How many millions are waiting in the US because they can't afford care?
Do you have any knowledge of what the typical waiting periods are in the US? How many are postponing care due to inability to cover the costs?
I happen to think the UK is not close to the best example.
These are for what in the US are considered relatively routine and available services - things like a pacemaker. Or knee and joint work.
“The pain is so bad now I don’t want to live much longer,” she explained. “I get up in the morning [and fear] making it to the bathroom without wetting myself as the pain and stiffness overwhelms me. Then, after losing my dignity, I attempt to make it down the stairs."
So we need to begin with just the basics - can you even get care at all - period.
Your employer can't "take away" your health insurance in the US in most cases. If they will stop paying for it in most cases they will send you a letter giving you the option to pay for it. This will cover you for up to 36 months.
What you would do is after being laid off is to take advantage of the downtime to get LOTS of care. That's actually pretty common approach, folks max out benefits for 1-3 months then let COBRA coverage drop. I've seen some folks take advantage of the 60 day period to decide to basically go get tons of testing, if nothing comes up they let it drop after 30 days. If they expect lots of costs they keep coverage.
Alternatively, a layoff is a qualifying event. You can sign up for subsidized coverage on the obamacare exchanges. For an individual this helps with incomes < $51K, and households of 4 < $106K. For example, if you still have SOME income coming in (let's say $20K per year) you'd do something like a Silver 87 plan. That runs about $3/month.
Alternatively, if you fall below certain thresholds in income (ie, laid off with nothing) you would be eligible for medicaid for adults. For an individual this kicks in for incomes below $17,000.
I can tell you it's pretty grim looking at a crippling illness and trying to juggle employment so that you might have a hope of managing that illness. So yes, I hope I'm wrong but so far it isn't looking so good.
Single nondisabled male adult - not in mandatory medicaid coverage groups unfortunately. That said, many of these types of states are are aggressive about offloading to disability. Depending on your circumstances than can be a route to medicaid as well.