Americans Reveal The Most Expensive Medical Bill They've Ever Received
[rebelmouse-image 18345296 is_animated_gif=The rest of the first world provides universal healthcare for their citizens and regulates how much can be charged for procedures and medications. The United States does not which leaves neighbors and allies curious about how much people in the USA are billed for the privilege of staying alive and healthy.
Reddit user small-great-thing asked "Americans, what's the most expensive medical bill you've ever received, and what was it for?"
Here are just some of the answers.
$276.13
[rebelmouse-image 18345297 is_animated_gif=In the two years I've had to pay my own bills, I had one for $276.13 when I came into urgent care because my finger was suddenly swollen and green after I had cut it on a microwave plate a week earlier. They looked at my finger for 2 seconds and told me it was fine. Didn't even touch it.
$250,000 plus $37,000 per month
[rebelmouse-image 18345298 is_animated_gif=My transplant started at about $250,000 and then I had another surgery about a month after that. But I have Medicare plus a supplement so I've been billed about $5000 so far for everything.
I have ongoing medication costs but with insurance it's like $50 a month. I think uninsured would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 7k.
Also I was on dialysis for 4 years before that and the supplies for that purportedly cost about 25-30k per month although I didn't get charged for it. I got sick just as the AMA got rid of lifetime caps and made durable medical equipment free. Thanks, Obama.
$12,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345299 is_animated_gif=No where near others here.. but I had 6k to remove a 2cm x 1cm mass in my breast only to find out it was a type of tumor that could grow back so I had to go back under a month later for margin removal. Guess what? Another 6k. During that month my boyfriend lost his job so it wasn't a great time for us. Stress all around, but thankfully I'm cancer free and he got a better job.
$10,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345300 is_animated_gif=$10,000 after being treated for a minor stab wound. The doctor did nothing except give me a tetanus shot, a contrast abdominal MRI and a few bandages. I was there a grand total of 4 hours. I didn't have medical insurance at the time, but my company was able to get their general insurance to pay most of it.
As a side note I have to pay $300 a month for a medication I would die without. I don't know what I would do if something happened.
$30,000 a year
[rebelmouse-image 18345301 is_animated_gif=My insurance gets billed roughly 20-30k/year just for my type 1 diabetes management.
$56,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345302 is_animated_gif=56k, abdominal surgery (took my appendix and 5 inches of colon). Just laughed when they called to collect, theres no way I could physically afford that, months of back and forth...ended up paying nothing.
$10,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345304 is_animated_gif=I got a bill for about $10,000 for having my son delivered at a hospital plus my expense for the mistake with my IV that cost me a great deal of blood loss. He was worth it, though.
$26,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345305 is_animated_gif=I spent 13 hours in a hospital because of some sort of stomach bacteria. Got a bill for $26,000. I laughed. Never paid it. Called the hospital billing department and told them to f*** off. They never pursued me for the money.
$47,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345306 is_animated_gif=Before we got married, my husband and I were in a long distance relationship for a year or so. He was driving to visit me at night, dozed off, hit the median and flipped his car a bunch of times. I got a call, raced out to the hospital to be with him. He broke his nose, needed a few stitches on his lip, and had a mild concussion (plus a few minor scrapes and bruises). He had a head scan to check his brain. They had an IV in to give him fluids only (no meds) but it was inserted incorrectly and caused his arm to swell up with the fluids (which they did nothing about - told us to apply heat and the swelling would go down in a couple days). He was at the ER 2-3 hours. The bill was $45,000. The ambulance was another $2,000 on top of that.
$26,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345307 is_animated_gif=$26k for having my son in the hospital. Normal birth, no complications. I found out an hour after he was born my insurance didn't cover labor and delivery (despite covering prenatal care?!) so the hospital reduced it to $12k "cash pay".
$146,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345309 is_animated_gif=$146,000. Five days in ICU with meningitis.
$750,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345310 is_animated_gif=I think the final bill for labor and delivery plus two weeks in NICU for our twins was around $750,000.
$10,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345311 is_animated_gif=$10,000, for kidney stones. The treatment: wait until you pee them out.
$1,200,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345312 is_animated_gif=350k and change... wife in a car accident, life flighted, multiple trauma surgery and ICU for 3 weeks and rehab hospital room for 3 more weeks before she was released. Total between hospitals, life flight ambulance, PT and lab work: 1.2 million.
$48,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345315 is_animated_gif=$48,000+ for a three week stay in a mental hospital. I got the bill reduced to $150 once they saw my paystubs that I only made $150 a week working part time in college...
$1,600,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345316 is_animated_gif=My late husband was the recipient of a double lung transplant in 2012. The total bill for his surgery and inpatient recovery was $1.6 million dollars.
$110,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345317 is_animated_gif=My wife had gamma knife radiation for breast cancer metastatic to the brain. It was $110,000.
The awesome thing? It was an itemized bill. A few thousand for an MRI, a few thousand for a CT, a few thousand for applying the frame to her head.
And $80,000 as "miscellaneous". Not even joking.
$650,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345318 is_animated_gif=So, I was convinced for about 2 weeks I had a really bad flu. Except, my leg and my arm are really sore, weird, but I'm feeling really bad, so I don't pay it much attention.
At about the week and a half mark, I tell my husband I need to go to the hospital. He takes me, I get there and am immediately taken to the ICU. Turns out I had contracted MRSA somehow. It's was basically like a staph infection on steroids. (Scarey part is, nobody to this day can tell me how I got it. I'm not a drug user or anything like that. Doctor literally said I could have picked it up off a shopping cart, fun stuff.)
Anyway, I end up being in the hospital for around 4 months. Apparently if I hadn't gone in the day I had, I probably would have died within the next few days. The MRSA had mutated and was eating the muscles in my arm and leg, which is why they were so sore. Had fluid built up around my lungs and heart. They drained around 10 liters of fluid all together from those areas. There was a bunch of stuff, but most of it is a hazy nightmare anymore because of the amount of drugs they put me on, plus the induced 2 week coma.
Anyway, so I get out of the hospital. Get a call, letting me know that my bill was $650,000 and I was welcome to pay $1000 a month. I told them I would call them back. LUCKILY, and it really wasn't at the time, but luckily my husband had recently lost his job (this was during the housing market crash and he was a homebuilder) before I got sick. I spoke with the hospital again and explained that we had no income and basically Medicare picked up the more than half a million dollar bill.
Wow, this got way longer than I meant it to. Just won't ever forget the miniheart attack I had when the hospital called to let me know how much I owed.
$2,500,000
[rebelmouse-image 18345320 is_animated_gif=About 2.5 million.
Car accident. Guy was on his cell phone and hit me head on. 1 million was for Emergency services, ambulance and life flight just to get me to the hospital. I was hospitalized for a week, sent to a nursing facility, threw a fit and was released with the promise of doing outpatient therapy.
Less than a month after the accident, I was still in a wheelchair, suffering from PTSD, and on Percocet whenever I wasn't going to therapy because it made me really drowsy. I got a call from the hospital demanding payment.
My car insurance was suppose to cover my medical bills, but was still filing paperwork and assessing the costs, so the hospital came after me. I started crying on the phone and my mom, who was right beside me at the time (I was 21 and still living at home) grabbed the phone and went full Mama Bear on them. They did not call the house again.
Are we being lazy or is it self-care?
That is what you should ask yourself first, before you judge.
Life is an arduous journey and a constant energy suck.
It was inevitable we'd find shortcuts to get by.
It's all about survival.
Redditor Batman_In_Peacetime wanted to hear about the times we just didn't care enough to try harder. They asked:
"What is a lazy thing you began doing when you realised you can live with it?"
I'm best when I'm at my laziest. Ok, that's a lie, but I don't care.
Zzzz...
"On weekends I sleep for 12-14 hours. I usually wake up a few times but I dream so much during those long sleeps that it’s basically become a recreation type thing and I love it."
HouseOfZenith
Warm it up...
"When I use the microwave, I’ll heat food for 1:11 or 2:22 because I can’t be bothered to move my lazy fingers."
fysicks
"I figured out that my microwave's turntable rotates once every 12 seconds. So, everything I cook is on a multiple of 12 seconds so that it always ends up at the front of the microwave when it's done cooking, and I don't have to reach all the way to the back of the microwave to get my food out."
unittwentyfive
Bang
"When I was a kid on a school day, I had this routine where I'd stick my legs out of the bed and bang around on the floor so it sounded like I got out of bed and then just lie there for a few more minutes."
bewarethechameleon
"Did you also get your toothbrush wet and squirt a wee bit of toothpaste in your mouth rather than actually brush your teeth? If so I may be your mom and you weren’t fooling me or the dentist and you sure weren’t fooling the plaque that attacked."
TigerLily98226
Pockets
"Whenever I clean the house I put on my housecoat with really big pockets. I just walk from room to room and put things in my pocket that don’t belong in that room. Once my pockets are full I go to each room and empty my pockets putting what is from each room in that room."
kindhearttbc
"That's not lazy... that's productive AF."
throwaway92715
Toss It
"I don’t fold the fitted sheet. Just ball it up and place it in the closet."
SpaghettiSquash33
I just see people human. Don't he so hard on yourselves.
12 Hours
"I once watched 12 hours of the golf Network because the batteries were dead in my remote control. I don't know if that's lazy or depressed."
sadbirdfox
I swear I was...
"I was taught to make a bed properly as a child, I swear I was. Hospital corners and everything. I even know how to fold a fitted sheet, thanks to my auntie, who's an Air Force nurse and therefore doesn't consider little problems like 'non-Euclidean geometry' to be a reason not to do it properly. The second I found out about duvet covers, that was over. Sure, it doesn't look as tidy, but five minutes a week plus 10 seconds in the morning instead of 10 minutes a day? I can live with that."
katie-kaboom
The System
"I don't fold laundry anymore. I have a system of laundry baskets like this where clothes gets sorted by type (pants, t-shirts, sweaters, etc). Most of my clothes is wrinkle free, and for the few pieces that aren't I just throw them on a hanger in the bathroom while I take a steamy shower."
User deleted
Genius!!
"Before I get out of bed in the morning, I will grab the top corners of my sheets with my hands and prop up the bottom two with my feet and move it into place. Then I slide out of bed without ruffling anything. Just like that, my bed is made."
Markymark142
"My sister has to do this before she goes to bed at night, even is she made the bed that morning. It's an odd little quirk and mostly harmless."
mel2mdl
Yummy
"Just eating food straight out of the pan."
refrshmts_N_narcotcs
None of that sounds so bad. That sounds... like my life. Don't judge!!
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Be it on a blind date, at a party where you don't know anyone, or sitting next to someone on an airplane, starting a conversation with a total stranger is difficult.
As much as we'd all like to be friendly, far too often we find ourselves at a loss for words.
It doesn't help that we generally have no idea of what these people's various interests are, making it anyone's guess how they'll respond.
But some have this problem solved, finding a go-to topic which is always guaranteed to get a response, no matter who you're talking to.
Redditor Blugged_Bunny was curious to hear what people thought was the best way to begin a conversation with strangers, leading them to ask:
"What is your go-to 'small talk' topic with strangers?"
Did you check the forecast?
"We sure are having a lot of weather"- r_Ju_Tacular.
"As a British person, the conversation usually starts like this:"
“'You alright?'"
”Yeah you?”'
“'Yeah not too bad, weathers a bit sh*t innit?'”
“'Yeah”'.
"The end."- chelstippins
Why beat around the bush?
"Straight to politics and religion."- Turd_Ferguson009.
Just let it happen.
"Make an observation."
"Literally anything."It helps if it’s something about them like an article of clothing that catches your eye, something they’re doing, anything that you can relate to or are interested in but it doesn’t have to be."
"It can be something in the environment that is drawing both of your attention."
"People bullsh*t about the weather all the time."
"Make a comment about it, gauge their willingness to talk about it to you and build off of what you get from the response."
"If all you get is 'haha yeah', leave it."
"No shame in silence."
"Some people just don’t want to talk."
I"f you’re talking about the weather, 'Man it’s a great day out today!'"
“'Yeah absolutely! I drove here with my windows down all the way here!'”
"Boom, you’ve got something to latch onto."
"They probably enjoy getting outside for some fresh air. "
"They probably enjoy driving."
"Ask about their car."
"Ask if they go on drives a lot."
"Ask if they do outdoor stuff."
"What kind of outdoor stuff?"
"Once you’ve got something to work with, the key is to ask."
"Let them do the talking."
"People love talking about themselves."
"You learn some light hearted things about the stranger, they feel more comfortable, and you can add bits and bobs of your own experiences in response so they get to know you too."
"It works in literally any situation."
"From an elevator ride to a first date."
"It’s so easy to personalize small talk and it makes it so much less uncomfortable."- 1arrocknroll.
"But enough about me, what do you think about me?"
"Usually people love to talk about themselves, so a few questions about them and some follow up questions to their answers usually does it."- I_can_see_the_music.
"Food, glorious food..."
"Food."
"People typically love food."
"I mention I’m new/newer to an area."
"And ask them what they like, where they eat out."
"Usually works and people have their choices validated and I always know where to find good local snacks."- TheProfWife.
Can you believe it?
"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"- housemuncher.
Nothing!
"As a Norwegian - we leave strangers alone."
"No need to bother them."- neihuffda.
The sky's the limit.
"So, do you like stuff?"- Bwon669.
All of these seem like surefire ways to get a conversation started.
But use cautiously, as who knows how long it will take these conversations to end.
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Quality comes with price. That's a fact you can't escape. If you hire someone to fix your home, and want them to do the best job, you're going to have to pay above average prices. That's fine. Pay the people what they're worth for the great job they did. However, we live in a world where everyone is looking for their payout, even if what they've given you is less than ideal.
Don't overpay for any of these.
Reddit user, DrLizardLover, wanted to know what we're paying too much for when they asked:
"What is just stupidly overpriced?"
If you didn't know any better, you would think making office and school supplies was a lot like mining for diamonds in the center of the Earth.
Though, we also know diamonds are a rip-off so maybe that's not the argument we should be making.
Another Collegiate Payment
"College books"
Spooly_Boy
"Especially when they say you have to buy the newest copy every year"
disantiyesnt
Good Thing We're Going Paperless
"Printer cartridges."
DataPlenty
"Apparently it's because in order to make printers affordable to everyone, you must lower their prices. The cartridges are the upsell and is where the profit comes from."
AltaSavoia
We Carry Them Around On Our Phones
"TI-84"
"I could get an old cell phone from a dumpster that’s 10x as powerful. Why the f-ck they still charging $80 or more for these things?"
edgeblackbelt
If living in 2022 has taught us anything, it's that convenience has a price.
And it's high.
$50 For Twizzlers
"Foods and drinks at movie theaters or sporting events"
Icy-Company7718
"I can answer for the theaters. They don't actually get much, if any, of the ticket sales. A lot of their operating budget comes from the snack bar."
Head_Razzmatazz7174
Fees On Hidden Fees For Hidden Fees
"Concert tickets"
"(AKA Ticketmaster)"
Catilily_3141
"I thought I was on the school box office site when I was on one made to look like it. I bought two reasonably priced ncaa basketball tickets and when I went to check out it went up to $70 with fees. Found the school website and checked out for $26 total."
blackcatmystery
Costs A Lot To Be A Woman
"One bra is like…40 dollars"
Noliel_Laicaster
"except i have big honkers so i'm forced to pay upwards of $80 for a bra because the only place I can get them in my size is Lane Bryant or Torrid"
kelsiewest11
"Just women's clothes in general. If I'm paying $40 for a pair of dress slacks, they damn well better have pockets. I have to have black slacks for my delivery job and ended up buying 3 pair of men's pants for $20 each, just to have the pockets."
Head_Razzmatazz7174
What can hurt the most is the idea companies and people will charge you for things you need to have. It's almost as if they know you're willing to pay the price...
Awful.
History Has Funny Way Of Changing Perspectives
"Lobster. Was literally considered food for the peasants at one point in history. They used lobsters as bait on ships"
magoted
The Most Expensive Day Of Your Life
"Anything tied to a wedding"
nickp123456
"Friend of mine needed a generator for a wedding. He booked it as a "corporate event" to get cheaper hire."
"When the company arrived to setup and saw it was a wedding they demanded extra money, because it was a wedding. Same location, same generator, same rental period."
salmonlikethephish
Sipping The Last Bits Of Money Out Of The Dead
"Funerals"
Longjumping-Oil4497
"I definitely think that add-ons for funerals are sold like biggie sizing your happy meal. And the concept of memorializing a person for eternity has been sold as bare necessity. But I do know that the pomp and circumstance a lot of people need to lay somebody to rest, costs money."
"I want to see people honored in their death, but spending $5,000 on a pine box does not make sense to me"
444unsure
People Need Help? Charge Them.
"Mental health services. Blessings upon blessings to the mental health professionals who offer sliding scales."
AphelionEntity
America Gonna 'Murica
"Getting an IUD put in or taken out without insurance costs 1300. Takes 5 minutes to put in and it’s a piece of plastic."
m_hahn_solo
"Wow thats so much. I'm in Canada so having it inserted, removed, and follow up appointments are free. But I had to pay for the IUD. The first time I used the insurance from college so only paid $30. The second time I graduated and didn't have insurance so I went to planned parenthood where its cheaper and paid 230. The third time I had insurance from work and it was free. Honestly all birth control should be free."
Forever-25
Keep an eye on your wallet, since you know most of the world is keeping theirs firmly on it.
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Not everyone is going to believe what you believe. Our own experiences and values add up to make us who we are. Without them, we'd all be the same amorphous blob of consciousness covering the planet in bland beliefs. You hold something in high regard, and that might mean someone else disagrees with you.
Hold your ground, and be ready to die on that hill, kind of like these people.
Reddit user, realduckbutter, wanted to know what you will never let go of when they asked:
"What’s the smallest hill you’re willing to die on?"
What is it about this hill that makes it worthwhile to fight over? Is it something ingrained in your core or something that you can never let go?
This Is Good, Great, And Dandy
"Oxford commas are GOOD and should be EMPLOYED LIBERALLY."
CopsaLau
"I agree with this, I agree with this, and I agree with this."
ajt9104_
Squats All Day
"Nice butts are better than big butts."
Crockpot_gator_Snot
"Shape > Size"
"on that note, 99.9% of of people don’t give a damn about color imperfections or stretch marks. It’s completely irrelevant. The shape is what makes a nice butt."
"Edit: I admit that my statistic it totally made up. I made to say that MOST people don’t care."
bouchandre
Doesn't Hold Up
"KFC gravy isn't as good as it used to be."
AshySlashy902
"KFC isn't as good as it used to be. The biscuits are so hit or miss now."
SuperstitiousPigeon5
Me Am No Good With Words And Things
"It's "I couldn't care less," not "I could care less." If you could care less, you care a little!"
thedoginapound
"That’s what I’m saying!!! People make no sense sometimes"
Rebelsinblacktattoo
The workplace is somewhere you (possibly) go to every day. If there's something about it you like or don't like, don't let it go.
Proper Bathroom Ambience
"Bathrooms at the work place should all be required to play music to help drown out the sounds being made"
zerorush8
"THANK YOU. I’ve thought this for years. Just some simple elevator music. Anything."
"I’d rather hear 10 hours of Yiruma’s River Flows In You than 10 seconds of whatever is flowing out of the poor guy next to me."
jaylward
Better Be Some Money That Comes With That Title
"Don’t give me a “promotion” unless it comes with a pay raise. The only reason I would want a promotion is because I get paid more, not so I can flex my title on ppl"
traws06
"Flex that title into a raise somewhere else"
meanie_ants
So Grateful
"All companies regardless of what industry they're in do their best work and are the most consumer friendly when they're in second or third place in their industry. The 'leader' is almost never the best option."
Nayko214
"The best service and the most exciting food is at two star Michelin restaurants because they’re playing offense not defense."
gastro_gnome
"Cashiers should be allowed to sit down during their shifts, ex. Aldi. There should be no reason why they need to keep standing in place for an entire shift"
kdotismydad
"This is so f-cking American. I've never in my European life seen a cashier standing up."
PercussiveRussel
Whatever it is about these hills we're all supposedly dying, you cannot deny the fact it's super fascinating to see bodies dropping on them.
Do Any Of Us Know What We're Eating?
"When people say “it has chemicals in it”. Your mom is chemicals. Everything is chemicals."
nosmase2
"The whole "don't put it in your body if you can't pronounce it" nonsense is infuriating. An apple has things in it most people couldn't pronounce if you wrote out the chemical composition. And does my having taken organic chem and biochem classes mean I can eat things others can't?"
"Don't even get me started on the anti-GMO crap."
dude_logman
Diamond Eyeglasses? Diamond Cups? Why Stop There?
"Lab grown diamonds are real diamonds. Chemically. It’s purely marketing that makes you pay more for mined diamonds."
ScoobyTrue
"I believe you may be wrong. They are purer than mined diamonds."
"I'm looking forward to windshields made out of diamond."
ScottColvin
*tap, *tap, *tap
"Mobile gaming is better when it's simple games like Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja"
ofsquire
"Yeah I thought I wanted big impressive games on my phone but then I realized there’s no point. I’m never going to play on my phone over a console"
realduckbutter
Holding Up The Line With Your Niceness
"Pay-it-forward drive-through chains are pointless. They aren’t really helping anyone, they’re just making everything awkward."
lassie86
"Im a starbucks barista and like its a nice thing dont get me wrong, but the way our systems work things get confusing and orders or items get lost so people end up getting free but wrong orders :( it also puts the customer on the spot to make a decision to continue or not and i hate that it's so awkward. I always just say hey your order has been paid for have a great day!"
imasokas2percentmilk
It Hurts So Good
"If Q-Tips were not meant to go deep in your ear canal, then God would not have put the g-spot in there"
Virtual-Stranger
Meet lots of people, develop a set of values, then enact those values upon yourself as you engage with the world. Be the person you want to be.
Tell us how you won't let anything go in the comments below.
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