I'm in my mid-40s & I don't remember this happening so much when I was growing up. Of course there were some hardship cases (people who didn't have much money to begin with) but I don't remember hearing about thousands of dollars being spent every month until a person is left with almost nothing. How long has this been going on (5 years?10?15?) & why is it happening?
The bills from the Drs and hospitals to the insurers are indeed astronomical BUT
the amount they allow to pay are just a fraction of the bill. This does of course allow the hospitals to take a loss on their taxes. Medicare does have a limit on the procedures they are prepared to pay for so everything must be pre approved. They also have a cap on the amount they will pay per procedure.
if you are uninsured naturally you will be billed the highest amount although sometimes this can be negotiated. It is also worth trying to negotiate a price for the procedure before having it or go abroad for very expensive non urgent surgeries.
Drugs are another high cost item frequently unjustified. Remember to ask about alternatives and cheaper generics and make use of certain pharmacys that offer generics for a reasonable price. You can also order from abroad which although illegal in the US is seldom prosecuted. If there are worries about the quality of imported drugs check on the country of origin of drugs you are currently prescribed.
There are also some State programs that assist with the cost of medications for example in NYS there is EPIC and some drug companies will assist low income patients.
Finding help with the high cost of medical care takes a lot of leg work or time on the computer.
This forum is a good way to obtain information because the varied backgrounds of the members can be very helpful. Ask a question and you will be surprised at the many answers you receive. However be sure to check the information because it may just be heresy given in good faith
If you haven't already seen an Elder Care attorney who is knowledgeable in getting people "Medicaid Ready", I would strongly suggest it. The money and time I spent in speaking with an Elder Care attorney was very much worth it. She explained to me that it's the middle class who wipe out their life savings. The rich can afford to pay the astronomical costs of good health care, and long term care. The poor are already on Medicaid.
My mom went through most of her savings before I thought about seeing an Elder Care Attorney. I wish that I thought about it sooner.
Good luck, and best wishes to you. I know first hand how difficult this journey is.
There's not much truth to back in the day, regarding people not living long. I think they lived a long time, probably longer than today,Why? Not as many people around, cleaner air, more food, etc. Life expectancy went down when more people started to be around. There was an article about the construction boom in many states, which leads to more buildings and roads, less trees and dirtier air.
So I think it's a couple of things: the care being given is arguably excessive in some (many?) cases, and the billing amounts are unreasonable (imho).
We have a for-profit medical system in the U.S., and it's a huge industry.
Just some thoughts... :-)
It wasn't like this in the 1970-80s. I don't know when the expenses started to grow so rapidly. I was looking the other way, since it wasn't relevant to me.
Thank goodness in today's world we have ACA [Obamacare] where one can purchase affordable health insurance... even those who have a pre-exising condition [some couldn't get health insurance back prior to ACA].
Some people lost their life savings even having health insurance back when there use to be a maximum cap placed on the amount an insurance company would pay... with the ACA, that cap is history, no more worry.