• Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    As a citizen of a civilized country: What is this “medical debt” Americans keep talking about?

    • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      It’s how they punish us poor people for surviving instead of dying off like good little wage slaves.

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        For ages, the American public does obviously not want any kind of social security, because you managed not to fix this basic problem for a number of differend government periods. So we are talking about happily agreeing victims.

        • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
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          7 months ago

          Our system as it is set up is explicitly anti democratic and impossible to reform in any way without the buy in of the very officials who benefit from it being so. There’s no solution but revolution, and the people are so trapped in capitalist realism that many cannot perceive that any option exists other than to slowly watch as our quality of life degrades and our rights are stripped away one by one. There are a minority who are against such things as affordable healthcare, but there is literally studies done showing that regardless of popular support numbers for any given policy, there is no effect on the likelihood said policy will be implemented. Conversely, the support of the top 10% for a policy, or lack thereof, correlates directly to its likelihood of being implemented.

          All that to say, this country is definitively a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Kinda meaningless now, actually.

      As of 2022 it no longer shows up on your credit report, and the amounts are such incredibly high make-believe numbers ($15,000 for an ER visit in which you don’t even see a doctor), that the uninsured are essentially judgment-proof and those with insurance can just not pay anything past the deductible.

      Honestly, if they kept the bills at like $200 it would be may more distressing for the poor. Once the debt is so high it can’t be paid, it becomes meaningless. Owing several times your annual salary is no different than owing nothing at all.

        • trashgirlfriend@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Where I’m from

          1. You legally have to be insured and the only way to change your insurance is proving that you’re insured somewhere else
          2. If you’re employed, your employer pays the insurance for you, if you’re unemployed the responsibility to pay is on you
    • uis@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      As citizen of country that was civilized 25 years ago: I have no idea.