These companies have lost their fucking minds. I pay over $200 a month for insurance through my job. Recently I had to go in and get blood work done for a condition I have, and was charged over $200 for the office visit and lab work. When I called to figure out why it wasn't just a $30 copay like my card states, I was told that due to my high-deductible plan, I'm responsible for all costs until the deductible is reached, and only then will my copays start.
When the fuck did this change? Now I'm responsible for the full cost of an office visit with a regular doctor at the rate of $200+ ON TOP of premiums, costs of service, Rx costs, etc. This isn't even for a serious condition, I can't even imagine what it would cost if regular visits were needed. I won't be paying these bills as medical debt under $500 isn't reported in my state.
What can we do? How do we push back against them killing us like this? All these insurance companies have been reporting record profits since the pandemic, and before, while we're paying $1000s month for even the most basic of healthcare services. Meanwhile the liberals continue to dangle the idea of universal health care like a carrot every few years to sway votes.
We should all be far more pissed off at them squeezing profits from us at for sake of our health, but where do we even start to push back in any effective way?
Which country?
Macedonia, one of the Ex Yugoslavian republics.
I try and explain this to most westerners, they don't believe me, say I'm lying ๐คท.
If you were a blood donor back then, everything regarding health care was free. Weelchairs, orthopedics, operations, drugs, everything. You just went in a pharmacy, show your blood donor badge and just hand over your perscriptions, they give you the drugs, no charge.
I know, it's hard to believe, but it really was like that.
I don't see why you should believe most westerners, they've consumed too much propaganda.
"USSR/China/Yugoslavia/GDR/etc. was a corrupt, dystopian hellhole where nobody got food and everyone was poor!"
"What, you mean you lived in those countries and you said it was GOOD?! You must be a brainwashed commie!!!!!!!"
Sorry for editing my post so many times, it was a long time ago, memories fade, takes time to remeber certain things.
It's kinda frustrating that no one outside of the ex Yu states believes us when we say "things were a lot better back then". People just think we're brainwashed. Every family, regardless of status, could afford basic luxuries, like being able to go on a vacation at least once a year (I can't afford that right now, I save up for 2 years to go on 1 vacation every 2 years), had 1 car per household (more than enough considering that most people lived in apartments near to where they worked, like maybe 3 to 7km away, public transport took care of these go to work/get back home trips), food was far from scarce, most people had decent meals, not to mention healthier and cheaper meals, almost everything was locally produced, so no VAT, no imported stuff, plus it was really cheap to buy vegetables and fruits, almost no preprocessed products whatsoever in the markets (maybe things like salami and sausages, but that was about it), and even those were fairly cheap (also locally produced).
Some did have more than others, but this was not by much. Wealthier families that were a part of the communist party and had some higher roles in society (polititian or maybe a CEO of a factory, stuff like that) had like 2 cars per household and maybe a house, not an apartment. They also most definitely had enough money to go on 2 vacations per year, but that was about it. Those were the wealthiest people in the country.
My granma was a housewife that lived off the salary of her dead husband (he died while working), had 4 kids, managed to get all of them through uni, aford a car and a large apartment for all 6 members of the family (she remaried). This was all provided by the state, because her first husband died on the job, so it was considered an honor that her husband died while helping the state grow.
I try and explain this, people say I'm lying ๐คฆ.