Woman shares medical costs of Dad's treatment under US healthcare and non-Americans are appalled

Healthcare is a tricky subject in America. There's one group of people who prefer it to remain as it is, controlled by free-market forces, and there's another group that calls for free access to healthcare and they're divided along partisan lines. However, it is true that medical bills in the United States can derail your life. Research showed that about 137.1 million Americans have faced financial hardship in 2019 because of medical costs, reported MSNBC. One woman on TikTok believes it's time for a change. Brittany Alaine, a teacher, writer, and entrepreneur, spoke out about how her father's fight against cancer had put her family under immense pressure. She revealed that chemotherapy alone cost the family in the range of $1,000-$12,000 a month and struggled to fund his treatment, which included relying on GoFundMe campaigns. Many non-Americans were shocked at the costs of the healthcare system in the country. 

Brittany Alaine, who lives in Germany now, was stunned to find that the European country provided free medically necessary public healthcare that’s funded by social security contributions. It is also mandatory for German citizens to have either state or private health insurance that covers hospital and outpatient medical treatment and pregnancy. Many in Europe were shocked to learn that medical debt could pass on to family members depending on the laws of the states they lived in. As Alaine pointed out in the TikTok video, her father spent his last year worrying about the cost of treatment to stay alive and about potentially bankrupting his family. She left America to travel the world, before finally settling down in Germany. “After twenty-three countries, and a lifetime of experiences later, I now live in the countryside of Northern Germany with my husband, beagle, and a brood of chickens. It’s my goal to inspire you to figure out what you want to do in this world. Then do it!” reads a note on Brittany's website. Many non-Americans were stunned by the costs and even more so by learning that medical debt could pass onto the family in some states. One TikToker wrote, "Waiiit, you have to pay his debt?? Isn't it written off? My mum's debt is not my responsibility to pay now she's gone." Another user commented, "It still baffles me how a lot of Americans think a universal healthcare system is inferior to their for-profit system. 

The United States remains the only modern industrialized country without universal healthcare and a recent video by the New York Times capturing the reactions of foreigners reacting in shock to costs of medical care in America. “Why is it so expensive?” asked a woman from Taiwan, while a man from Findland was enraged, "It makes me so mad!” The people in the video were shown an American hospital bill, totaling over $600,000. A Japanese woman couldn't believe you need to pay to hold a baby.