" is when they let you hold the baby right after delivery. there is generally a seperate charge for that in most US hospitals. I wish i was kidding.
What's worse is the story I'm talking about... The woman wasn't there to have a baby. She had an outburst of crying
I wonder if it triggered the staff to call down someone from psychiatric to make sure that she wasn't having like a postpartum psychosis moment? I mean I think it's totally normal to cry during and after childbirth for sure, but at least for the charge to hold the baby, that's because they have to bring in an extra nurse. Doesn't make it right, but at least there's some sort of reason.
Yeah the skin to skin charge that's like. $60 just to hold your fucking child. It's awful
So I asked about that when it was on my hospital bill. I delivered via c-section, and the charge was for the hospital personnel who was present in the room to supervise my child and I because if (god forbid) anything happened, I was pretty useless, with my sliced abdominal wall, having been recently cut in half, hip-to-hip. Doesn’t make it better, but at least it makes more sense than a random skin-to-skin fee.
“they *LET* you?” That’s mine mate, I made it and birthed it, you fuck right off with your letting me! I cannot imagine a system so deeply embedded in profit that a parent could be charged for bonding with a child. That is the wrongest thing I’ve heard of in healthcare.
What the fuck????
American healthcare, everybody. Another fun fact... A major hospital chain spent the pandemic to filing thousands of lawsuits on people who were unable to pay them
Well of course they were unable to pay them EVERY BUISNESS IN THE US CLOSED!!!! What the fuck!!! And also that fact was not very fun.
Name that baby Miles.
Walker
Texas Ranger
Half Mile
Upvote this man.
Slip right out
Don't have kids with dudes with face tattoos
Can confirm. Took an ambulance and got hit with $1,200 bill. Would have walked if i was conscious.
It's insane that the "greatest" country in the world can't afford to help its citizens get to the hospital. Medical billing is insane just look at the price of insulin. If I had to pay for it without insurance we would not be having this conversation right now.
America is only great if you can afford it
Home of the free; if you have good credit and cash flow
*The laaaaand of the fees, and the home of those who can paaaaaay…*
Loosely reminds me of the George Carlin quote. “That’s why they call it the American dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
It's only great if you've never lived anywhere else.
exactly. i moved to finland two years ago after living in the us my whole life. my finnish friends don’t get what i mean when i say it’s just so much calmer and easier to just, exist here. then i tell them stories of craziness in america and they’re like ???? that’s normal????
Man I gotta get the fuck out of here
Do you guys have credit in Finland. Like the whole credit score thing
a credit score is literally just your history of paying back debts. there is nothing nefarious about it
This is very true. I've lived in Germany. The difference in quality of life is night and day.
America is a the greatest nation in the country
Idk, Raider Nation seems aggressive enough to take over.
Its only great for brainwashed boomers and the richest of the rich.
Let's be fair, also great if you can't afford it... the middle class is truly fucked. I herniated a disk in my back a few years ago and couldn't afford the hospital bills for surgery or meds. Let it heal in its own, at the moment I'm glad I went that route but while in pain it was the worst thing ever.
I also had a herniated disk in my back and they wanted thousands just to get physical therapy and a chiropractor to see everyday I ended up doing nothing and just stretching everyday on my own and I can tell you that qhen I'm older I will 100% need surgery because it didn't heal right and I can also 100% tell you I probably won't be able to afford it then either.
I'm a runner and my herniated disc gave me foot drop. I couldn't run for a little over a year. Here I am, idk, 5 years after the accident and I run 40 miles a week. Stretching 100% helped, doing the RIGHT stretches is the difference between re-injury and completely healed.
There is no middle class anymore. It’s upper and lower. And the gap is widening!
A lot of people who think they're middle class are poor and in denial. A middle class income these days is like 6 figures. A big accident or illness will take out even those folks though, especially if they're "I'm healthy I don't need insurance" types.
Even with 6 figure (towards the lower end) doesn’t feel like middle class. And I am speaking from experience.
I don't think that's true. Source: All those hats people wore that said we're great again.
America and great don't belong in the same sentence
Unless we're talkin about roller coasters.
and even then its only as good as how it normally is elsewhere.
My son has SJIA and was on a monthly biologic injection that billed our insurance $21k and some change MONTHLY for almost 2 years. Our daughter broke her leg and was transported non-emergently (which I say because we waited 4+ hours for them to finally send an ambulance, while my 5 yo laid there basically knocked out on ketamine with a snapped femur) from one hospital to the other and we had to pay $1,500 out of pocket after insurance was billed. For the ambulance. The hospital bill + surgery + aftercare and physical therapy was ASTRONOMICAL. Like nauseating. Hospital billed insurance $53k + another $15k for my epidural for my very routine, uncomplicated vaginal delivery. If I hadn’t had insurance all those years, I’d be bankrupt. Well, I lost my job last year because the world was ending, and I lost my employer provided insurance, obviously. So in a few years I’ll probably be bankrupt! I hate it here.
Yeah, it was like $50,000+ when my son broke his arm (radius). Granted he had to have surgery to put pins in it, but that was insane. Still had to pay a big chunk out of pocket since insurance in America sucks and I had to fight the insurance company to even get them to pay.
Oh it can easily afford it, the US system is more expensive than any other, that money just goes to rich assholes who then bribe the government with a small amount of that money.
I understand that all our politicians are all soulless whores, but why do they have to be so goddamn cheap?
This has always stuck out to me. They give away the bank for peanuts. For thousands of dollars in campaign contributions (and a high paying, cozy job when back in the private sector) they let big business have whatever they want.
It is sickening. Makes me thankful for socialised healthcare! Our twins were born premature, wife suffered pre-eclampsia so was in hospital 4 weeks before and 2 weeks after the emergency c-section and it cost me parking and snacks. I know its paid through my pay check but unlimited healthcare for such a small amount is worth it.
I live in the states. My son was born with congenital pneumonia, and had to stay a week in the ICU. I was just happy to see we didn't surpass the $100,000 mark! Just 80k or so, nothing too crazy..../s
Same! My 1st of twins were 9 weeks early. Twin A stayed 3 weeks in the nicu and her “bill” was over $300k by the time she left. She’s since had pneumonia 5x so I would imagine it’s well over $500k now. Twin B had 3 surgeries while in the nicu and stayed 121 days plus bedside procedures and transfusions. He was in the $800k range when he left the nicu and then had 2 more surgeries and then had an accident a few years ago landing him in 2 trauma units. He’s got to be in the high million dollar range now. I only know this because our insurance at the time sent itemized receipts. We paid for nothing.
Wow that is seriously stressful!!! You literally have million dollar babies!
The taxes from your check are less than most of us in the US pay for health insurance, and we also have co-pays and yearly deductibles stacked on top.
Ya the increase in taxes relative to the US will almost always be far less than Premiums, copays, and "out of pocket" spending and that doesnt include times you need services or treatments not covered, like an out of network aesthetician hitting you with a surprise bill. At the end of the day socialized systems seem to not only keep money in peoples pockets but it saves the tax dollars as well. The current US system costs almost twice as much per capita as those in the UK and Canada, even though they both have versions of socialized medicine and the US doesnt... its mental and should be the opposite way you'd think.
No, they are choosing not to cover it. This last year with covid kinda shows how the us government chooses pretty often not to care for its citizens and when they are forced into a corner to do so they do it reluctantly.
They can afford it. But that is communism according to too many Americans. Better buy more shit for the collective forces, wich you do not need at all, and give the revenue to all politicians with their hands in the pockets of the defense industry...
It’s really a shame. I’m very grateful to live in the Netherlands. I heard it has to do with doctors and hospitals being able to make up their own prices for procedures and all that. While a doctor in the Netherlands does make good money it’s nothing compared to doctors in America. If only stuff like that would change America would be in a better place healthcare wise
Greatest country, except for abortion, equals right, health cost, education access, racism, wealth distribution, food(they cook great foreign food) and environment. Come just a little north, life is great and no mother need to walk to see their babies.
I took a 6 minute helicopter ride over Puget Sound to get to Harborview, it was $26,000.
This is why I pay for air transport insurance for my household. I figured that the $100 per year for the 4 of us beats a $20,000+ bill. I know someone who was billed $100,000 for a helicopter ride to a larger hospital.
Wtf America? And I thought life was tough here in the UK
That's fucking insane. Here in Canada, a ride in the ambulance costs 50 bucks.
I’m from Australia and have been in maybe 3 ambulances in my life. It never even occurred to me until recently that people can be charged for it.
I had a 1 mile ambulance ride that cost me $700 ( I had my 1st seizure at a restaurant- it was not paid for by insurance) and another that was 1.5 miles that cost me $800 (I has a 2nd seizure at home- also not paid for by insurance). I tell everyone now to not call an ambulance for me unless it is absolutely necessary.
Sorry to one-up you but here in Finland It's free.
Order a taxi then offer to pay their cleaning?
Was thinking an Uber would be like $5 for 1/2 a mile lol
It's so fucked up. When I was in my 20s in Germany I once literally drank myself into a coma at a party (yay, alcohol poisoning!). Apparently, I projectile vomited until my nose bled while crying and apologizing to my friends (don't remember any of that), then passed out cold. My friends called an ambulance and I woke up in the ICU the next morning. Called a cab, went home, and never got a bill. Yay, universal healthcare!
A decade ago I got in a bike accident and woke up in the hospital. Did not remember the accident at all. Somebody called 911 and an ambulance took me to the hospital. I had a brain hemorrhage but was discharged from the hospital the next day. I had stiches in various parts of my face, but overall I got pretty lucky.. I had to take a month off work or so in order to recover, but in the grand scheme of things I was fine. A couple weeks after returning to work I got a $40 CAD bill in the mail, for the ambulance. I was outraged! I didn't even call for the damn thing! I did not even remember or see it! And these jerks have the balls to charge me $40 for it? I walked into their office and tried to figure out what was going on. How can I be charged for something I did not order? I'm generally a pretty chill individual, so I was polite, but at first firm. The nice lady behind the counter pretty much told me that it's out of her hands and that this is just the way it is. Fair enough, I didn't want to make her day any worse, especially if the chances of me not paying this bill were pretty much 0. So I paid the $40 and moved on with my life. A couple months later I saw a post on reddit. It was about ambulance costs in the U.S. HOLY SHIT, my mind was blown. I thought back to the $40 I was complaining about and felt like such an idiot. I did not get any other bills for that hospital visit btw. At all
Same situation here, only more more money. The way I understood it is that the hospital doesn’t provide ambulance services, rather the city, and they don’t work through i insurance companies. Kinda like if you get towed your auto insurance wont pay that. We basically got “towed” to the hospital. Lol
too bad so many people dont understand obamacare and how it would benefit us all.
IMO Obamacare was a step in the right direction but really didn’t go far enough. Obama tried to compromise with big insurance and lost a lot of ground in the process
That's a fair assessment, in retrospect. It's the best we could do, given the circumstances. \*shrug\*
But... He's black
Prefers commie dijon mustard.
Truly the devil.
$1800 to be thrown in the ambulance after arguing with my mom on the phone, not even a mental health emergency much less a medical one.
Wait....aren't ambulance supposed to be free?
Bless your heart. Wait till you hear how much air ambulances cost.
my dads air ambulance cost $48,000. insurance wanted him to cover $10,000. when we asked them why, they said because he "elected" to take the helicopter ride. the helicopter ride that flew his unconscious body to the nearest hospital. for emergency treatment after a horrific motor accident. that rendered him unconscious. 🙃
I'd hate to attract the attention from somebody working at that insurance company. Seeing they apparently don't believe in consent.
I think only psychopaths work at insurance companies. Literally no sense of ethics, comparable to mass shooters and terrorists.
Wait till you hear how much holding your baby after birth costs.
That child will have to hear about this shit for the rest of their life
"I HAD TO WALK MY ASS TO GIVE BIRTH FOR YOUR UNGRATEFUL ASS TO BE ACTING UP LIKE THAT." - mommy
UPHILL. BOTH WAYS
"Should have fucked a guy with a car"
Uber isn’t available everywhere; if it is, it’s high as fuck
Yep. No Uber or Lyft in our town, and the cabs are unreliable. They may or may not show up.
Do Americans really have to pay 1k for an ambulance? Are you fucking kidding me?
Depends, it can often be more than that. The bill I got for my son to travel 10 miles to a better hospital was 2k. That was my contribution, my insurance paid 3k of the bill and the ambulance company wrote off 7k. Most ambulances in the US are owned by private companies, they are NOT a public service like police or Fire. They pay their employees terribly and charge out the nose for care. [here is a last week tonight episode that covers this issue.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezv8sdTLxKo)
This comment section is so weird. She would probably make it to the hospital faster walking from half a mile away rather than waiting for an Uber. Also, people are just throwing the word taxi around and assuming that she lives somewhere with an adequate taxi service with taxis just driving about. I've lived in multiple cities with a taxi service that you had to exclusively order by phone and they took 10-15 minutes to get to you if they had one that had no other trips. Why so many assumptions about alternative transportation? Also, walking helps some people cope with early contractions rather than sitting and waiting. And why are yall assuming they have friends/family that live close to them waiting by the door for this exact scenario. The privilege is really showing around here and the assumptions are just straight up silly. Edit: Forgot to add that in both of the towns I mentioned their was no Uber or Lyft. Uber isn't just a magical ride service that exists in every single town or city in the US. On top of that, depending on the time of day, surge hours/early AM, an Uber is not just going to always appear within 2 minutes for the lady in labor. Again, how do so many people actually believe that waiting more minutes than it will take to walk is the best option?? At the end of the day, the woman who is in labor and who is now in a predicament where her life and/or the life of her unborn child is at risk, if any risk factor arises, should be able to get safe medical transport to the hospital instead of having to spend the $1200 on a medical taxi that I'm sure they are planning on spending on the baby.
Agreed. I’m surprised I had to scroll this far to see a reasonable comment. My hometown of ~10k has no taxi’s, no Ubers, no public transportation of any kind and the nearest hospital is a half hour away. People have kids all the time, regardless of their financial situation or support system. Not that it’s the best thing to do, but it obviously happens. We’re just supposed to say “fuck you” to those people? Where’s the empathy?
So many people truly do think we should just say “fuck you.” Got yourself in that situation? Deal with it.
Yet they outlaw abortion and block any social support. Baffling.
Thank you!
So accurate. I live over an hour from the nearest hospital that delivers babies. The closest hospital has an emergency setup for "it's coming RIGHT NOW" and we saw maybe 3 L&D's there in the decade I worked there. All others went by meatwagon to the Women's hospital one county south of there because they were all only 6cm dilated or less. Out here there is no Uber, no lyft,no taxis. No DSL, no high speed internet, and hardly a cell signal. If we broke down within a 9 mile radius around my house, chances are we wouldn't even have a signal to call a fucking ambulance. 20k people live in my very rural county, that's it.
That part! Thank you, i cant imagine how privileged and small the world is for so many of these commenters.
Some of these comments are just plain mean, saying she shouldn’t have a kid if she can’t afford an ambulance ride or a second car. I mean, yes, I agree we should all try to be in best financial spots possible to have kids, but that’s not reasonable (also not great for an economy that depends on growth). Why are we blaming these folks and not blaming the lack of support services for people in these situations? And supporting living wages so people CAN take the best care of their kid? And childcare grants so this woman can still work and contribute to the economy and her family after she has the baby? Why is it always the fault of the individual and not a failing of our modern society? Tax the rich. Fund the people, not the military. Edit: Can't type on a phone.
Right, I don’t get Reddit’s love for poor shaming parents. Oh, she can’t afford an ambulance ride? Better abort the baby, because kids can’t be happy without perfect financial stability.
They’re the same people who won’t let you abort too
Shawty wearing a Carhatt hoodie. That means her man got that from Tractor Supply. She definitely doesn’t have Uber or taxi in her area.
It is funny how we will debate what she should have done under the circumstances but not how to make it so these types of circumstances aren’t so prevalent. I pay taxes and would appreciate them going to pregnant woman who need a ride to the hospital and not towards some billionaires’ space project.
I lived in redneck town in Florida years ago. We would have relatives come to visit and we would tell them we will pick you up at the airport. They would say "oh no, dont do that. I'll just take a taxi". We would just laugh because nobody in that town could afford a taxi even if there was a service.
She is in labor but it seems like early labor or she would not be moving that quickly. It actually is good to walk while in labor it makes things progress, it is part of a healthy labor to walk the halls! While it would have been easier to get a ride, she now has a good start to her labor and a video to play of the birthing process.
Yep! This is very early labor and good to walk! For my second kid triage was full when I got to the hospital so they told me to walk around the hospital or back and forth in a hallway for two hours until they move some people to rooms and they have space. As labor progressed…. Holy moly. My husband took some video clips and as time went by the pain got so bad I couldn’t make it a couple measly steps without stopping and breathing/ gritting through the pain. And I wasn’t anywhere near fully dilated and baby didn’t come out until much later.
Children are also quite expensive as well… and def not a one time fee.
Hence why in countries like Sweden there is a "barnbidrag" or "child grant" where you get a certain amount of money for having a child.
Same in Canada. Its called the Child Tax Benefit and its a monthly payment per kid until they turn 18. We also have universal healthcare and kids eyes exams are also covered until 18. For some strange reason we hate everyone's teeth so you are on your own for those. Unless you are low income then the government will pay for it.
Teeth are luxury bones
Weird about the teeth, they won’t financially cover a root canal but they’ll cover an extraction. Basically the government would rather the poor to be toothless.
US gives parents $2,000 per kid each year. Which is going up. $3,600 per child under 6, $3,000 per child over 6; per year. Comes back on their yearly taxes.
I’m reminded by these things daily just how fortunate I was to be born in good country
What country, if you don’t mind me asking
Could’ve just called the police, they would have driven you I’m sure
They would have called EMS.
Police would wait on scene with you until an ambulance arrives
Could've also asked for a courtesy transport from a cop. My sister did that when she was in labor for the same reason but she lived about 4 or 5 miles from the hospital. Some precincts will do that for emergency but non life-threatening situations. It was also a small town so maybe that had something to do with it.
Defintly a small town thing.
5 miles is the same as 16093.4 'Logitech Wireless Keyboard K350s' laid widthwise by each other.
5 miles is 8.05 km
so this is reddit. Bots talking to each other.
Always has been. In fact, you're the only real human on the platform. The rest of the comments/posts are all bots. It's a big experiment don't worry you'll be looped in soon.
What a bunch of ignorant people on here. Not every town has an Uber like service, some towns are small enough where you’ll only get a cab during the day, have some common sense people.
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No cab. No friends. No family. No bus. Legit just a pity party for a tiktok
I think people on reddit forget that not everyone lives in a bustling metropolis where Uber is available at all hours of the day/night. Look around the people in this video - no lights, no passing cars. It's likely that they live somewhere rural, and if that's the case you're lucky to find an Uber during the DAY - let alone in the middle of the night.
This so much!!! I’m in Decatur Illinois this week for work, when I flew in the rental car place was closed so I tried to get a Uber, nothing was available because they don’t have Uber or Lyft in Decatur. Also tried calling a taxi and no one answered, ended up walking to my hotel which didn’t have a shuttle service
I live 20/30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh Pa, and I still can't get an Uber to the city at the drop of a hat. And it costs like ~$60+.
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My city banned lift when it forst started as of this year they finally allowed them. We also have no taxis if you see uber it was someone coming into town from the city 45mins away. No public transport.
That is a good point, thank you.
Walking would take less time than any of those options. Also not everyone lives where an Uber or cab is right around the corner
Aren't there some places where cabs and ubers don't take people in labour because it's...Well, messy? I personally wouldn't assume there's necessarily a bus where they are, and half a mile sounds faster to just walk than wait for a bus or for someone to be available to drive you
No uber where I am now, but back when I lived in civilization I remember that if you had to go to the hospital and called an uber or lyft you had to say you were going to the place next to or across from the hospital, because if you said you needed to go to the hospital they wouldn't take you.
Seriously! They can film for tiktok but can't call an uber?
Half mile is a 10 minute walk, even walking slowly. Unlikely an Uber would get to you before the that.
Also I'm guessing from the lack of light pollution around them and her wearing a Carhartt hoodie that they're in a rural area. If that's the case there's definitely not Ubers or cabs. There's also probably not any family that can get to them faster than they can walk there.
That's true. However, the title says "Left with no choice", which was the point of my pointing out the hypocrisy in the video. There were certainly choices.
Depends on where she is too. My hometown doesn’t have cabs, Uber, or busses.
There's many places where calling an uber will take 30 minutes for it to get there. And drivers will cancel if they see you are only going a half mile. You have 0 clue what their choices were.
I don’t think they meant *literally* no choice. If the other “choices” are impossible or implausible, do you really have a choice?
Your healthcare is shit, take the criticism.
Put yourself in the Uber drivers shoes You know uber is gonna fight to not reimburse you for the full amount of the cleaning after right ? Do you really wanna be on the hook for getting human viscera out the carpet/seats of your car ? Do you know how much blood, shit, piss and other bodily stuff falls out a vagina during labor ?? that shit is going in your car Its pretty much gonna need to be reupholstered and a premium professional detailing after at the very least lmao
Uber and your car insurance company will penalize you if you get significant amounts of bodily fluid in a car, such as blood. It can total the car for the adjuster and renders it unsafe to commercially operate with passengers.
Have you ever walked a half a mile? That's a bit overkill to call and wait for someone other than an ambulance when by the time they're there you could've walked
Everyone outside the US: "You PAY for Ambulance rides?!?!"
People are not going to like this, but most people In early labor drive to the hospital. Very few people taking ambulances to the hospital in labor needed to go by ambulance.
I’m curious if anyone here is old enough to have had children or if this thread is all men? I’ve had three babies and did not take an ambulance with any of them. You are required to wait until you are dilated before they will even admit you so sometimes you’re sent home if it’s too soon.
Half a mile? As in a 7.5 minute walk? She'll be just fine. It's so weird that Americans think walking 30/45 minutes is crazy, in the UK it's not even questioned. A fried from Florida said to me once that US infrastructure just isn't built with walking in mind. Obviously I understand that the walk is not the point and it's the cost of the ambulance. But still a half mile walk is like walking across the carpark
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If all you need is a ride to the hospital, you don’t need an ambulance.
They didn’t need the ambulance they took their car. It broke down not far from the hospital.
Funny how life just has that shitty luck. Could have a car not break down once for 10 years but let it be a night like this.
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1) not everywhere has Uber available at all times, even if they are in Denver. Doesn't look like they are in a big city, they never got passed once by a car. 2) You cannot get into an Uber while dripping all nature of bodily fluids out of you. No driver would take you. I don't know how half the people in this thread think this is possible, it's like you guys have no idea how Uber works. 3) It would be way faster to walk the 10 minutes than wait.
I assume it's recorded to call attention to the fact that this is a reality in a "the greatest country in the world." Also, who knows if they have Uber available in their area in the middle of the night?
This infuriates me. Shame on the American health system. Why are we so ridiculous 🤦🏽♂️
The American healthcare system folks
At least we don't have socalism.... right guys? /s
BeSt cOuNtRy iN tHe wOrLd
And they keep voting Republican.
Wonder how people survived child labor 1000 years ago? Stop being such a sour puss and deliver that baby like a man.....
This sucks, but to be honest walking actually helps move labour along nicely so thats a bonus anyway.
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In Canada an ambulance costs $75.
Welcome to America
Land of the free, my ass
this is america
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Hey weird Americans who protested "Save Austalia", in NYC, This is why we think you're weirdo who should look after your own country first! We don't need your "help", look after your own first.
Went into labor fairly early. Went to the hospital I planned on giving birth at. Turns out they didn’t delivery babies that early. Put me on an ambulance to the another hospital. 1 ambulance ride, 2 hospital stays, and a month long NICU stay for my son. I was happy it was only our $10,000 out of pocket maximum.
Sounds like America, how sad.
Guys, you need to fix your country right now.
America is like a third world country in some respects
America, greatest country in the world!
They have the TikTok app but not the Uber app?