Healthcare in the US - the best I've seen!

asianrn · Aug 9, 2006

It is by law that no one will be denied of treatment regardless of race, citizenship...I'm am not familiar with B1/B2 visa but I am assuming that he is legally working here in the US. So by assuming that your uncle is working, he probably has health insurance which is offered through his employer. He did not pay anything because of his health insurance which for the most is covered if you have an MI and a bypass surgery. Health insurance, 401-k, dental insurance, vision, tuition reimbursement are one of the COMMON benefits if you work here in US. Unfortunately, most of the employers in the Philippines doesn't offer these kind of benefits, heartbreaking but everybody's struggling for their survival...comparing Philippines and US will not solve anything. It's like comparing an elephant to an insect...there is a HUGE difference. Stop comparing and it's a waste of energy and time.

rn4ever? · Aug 9, 2006

B1/B2 Visa is a tourist visa. It is against the law to deny anyone of medical care. And while it is true that your uncle did not pay a single penny for his medical treatments, it does not mean that it is for free.....the fund came from the tax-payers of America who shouldered all the expenses..... assuming that he did not have insurance!

elkpark · Aug 9, 2006

Just to clarify, US law requires that emergency rooms cannot deny necessary emergency treatment to anyone that needs it -- hospitals and other providers are completely free to deny routine, non-emergency care to people who can't pay for it ...

And, while emergency rooms are required to provide the care, they aren't required to provide it for free. Although hospitals here don't require money in advance, there is a big bill later -- although I imagine the US taxpayers will be eating the bill for the OP's uncle if he doesn't have insurance, since he is from another country and presumably returned home there after his treatment, US residents do have to pay for treatment received unless they are the poorest of the poor and truly can't afford to pay anything. If you don't have insurance which covers the bill, you have to pay out of pocket. Hospitals attempt to work with people to set up payment plans, but often turn unpaid bills over to collection agencies or take people to court to take their houses, cars, etc., to get their money. Many of the people in this country who end up going bankrupt do so because of (financially) crippling medical bill debt.

FutureUSRN · Aug 10, 2006

Alright, assuming that my uncle's operation was paid for by US tax payers....atleast we know that you have that option....still, US has a good system of Healthcare.....even a dog will be given due care if needed.....how much more a man even if he's not a citizen?

sunnyjohn · Aug 10, 2006

Even if your uncle went home after his operation and he and the family did not pay for his care, if he has a SSN and gave it to the folks at the hosptial, they WILL try to track him down to get payment.

Hospitals in the US cannot refuse emergency treatment, but there are people in the US who go every day without care for chronic illnesses that slowly kill them because they can't afford care.

The US healthcare and medical advancements are excellent. Hosptials in the US are better looking than most hotels. Hospital staff are all drilled on their customer service skills. I'll give you that.

The healthcare system is excellent if you have insurance to pay for it or are poor enough to be on Medicaid (which is kinda crappy too).

The folks in the middle often go without when things get bad for them financially.

nrswnabee · Aug 10, 2006

When my uncle was touring on a B1/B2 visa, he suddenly got a heart-attack. To keep it short, he was sent to the ER and had undergone several by-pass operations. He survived. And you know what, even though he wasn't a citizen, he was treated as one. He hadn't even paid a single penny for the operation.
Compare that here in the Philippines, you need to deposit a huge amount of money before a doctor ever touch you....that is if the hospital even admits you!

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given the rest of the responses, i'd say your uncle was one lucky chap. u.s. hospitals may be required to give emergency treatment but it's not necessarily free.

FutureUSRN · Aug 10, 2006

Alright, save that "free-stuff" thing....I might have not known the whole story, atleast US hospitals do not require cash deposits before one, who's in a critical condition, is admitted. Payment is discussed after saving the life of a person. If he can afford, then he pays. If he can't, then others (tax payers) will pay for it.

How about animals that were saved from life-threathening situations, are the owners being pursued for payments?

elkpark · Aug 11, 2006

If he can afford, then he pays. If he can't, then others (tax payers) will pay for it.

You're still painting too rosy a picture of the US system -- many, many middle class and poor families end up in bankruptcy and financially ruined because they owe huge debts for medical bills that they can't pay. There is a program run by the Federal govt. and the states, called Medicaid, that is supposed to pay for health care for the poor, but it is terribly underfunded (compared to the demand) and only a small percentage of poor people can get enrolled. In my state, there is no possibility of qualifying for Medicaid coverage unless you are 1) very poor and also elderly, 2) very poor and pregnant, or 3) very poor and have one of a very few specific chronic diseases. "Just" being very poor is not good enough!

No one (except the very rich) can "afford" the high healthcare costs in the US -- you either have decent insurance, or you're screwed. Even having insurance is no guarantee; many people end up owing huge amounts of money even after the insurance has covered what the policy specifies.

The US remains the only industrialized, "first world" nation on the planet that doesn't provide some sort of program of universal, publicly funded healthcare coverage for its citizens and residents.

However, you are right that "at least" US hospitals do not require a cash deposit up front in emergency situations. For non-emergency situations, they do ask you how you are going to pay the bill as part of the admissions process, and many have you sign loan papers or promissory notes legally obligating you to pay the bill before you are discharged (if you don't have insurance).

Also, ironically, the hospitals often charge poor, uninsured people (the people who can least afford it) much more for the same procedure/treatment than they charge people with good insurance, because the insurance companies have "negotiated" (demanded) steep discounts in order to agree to send their customers to that hospital. In some cases, the hospitals are actually losing money on the insured patients they treat, so they charge the uninsured people who are just paying out of their own pocket much more to make up the loss ...

Don't get too warm a glow about how enlightened and compassionate the US system is ... :)

FutureUSRN · Aug 11, 2006

I might have been watching to many US TV programs...lol. Anyway, in the end, the wise, not the rich, not the poor, get to pay less or not at all.

nrswnabee · Aug 11, 2006

just goes to prove that learning is a process, isn't it? you think one way now and later you decide to change your mind. as for me, this thread confirms:

1) coming to the u.s. shouldn't be a be-all and end-all thing...one can never be too level-headed for this matter;

2) you can't go wrong knowing how you're covered by your employer's medical insurance/benefits ahead;

3) eat right. exercise...stay healthy! (of course, not just because you didn't pay attention to the 2 previous counts above.)

FutureUSRN · Aug 11, 2006

yep, it is just a matter of choice. One may choose to live further even though it means bankcruptcy. Others may choose to die than to live with nothing.

Atleast, in the US we have a choice. As I said, the wise pay less than the rich or the poor.