In article ,
AES wrote:

In article . com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

My wife had to be taken to the ER by the squad two weeks ago. They kept
her overnight and released her the next afternoon. We had to go back for
a test Wednesday morning.
The hospital bill was $8000.
Today we received the statement from the insurance company informing us
what they had paid and what the hospital had accepted and how much we
owe.
Insurance paid $3700, we owe $1200 (20% of the total bill).