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25 people share medical bills from the 20th century to demonstrate how exorbitant prices are now

Several people have taken to social media over the years to post medical bills and receipts from the past that were so inexpensive that they seem almost unbelievable now.

25 people share medical bills from the 20th century to demonstrate how exorbitant prices are now
Cover Image Source: Reddit/JwhatisBlue

The astronomical healthcare costs in the United States have a proven track record of shocking people from other countries. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, a whopping 83% of Americans, regardless of their wealth, claimed that excellent medical care has become virtually unaffordable in the country. Furthermore, according to the study, nearly half of working-age Americans, or 41%, are struggling to pay off their medical expenditures and have accrued debt over time. 

To put this into perspective, several people have taken to social media over the years to post medical bills and receipts from the past that were so inexpensive that they seem almost unbelievable now. The documents—which range from a $7.50 X-ray charge from 1950 to a $4.85 labor and delivery bill from 1947—show how costs were before they took a disastrous turn less than a century ago.

Here are 25 such medical bills from the past that seem too good to be true:

1. "This receipt for the hospital bill charged to my great grandmother when she had my grandfather in 1930, the total cost was $38."

Image Source: Reddit/jackvandenberg1530
Image Source: Reddit/jackvandenberg1530

2. "Happy 72nd Birthday Mom! Here's the $65 Minneapolis hospital bill for a week's stay."

Image Source: Reddit/Rambonics
Image Source: Reddit/Rambonics

3. "Old medical bill."

Image Source: Reddit/HarryDoyle
Image Source: Reddit/HarryDoyle

4. "The hospital bill from my dad's birth in 1955. (Note the 5-day hospital stay)."

Image Source: Reddit/hopmonger
Image Source: Reddit/hopmonger

5. "Medical bill from 1977."

Image Source: Reddit/ender-ftw
Image Source: Reddit/ender-ftw

6. "In 1948, a 2-day hospital stay cost less than 30 bucks."

Image Source: Reddit/JwhatisBlue
Image Source: Reddit/JwhatisBlue

7. "I found this hospital bill sent to my great-aunt for the birth of her child in 1939 (US)."

Image Source: Reddit/collectorguy92
Image Source: Reddit/collectorguy92

8. "This medical bill from 1914 for $13.87."

Image Source: Reddit/Jeza26
Image Source: Reddit/Jeza26

9. "My Great Grandma's medical bill from 1950."

Image Source: Reddit/u/Kytothelee
Image Source: Reddit/Kytothelee

10. "The Hospital Bill for my birth on 1-18-1958. Note the insurance info is in red."

Image Source: Reddit/theFoot58
Image Source: Reddit/theFoot58

11. "Hospital bill from my grandpa's birth circa 1929."

Image Source: Reddit/TickleMonster528
Image Source: Reddit/TickleMonster528

12. "My grandma's 1951 hospital bill for maternity services. Grand total for one live infant birth - $50."

Image Source: Reddit/Baphomet_Barbie
Image Source: Reddit/Baphomet_Barbie

13. "Hospital bill from when my Grandpa blew up a stump with homemade TNT and lost his eye."

Image Source: Reddit/WudButton
Image Source: Reddit/WudButton

14. "This 1933 hospital bill for a 7-day hospital stay and delivery."

Image Source: Reddit/msyodajenkins1
Image Source: Reddit/msyodajenkins1

15. "My grandma’s hospital bill after giving birth to my dad in 1955."

Image Source: Reddit/VirgoQueen918
Image Source: Reddit/VirgoQueen918

16. "My medical school professor showed me this bill from his birth in 1955 (in the United States)."

Image Source: Reddit/BinaryPeach
Image Source: Reddit/BinaryPeach

17. "The total cost for my birth in 1971 in Virginia... $350.25"

Image Source: Reddit/B-b-bacon
Image Source: Reddit/B-b-bacon

18. "My grandmama just passed away and we found the hospital bill of when she had my aunt in 1957. Insurance paid $100 so they ended up paying $2.95 for having a baby."

Image Source: Reddit/squidnezy
Image Source: Reddit/squidnezy

19. "1948 hospital bill."

Image Source: Reddit/ImgurBot5000
Image Source: Reddit/ImgurBot5000

20. "Here's the bill for the birth of my dad back in 1947 in rural Wisconsin (Mondovi, WI, just outside of Eau Claire). 10 days in the hospital seems fairly normal for back then."

Image Source: Reddit/Scurrah
Image Source: Reddit/Scurrah

21. "Grandpa's hospital bill from 1944."

Image Source: Reddit/PatrickMetsker
Image Source: Reddit/PatrickMetsker

22. "1947 hospital bill found out my parents' attic. Not sure who it's for."

Image Source: Reddit/Old97sFan
Image Source: Reddit/Old97sFan

23. "Hospital bill I found in the garbage at work. From the 1940s."

Image Source: Reddit/__WellWellWell__
Image Source: Reddit/__WellWellWell__

24. "How much it cost to be born in 1946."

Image Source: Reddit/Stau0237
Image Source: Reddit/Stau0237

25. "Hospital bill from 1939."

Image Source: Reddit/roosterrugburn
Image Source: Reddit/roosterrugburn

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