Woman stunned by $77,000 bill after first round of chemo, says she's embarrassed by US healthcare system

The American healthcare system has received serious criticism in the past few years for being costly. People often voice their complaints online, remarking how they cannot access certain health benefits and facilities despite living in the country. Even though many continue to advocate for improvements to the fractured healthcare system in the country, much remains unchanged. On Reddit, u/unstoppableladyE shed some light on the current state of the American healthcare system, sparking concern among people. 

The woman revealed through her post that she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. To stay alive, she is required to undergo chemotherapy sessions every week. However, after she received her bill from the cancer specialty hospital, the woman was left stunned. She shared a picture of her medical bill with the community and broke down her medical expenses: "The breakdown is as follows: $1075 for the doctor visit, $47 for admin fees, $3693 to rent the chemo chair for an hour, and $77,628 for the drug. Luckily, my insurance through the military will cover this," she wrote.

However, the woman expressed her worry for her friends and other people who do not have the privilege of getting insurance. As a result, most of them end up drowning in exorbitant medical debt. "Our healthcare system is embarrassing and our country is disgraceful. Universal healthcare now!" she concluded. This post sparked a serious debate among fellow Reddit users who shared their own struggles of dealing with various health hassles and their inability to afford adequate healthcare.

u/Hirsuitism explained, "This is not the price that insurance pays. Hospital billing is a ridiculous system. Hospitals have a master charge list where they list prices for everything, but it's not what they actually get paid. The hospitals put a meaningless number on their charge list, let's say XYZ surgery costs $100,000. In reality, when each hospital system contracts with insurance, they have a completely different price that's assigned, which is a fraction of the charge price, so insurance might end up paying $15,000."

u/Yellowhammer199 shared, "I'm so sorry you have this added stress on top of being ill. I'm in the UK and have 2 friends recently diagnosed with cancer. They are both so stressed but receiving very prompt care from the NHS."

u/PhillyTBfan14 mentioned, "And this is why the powers that be aren't too keen on finding cures despite billions of dollars going towards research. Treatments are far more lucrative than prevention or cures. Wealth before health." u/Ok_Raisin3680 quipped, "That is ridiculous! I was in the ICU and it cost $853 for every half hour. The total bill was very high." u/Glad-Car2496 added, "My niece's best friend has cancer and I don’t know what kind but she’s like 8. Her parents have been to so many places so many hospitals done so many treatments and most of them didn't even work. I can’t even begin to understand how much it costs for them to try to keep their child alive. The US healthcare system is absolute trash."