I'm glad this guy could get the care needed to survive, and I wish him the very best in his recovery.
Certainly all the care he received in Toronto would have been covered, assuming he's Canadian.
It's wild to me that the potential financial impact of this was part of the picture for many of the US people reading it (especially the startup founders who are probably without insurance right now, and this would leave absolutely financially ruined for life).
I am puzzled by why the richest nation in the world prefers to spend 3.1 billions of dollars on arming Israel, or spend $700 billion military budget (even though its territory isn't being threatened in any way), rather than provide universal healtcare and education to its citizens, who live in fear of becoming sick.
I mean, I can understand why if you own a military supplier company, you'd rather have it that way. But I don't get why voters do not want universal healthcare.
It isn't threatened because of its powerful military; also why Europeans can spend all that money on healthcare instead of defense: a benevolent democracy to provide safety. Not to mention it stokes the richest economy and innovation.
Payment comes in many forms. When a dictator on the other side of the world needs a "democracy" shot, or a country needs some additional sanctions for national security, the fact that European countries offer support makes the difference between greed/aggression and a "righteousness".
You're saying all the US leadership chain (the people with the authority so decide strategy) agreed to spend billions extra just as a charitable act for another continent. The only way I can take the best interpretation of this is to assume you're joking.
http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Benevolence.htm...
Seriously? You'd expect an invasion from Canada, or Mexico?
I am not against a powerful military, but it seems the US has gone way beyond that and mostly projects its force around the world, with poor results to show for everyone including the US.
UK, and I wouldn't think about it - it's just not a consideration.
I will caveat that by saying dental care is not free[1], but the prices are reasonable - maximum charge £270 (for a single course of treatment and anything within two months of it, for treatments such as bridges, crowns, and denatures), and "If you require urgent care, you'll pay a Band 1 charge of £22.70."/ "There's no dental charge [...] if your dentist has to stop blood loss".
[1] unless you receive certain benefits
Keep in mind I live in the backwoods of a small state in the US and could have a catscan in an hour, an MRI tomorrow, would likely only wait 15-45 minutes at an ER, had access to proton cancer treatment years before a single person in Europe had it, and was covered by MD Anderson, the top rated cancer treatment center in the world.
The extra money the US pays into healthcare isn't all for naught.
ACA was a horrible compromise because the right would not allow proper Universal Healthcare. In my state, as in many, there is a gap where you can be denied a subsidized ACA plan and Medicaid. I fall in that gap and get nothing but the privilege of buying a full priced ACA, poor coverage, plan for something like 7-800usd a month plus something like 6000usd yearly deductible plus the multi thousand coverage floor you mentioned. All of which is impossible for me. I did things right. I had a significant savings when this happened, spent most all of it on this stuff, I have a few hundred a month pension I was lucky to have, it doesn't cover my needs, I have no insurance or benefits. I was denied disability. This is America.
Someone else below also brought out the "I know lots of people from Europe who come to the USA for superior healthcare" line as well. I lived in Europe and never met or heard of a single person who did this. It surely happens. But its not "lots" nor proof of some superiority.
I recently got another diagnosis after having to really fight and spend a lot because the system is so broken. The 3-5min you get and insane costs for everything hinders care. I was already on the edge as my history points to...and have been trying desperately to move back to Europe where its not perfect, but even in the paid, private system I would have access to for the first years I can get far superior care to here for less. But the hits just keep coming and I don't see making it anywhere now. I wish people would care about others and how this system hurts them, rather than their politics. I will lose my life because of politics I never chose to be born into and that have continually reduced my quality of life. I just cannot understand why people continually deny this is the case and fight against that which helps all of us. I have mostly passed anger and am in intense disappointment on the issue. I just want to live. I am not allowed to.
It definitely happens, especially for things like plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Some hospitals in the US are free for everybody (some research hospitals and hospitals for sick kids) and I assume that would extend to Europeans.
Routine GPs appointments can generally be gotten within a week, and emergency[1] appointments (where we wait until the GP is done at the end of the surgery, and are then seen) if the triage nurse determines you need to be seen sooner can be gotten on the day. You also have the option of speaking to your local pharmacist, many of whom can prescribe medication for certain conditions if appropriate, or otherwise point you at suitable over-the-counter primary care.
A number of places also have walk-in centres for minor ailments where you don't need an appointment, and they generally have long opening hours (8am-10pm, 365 days a year for my local one). Urgent dental care is also available 24/7 in many places.
You may have to wait longer for non-emergency / non-priority / time-insensitive treatments - my routine MRIs have a lead time of about 8 weeks, and a specialist referral can be something in the region of 6-12 weeks (sometimes longer) - but I think that's a fair trade off. You do of course also have the option of paying for private care as well if you don't want to wait (often NHS doctors / semi-retired doctors working evenings in my limited experience).
[1] bit of a misnomer really - urgent but not critical is more accurate
Also when my wife had to get an MRI done going private wasn't that much quicker than NHS - you still had to wait a couple weeks through her private health insurance at work.
My wait for a specialist referral is 2-3 days and any delay is usually on my end.
There are just some things the US healthcare system accidentally does much better than Europe.
Additionally, when I lived in the US, we got a special Dutch health insurance plan for temporary expats. They sent us a letter that if one of us ever had to go to the hospital, they'd fly them over to the Netherlands unless the situation required immediate attention.
I sure hope he had travel insurance. Likely did as most companies offer it for employment travel.
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/medical-emergencies-i...
Money is nothing. Poverty won't make you unhappy.
Humans are good at finding new baselines. Poverty will simply become your new normal and the little things of life will still bring you joy. Seeing a loved one will still make you a smile. Life is worth living even without any ressources.
I'm sure the millions of people living in poverty, dying of treatable diseases and starving to death right now are ecstatic about it. Or are we just pretending those people don't exist?
I'm glad you and your family managed to beat the odds, but this is demonstrably false on a statistical level.
It won't however make your positive moments any less important. You will be more likely to suffer from mental health issues but that's statistics and they don't represent daily life of people accurately.
If you are not suffering from something such as depression you will still find satisfaction from social encounters, from your community and your family. Unless living in a dangerous situation, your will still be able to feel content about your life. Love will still matter just as much.
That being said, this is my experience living below the poverty line in Canada where healthcare and social programs exists.
This is a serious question people ask themselves whenever they get sick. It's one no one should have to ask, but one many Americans have had to sincerely consider.
For instance, suppose you trip and fall, and in catching yourself, shatter your shoulder joint.
The emergency room would be obligated to keep that from killing you -- making sure the bone fragments weren't going to sever an artery or anything, stitching up open wounds and the like.
The emergency room would not be obligated to restore you to (as much as possible) functioning. If you need an expensive 20-hour surgery with a team of specialists to put all the pieces of your shoulder back together, well, that's too bad. Sure, your shoulder will heal into an immobile lump without treatment, but it won't kill you, so not actually an emergency.
That said, fiscally, it's a total gamble in the US these days. You may be saddled with a $20/mo debt that will likely never end ever, or you may be facing a bill for $1M that is due in 30 days. The range is essentially unbounded and unknowable in any real way.
US healthcare is shockingly cruel, financially speaking.