If Healthcare Was Honest | Honest Ads

What if hospitals and health insurance companies like UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and others were actually honest about how horrifically terrible they are? Roger Horton investigates.
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SOURCES:
www.health.harvard.edu/blog/i...
www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a...
www.forbes.com/sites/joshuaco...
www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...
time.com/5785945/health-care-...
www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/he...
www.vox.com/2014/9/2/6089693/...
www.ibj.com/articles/surprise...
www.asahq.org/advocating-for-...
www.investopedia.com/articles...
www.commonwealthfund.org/publ...
www.marketplace.org/2017/06/2...
familydoctor.org/health-insur...
www.detroitnews.com/story/opi...
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia....
www.kff.org/health-costs/pres...
www.ushealthgroup.com/2021/04...
CAST:
Roger Horton: Jack Hunter
Insurance Goblin: Darnell Eaton
Artist: Anna Huntley
Writer: Cezary Jan Strusiewicz
Director: Jordan Breeding
Director of Photography: Dave Brown
Editor: Jordan Breeding
Sound: Billy Bacci
Production Assistant: Ruda Yi
Gaffer: Jake Pulliam
Shot at Bridge Studio in Richmond, Virginia
Cezary's Twitter: / ostrichson
Jordan’s Twitter: / the_j_breeding
Jordan’s Website: www.drjordanbreeding.com/
Dave’s Instagram: / deforestbrown
Anna Huntley: IG - @anotherhuntley / TikTok - @itsannahuntley
00:00 - If Healthcare Was Honest
00:39 - The Insurance Goblin!
04:32 - My Ear!
#insurance #healthcare #healthinsurance

[@patriciaoconnor402]

I nearly died in 1997. After a lengthy hospital stay, my doctor wanted me to be on a certain medication. At one of my follow up appointments, I told the doctor I couldn't take that medication because my insurance refused to cover it. She got on the phone with my insurance company right there in the room where I was having my appointment. What followed was a 20 minute argument as she tried to explain how important the medication was. Finally, my doctor said, "This patient will die without this medication. " did the insurance agree to cover it? Nope. My doctor was so angry she hung up on them. She told me to wait there. I sat there for almost 30 minutes. When the doctor came back she had a ton of free sample packets of the medication I needed. This doctor had gone through their entire building to take every free sample she could find. She continued to do that for the duration of me needing that drug.

[@a.d.c.3553]

Now THAT'S a Doctor. Glad you were in her care.

[@heathers432]

What an amazing doctor! We need more of her.

[@philochristos]

There are some good doctors out there.

[@aerobiesizer3968]

Just imagine how much better everything would be if we just had more people like her in the medical industry. That's just amazing!

[@philochristos]

@@aerobiesizer3968 Then there wouldn't be any free samples left.

[@SophisticatedBob]

Former Hospital Admin here: Everything here is totally true. It isn't complete of course, it is much worse.

[@paulallen579]

As a Swede, I wonder what parts did they leave out that are really bad?

[@NEOgeek402]

@@paulallen579 Every on in the industry is evil. Theres no point to anything anymore nothings getting better. its all only getting worse. Bring WW3 please

[@zachstarattack7320]

​@@paulallen579seeing as its american, probably yes

[@chiisuigintou]

Gosh, UK is like even bad against Belgium. I mean, when my mum had breast cancer and was in the hospital, just about any complain, like a headache, or anything, resulted in getting scheduled 4 a entire battery of tests and scans. She didn't had to pay these crazy amounts of money. Most of it was payed by the mutuality. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKG0oIudfdFgmaM&feature=share8

[@GILLIGFAN]

@@paulallen579 You don’t wanna know

[@hyperian_one]

Being a physician in the US, as well as a lobbyist for a physician group in Washington, DC, I can assure you everything in this video is accurate. And as the former hospital administrator said, in reality it's much worse. Trying to fight the Swamp and improve healthcare in America is incredibly difficult. Bringing more public attention to this, as frequently as possible, is supremely important. Please make more of these superb videos.

[@mayganphynix8267]

Thank you for this comment and for doing what you do. ❤ it really is disturbing how the health care system in the US works.

[@deydraniadiancecht8298]

Yep. I'm a biomedical electronics tech. It costs nothing to run the equipment. Everytime they fire up an expensive medical machine, it costs nothing. It's just something plugged into the wall. It's my job to maintain and repair those machines.

[@bigcedarranch]

What are your thioughts on RFK Jr.??

[@immortalfrieza]

This is what happens when a vital service is controlled by private interests who couldn't care less about actually providing the service but only about making as much money as possible.

[@hyperian_one]

@@immortalfrieza this is also what happens when big government interferes in healthcare and gets paid off by the private interests. Both providing awful service for maximal profit. Neither should be involved in ways that allow this to happen.

[@ReaIHuman]

The insurance goblin, the best representation of the American health system.

[@user-vw4ui5gz6b]

What system?? It's the lack of a system... You guys let greed rule in the name of freedom... Thank God I live in "communist' Europe where the government is involved in regulating some prices. It's imperfect but at least I'm not going bankrupt.😊

[@user-vw4ui5gz6b]

Good luck with your 'free market'.

[@allannakhle8555]

Some random Swede here, dont feel to bad about your healthcare in USA, ours in my country does not even work, is understaffed and under equipped, we of course like to brag to the international stage over our fabled " free " ( not free) healthcare for "all" citizens but that is nothing but pure old school propaganda and the world falls for it all the time.

[@user-vw4ui5gz6b]

@@allannakhle8555 I heard different stories from friends from Uppsala and Göteborg. However: the shortage of staff and cutbacks are a reality and are a general problem in the aeging western society. So it is wise to have a look at efficiency. While the level of health care is mostly the same, the expenditure per capita is not: my country (Holland)=$6190 in 2021. Sweden=$6262 in 2021. USA=$12318 in 2021. It would also be very interesting to examine how much of the approximately 3 year avg life expectancy is due to better health care in Holland and especially Sweden.

[@allannakhle8555]

@@user-vw4ui5gz6b Yeah, well I mean depending on what you need treatment for it differs from place to place, but generally the healthcare here barley works, I cant speak for somatic illnesses as I have none, but I do have BPD and for 7 years now still I have not gotten any treatment despite BPD having the highest death rate of all psychiatric conditions. I served in Ukraine for 3 months 2022 and there despite the war the healthcare works, if you needed treatment or therapy you would get it, also of course for free. And I come home to peaceful sweden and for over 1 year since still nothing has changed. If Ukraine can manage I really dont understand why my country cant. makes no sense

[@Briaaanz]

I was working in ER. Patient came in with cardiac issues. Her insurance plan let her choose which hospital she could go to (no 'out of network', but her insurance did have certain providers that were 'in network' for their other plans). Patient chose our facility cause we are best ranked cardiology in the state. She was going to be admitted. Her insurance company refused, wanting her transferred to one of their 'preferred' facilities. Patient didn't want to be transferred. Insurance company had a representative with a high school diploma arguing with charge nurse, ER physician and Cardiologist and insisting patient be sent to different facility. Finally, cardiologist said, "Fine. We will transfer her, just be aware that we will be sending her via Emergency Helicopter and that will likely cost more than stay and treatment at either hospital". Patient stayed at our facility. Your healthcare insurance protecting your health folks.

[@ozeald.7586]

That's the best story i've read all day!

[@michaeld4861]

Yeah, it's insane. The people denying your treatment and claims are purposely undertrained and don't have contact with other departments so that way nobody knows what's going on and it's impossible to get any answers.

[@JG-xm8jy]

Capitalism at it's finest

[@ceesno9955]

Love that transport by helicopter.

[@MA1NMANMA1N1AC]

@J G it's better than higher taxes though.

[@puravida5683]

I am a U.S. expat, now living in Costa Rica, as a permanent resident. As a resident, I am enrolled in the national healthcare program. It costs me $40.00 a month, no co-pay. This covers doctor visits, exams, meds, labs, surgeries, ambulances, dental, and soon Medical Marijuana etc. Amazing, Costa Rica, about the size of West Virginia, provides affordable healthcare to citizens and residents!

[@bogdan78pop]

Because, according to all of the Republicans, it's a socialist/communist country/ ...very ,very, very bad ,bad ,bad...!!!

[@dannydaw59]

Are there enough specialists there?

[@puravida5683]

@@dannydaw59 Absolutely. Many had their schooling and residencies in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Medical care is not for profit, as it is in the U.S., Doctors sincerely care, and even make house calls.

[@jacobawojtowicz]

I plan to retire there in 5-7 years, how do you like it? Also, did you say free weed? 🤣

[@marcburns508]

@@puravida5683 Whats the motivation for the doctors? I imagine they would still have to pay them decently. And if there schooled here, then why not stay here and make more? Is their schooling paid for, and in return they work a number of years?

[@PraiseTheFSMonster]

I went to the ER once, signed in, then left after several hours of sitting in the waiting room not being seen by anyone. They sent me an ER bill a week later for $500.

[@yds6268]

I hope you're not going to pay it

[@backspace4353]

Just $500.00???

[@PraiseTheFSMonster]

@@backspace4353 I guess they couldn't figure out how to charge me more when all I did was sign my name

[@Steven-xf8mz]

very little, I ended up having a bill of $1500, physicians + hospital combined. it depends on what was done and stuff, and also where you at on your deductible. In my case, they couldn't find out what was wrong with me, claiming i have chicken pox 2nd time in my life, and sent me to a dermatologist where I paid another $300. lol. It's bad and good. Good is that it sure max out my deductible quickly. Bad is that I have to pay for it. Good is that US doctors and Nurses are often well paid, check UK and Canada avg nurse and doc pay, outrageously low compare to the US. Free market is good but also has its greed, no system is perfect, the issue is who ends up paying more than what they should, and who gets paid more than what they should.

[@PraiseTheFSMonster]

@@Steven-xf8mz The point was that the only thing I did was sign in. I didn't step foot past the waiting room and not a single person spoke to me.

[@richgerow3472]

Last summer, a periodontist looked at an abnormal growth in my mouth and told me that I should have a biopsy performed on it to see if it was malignant. While sitting down with the billing rep afterward, they informed me that my insurance company declined to cover any of the treatment, leaving me to pay the entire $1,000 on my own. That wasn't possible since the price of my utilities had almost doubled, and my apartment had raised the price of rent by about $2,000 annually in the past year. Not to mention, the cost of living in general has exploded while my wages haven't even come close to keeping up. I called my insurance company to see why the hell they wouldn't cover it, and they said, "Your biopsy has been deemed as not medically necessary by our medical-inquires team." The insurance company deemed that a procedure to see whether or not I HAD CANCER was not medically necessary. Luckily, the growth shrank and went away on its own, but it just goes to show you that insurance companies are pure scum; profits over people every time.

[@DemonicAdj]

You gotta bluntly say to them "it's about cancer. I'll be worth a lot more money to you alive than dead." But they don't see long-term. See, if they let you get old, you'll pretty much need 1-7 pills every day for the rest of your life.

[@Jj-bh1tv]

"Luckily, the growth shrank and went away on its own"----Sounds like the insurance company was right🤪

[@theplayersclub1126]

yep....I hate them as well

[@kingrobotnik6950]

@@Jj-bh1tvpray you never have to experience that same level of anxiety child…

[@Elyseon]

​@@kingrobotnik6950I pray they do. Would quickly change their tune.

[@diyeana]

I love how they didn't even try to make the insurance goblin's makeup look good, just good enough. It's perfect. 🤣

[@DiafolEternal]

Most of it is now on the money lol

[@davcar72]

I was about to disagree with you because Cracked has done so much better with their effects. However I'm convinced that the horrible makeup effect was only used to direct the focus to "Roger" and his message. Roger Horton is Cracked's most valuable asset now, IMHO. We love you Jack! You deserve more exposure.

[@maxbedo9645]

creepy

[@closethockeyfan5284]

They have a $20 budget per episode, if you'll recall😉

[@cooperminion825]

He looks like a mix between Yoda and The Grinch lol

[@joemerkel20]

This would be scary if I hadn’t witnessed it first hand. I was charged $180 for “a warm blanket” on a bill.

[@luvbeinghiswife1148]

I was charged $34 for aspirin.

[@graysonwagner1855]

Mucus recovery system $8.00.... box of tissues (small)

[@bigsprucerabbitry6238]

Did the actually call it a warm blanket or body heat holder? I know tissues are called cough suppressants.

[@elainepeters8771]

My 13 year old brother was charged for a newborn diaper...when my mom inquired it was because it was in his room...they put a newborn diaper in a teenager's room just so he could be charged for it 🙄

[@rudra62]

My *brother* had a ~$20K charge on his bill for gallbladder surgery, only explained with a numerical code. I looked up that code - it was for a *Labor and Delivery Room* service. WTF? If my brother had been pregnant, it would have been headline news throughout the world. I had him dispute that charge, along with the charge for the overnight stay in a private room. Hey, I took him to the hospital early in the morning and brought him home in the late afternoon. No overnight stay.

[@waynebynet]

It is known that US health insurance is one of the worst in the world. Not only you pay(or your employer) 3-10 times more than in other developed countries but you also get very little in return. Every hospital visit becomes nightmare.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

True. Just look at insulin prices in US and Turkey. Its a straight up scam.

[@devrimyilmaz9044]

​@@alexturnbackthearmy190750 times less expensive... Just wow.

[@alvarorubiodomech8327]

And the services is not much better than average public healthcare of other countries, lots of unnecessary burocracy just to justify scamming you

[@m136dalie]

Someone posted a video of their mother's medical bill at the emergency department. A single ECG (or EKG in the USA) cost over $5k! Which is more than the cost of the actual machine! Absolutely insane. Yet some Americans still defend their system for some reason, that's the most shocking part.

[@WillinggToFail]

Yeah, I don't get it, either, and I live here. Those of us who know are pissed, but there isn't much the mundanes can do about it.

[@righthandstep5]

The Americanschool are set in their ways! Entitled brats! All 340 million of them!

[@aprilgeneric8027]

the ones who can pay, pay for the millions who can't

[@josephwilliams6586]

The problem here is that if we went with government healthcare, prices would probably go up even higher. Look at the US higher education system. As soon as government loans got involved, prices went to the moon. Our politicians are so corrupt, they don't care how much the tax payer pays for anything as long as they get their cut. When the US govt becomes financially responsible for something, it goes into a black box were they do pretty much what they want with little public oversight. I firmly believe the market is the only thing that can fix our problems. The issue is that the insurance and healthcare markets are highly restricted by the Fed and state govts. Hospitals are allowed to create massive monopolies under the fake guise of "nonprofit" and states heavily restrict insurance competition. No competition and highly selective govt regulations that benefit the monopolies have destroyed our healthcare system. That's why even the mention of government completely taking over makes people cringe.

[@m136dalie]

@@josephwilliams6586 If that's true, how do you explain the fact that the USA has the most expensive healthcare in the world? Meanwhile countries with mostly public run hospitals like France & Australia have significantly cheaper healthcare.

[@hexenwulfen]

As a former employee of a major insurance company I can verify the accuracy of this video especially the insurance goblin.

[@JetstreamGW]

Does the goblin bite?

[@dominakus]

What was it like working for the Legion of Doom? Did you leave because you're a human person with a moral compass?

[@hexenwulfen]

@@dominakus it was 3 years of hell.

[@Lonovavir]

Were we coworkers? I left because I got sick (pun intended) of being yelled at instead of the bureaucrats denying people health care. It's better to flip burgers at McDonald's.

[@nobody7817]

@@JetstreamGW Depends? Do you want it to? If so... no.

[@winterx2348]

I have a chronic illness so I have to live and breathe this shit. All of this is sadly 100% true. Recently there has been a major shift in clinics in my area no longer accepting insurance anymore because just the cost of doing the massive amount of paperwork and admin duties alone cuts into their bottom line so much that they lose more money than they gain from the arrangement. This means I pay out of pocket for the few specialists I can trust for my rare condition while ALSO paying up the ass for insurance because I always end up in the ER a couple times a year, all so i can pay 1k a visit instead of 3k a visit. I live in actual hell.

[@seyedamirhooshangdehnadi3035]

It pains me to read this. I hope things will get better soon. Take care, friend.

[@supersaiyaman11589]

@@greatestever8976 i injured my back and for i day and a night maybe 2 days they sent a bill of 15 thousand dollars.

[@Truthshouldalwaysbetold]

@@greatestever8976 This, people do not understand how little they really need to see a doctor or rely on these drugs. I have severe hemophilia was born with it. Have been bleeding to death multiple times. Grew up most of my life with a new body part dysfunctional everyday due to internal bleeding. My medication alone costs around $1,000,000 a year. They just released a new gene therapy option for 3.5 million an injection. It is insane. They had the blood scandal of the 80s that infected thousands of us as well. After a DMT experience, I started eating better and watching what went into my body. I became more connected with my body. My body feels better at 37 than it ever has and I have not seen a doctor or had any medicine in a year now. I used to carry the medicine with me everywhere and I don’t even care about it anymore. Life is so much better when we embrace our own power and stop relying on rich idiots to do everything for us.

[@greatestever8976]

@@supersaiyaman11589 that's highway robbery! I hope your back is better! I've had back problems and back pain all my life. Found out from our mom (who disowned us as teens) that the hospital did a spinal tap on me at birth (but not my twin sister) against her wishes. She knew because she saw the mark on my back. I would love to sue them for all the pain & suffering I've had to endure but the whole system is corrupt.

[@winterx2348]

@@greatestever8976 I'm glad to hear you found a lifestyle that works best for you. Unfortunately my issues aren't really something I can change myself, though not without a lack of trying. One of my organs is failing and naturopaths can only do so much about that.

[@quipsilvervr]

I have a few friends who live over in America and when they told me about how much they've had to pay/ go into debt because of, etc due to Medical bills, I became sharply aware that if I lived there, I would be dead, or bankrupt and homeless. It's literally crime that the Government allows, and that's not even hyperbole. I found the information completely horrifying, and I don't horrify easily.

[@lucialuciferion6720]

It's beginning to make me want to move back to Europe asap, never mind the legalized theft that's property taxes and HOA fees.

[@PsiCorps85]

What's fun too was working in a hospital laundry sweatshop for the last three years, and after briefly promoted to scale operator (after most of the three years spent doing mindless work sorting biohazardous garbage and unclogging barely functional machines) I got demoted back to the mindless makework when I mentioned about how the soiled side crew were habitually moving unwashed carts over to "clean" side -- which then got refilled with "clean" linen, the sheets often having actual turds in them and always getting the sweat and grime of the laborers in the oven of the production floor, and that crap gets shipped back to hospitals in the biohazardous unwashed carts. So, it's a gamble as to how many people get exposed to whatever diseases the patients had, and everyone is sick half the time there too and sick days aren't a real thing in practice. -_-

[@konanamegakure4342]

"I got demoted back to the mindless makework when I mentioned " yeah i had something similar except different industry and i had to leave company after lol. I learnt to keep my mouth closed. Its absolutely cooked and not right.

[@terrymanning8064]

When a company gives a crap about their work..again and again and again 🤢🦠🦠🦠

[@ShizaruBloodrayne]

Then you are a living witness to the corrupt system that favors convenience of paycheck over the progression of thought. Your own progression of thought is a threat to their paycheck so they cut your power and influence in order to keep their own consistency. That's messed up.

[@drift3rkid66]

Geezus!! Has it always been that bad, or within the last 20 years or so...?

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

@@drift3rkid66 Of course it was always that way. You just dont saw what things were passed along in past as "What could go wrong?" like overpressuring extremely toxic and radioactive container, mass testing of drugs proven to be dangerous after first animals tests, replacing medical-garde silicon with homemade one... Its not some 18th or 19th century, it all happen relatively recent. Some of this stuff is still going on in 21st century and some wait to be in centre of attention for a week or two right now.

[@LordZombitten]

I'd laugh if I weren't so busy sobbing

[@nismo2070]

Our health care system is so very broken. My wife has been dealing with stage 4 cancer for the last 2 years. The ridiculous charges and surprise bills are disgusting. Trying to get an idea of how much something will cost beforehand is almost impossible. We are right around 500k in medical debt right now and still adding to it.

[@falx94]

This makes me so sad to hear and it makes me angry that I'm not even surprised to hear it because it's so common. I hope everything works out for you guys somehow.

[@thewhitewolf58]

You dont sound very patriotic. Maybe you should movr to africa is your so desperate to be europian. The wolf stands over the sun to glance at the cheese. Yes i know that was too DEEP for you to understand.

[@praddumnvats6759]

As a doctor i feel sad for cancer pts ....these middlemen evil insurance companies are making a fool of both sides.

[@gnnascarfan2410]

It makes my blood boil to read stories like this.

[@thewhitewolf58]

@@gnnascarfan2410 it makes my blood boil see communists try to destroy the free market for self centered reasons.

[@floydb5668]

We have so many problems in the US. I guess as long as a few billionaires keep getting richer by the hour I guess it’s ok 🤨

[@sophiamarchildon3998]

It's like that almost everywhere. 'Murica just excels at it because "mah fweedomm!"

[@floydb5668]

@@sophiamarchildon3998 is that the right wing battle cry in Australia? 😂

[@csnide6702]

now you understand.

[@theyearwas1473]

If the pandemic has taught people who paid attention to anything, it's that there is an absolutely ridiculous divided between the lower and upper in America. That's between the lower in the middle class is unbelievable

[@donnavorce8856]

They agree with you. It's ok! Thanks for helping me have enough resources for 500 lifetimes. Stuff I'll never even use in my short time alive. But hey, he who dies with the most toys wins right?

[@KCStill]

My mother-in-law lived with us for the last few years of her life. After she passed, we kept receiving bills in her name from the hospital and nursing services asking for money. We finally got most of her bills cleared by sending the debt holders her death certificate, but one actually sent us (my wife and I) a bill for consultation and account closing fees. It's a crazy world we live in.

[@thundergato84]

My father owed over $1 million in medical bills. I sent the death certificate, and they stopped harassing us.

[@kathleencove]

John Q had the right idea… Screw these billing departments and the greedy people who own these hospitals .

[@devinbyam644]

The insurance Goblin is our friend. The insurance Goblin makes sure we are healthy and free. All hail the insurance Goblin.

[@cracked]

All hail

[@E121C1C]

All hail

[@Neo1708.]

Tell me, friend, do you have a cold metallic feeling on one side of your head? Is the goblin making you say that? Nod if you need help!

[@chinemeremohaeri9100]

@@Neo1708. Nod. This is my new account. He keeps making me create more. I'm in literal hell, paying 3k instead of 1k.

[@availanila]

The Insurance Goblin is good. All hail!

[@cracked]

Hey by the way, don't take this video as, like, scholastic literature. We intentionally sacrificed some clarity for jokes and time, so I'd encourage everybody to check our actual sources in the description and read up on all this stuff on your own!

[@jasoncrisman7915]

Too late, I've already cited it on 30 different papers.

[@cracked]

@@jasoncrisman7915 OH NO!

[@thetrumpnewsnetwork7503]

you need to buy a better camera

[@cracked]

@@thetrumpnewsnetwork7503 It's a Red

[@irighterotica]

I think I'll pass and just settle for the jokes, thank you. I already know more about this topic than I want to. 😔 I blame Bernie Sanders.

[@xinaesthetic]

I live in the UK and the prospect of the Tories letting the NHS die and be replaced by something more like the US system is pretty scary.

[@Levittchen4G]

fascism on the rise, baby

[@FallenPhoenix86]

Just as well the Tories are going to be facing extinction at the next GE, sadly I don't have much faith in Labour unpicking the damage they had already inflicted over the last 13 years.

[@TheJbsportstech]

Do some research more privatisation happened under Blair’s lots labour went mad

[@RayneSaltair]

I got bit by a cat, my hand was swelling up despite getting oral antibiotics at the ER the night before. They told me if I got pus or swelling come back. I did so. Spent 3 days on iv drips. My insurance company denied the claim because I wasn't in a shaky condition. So basically they wanted me to be about to die before I went to the ER. Sorry but I didn't think waiting for a red line to be on it's way up my arm, was a good idea.

[@wrathofainz]

That's how it is with abortions now in some places. You can't get medical treatment unless you are literally about to die, even if the fetus isn't viable or is already dead and rotting.

[@Robin-ou1gg]

So what happened, did they pay in the end?

[@deeluve22]

There are many "Why do we allow this" examples in the US. But our Health Insurance industry has to be the quintessential "Why Do we allow this" example to top them all.

[@o0o-jd-o0o95]

It's not that we allow it because there's nothing we can do about it. they have the money to buy off government officials to keep that business going the way it is.... it doesn't matter who we put in office. And if by chance the people find somebody that can't be bought off.... they'll be ran off then. Sometimes I'm really on the fence on the who's worse North Korea or us I mean at least North Korea is open about how brutal they are. I think we're worse because we're deceivingly doing it with a smile. If you think North Korea is good at propaganda? we put them to shame

[@qchtohere8636]

Because COMMUNISM!!!

[@nilus2k]

It turns out that what really runs our government is money and insurance companies make so much that they just give it away to politicians to keep all of this exactly as it is.

[@alwaleedalnafia4558]

Pharma too. Not being able to negotiate prices is insane. Insulin for 450$ is absurd

[@kirdot2011]

Especially since I've heard it actually costs like 60cents per dose

[@Jamick98Geass]

These videos always make me angry. They’re supposed to be fun goofy satire, but then they hit so close to home and are so accurate that it makes me ache.

[@cracked]

Sorry!

[@zertun2380]

Comedy has been one medium to spread awareness for years now. Look up some of George carlin stand ups. Reason for that they do not get censored since its satire allowing comedians to be voice of reason under disguise of comedy.

[@Jamick98Geass]

@@zertun2380 If it wasn’t clear, my comment was a joke. I really like this video series.

[@zertun2380]

@@Jamick98Geass I know I was just making a comment on why XD for other who read the comment

[@Fuzznator]

@@zertun2380 yes it’s like the Middle Ages, only the jesters can make fun of the kings and also anger is the right response to being fucked

[@adamkral8110]

I didn’t know about the WWII salary cap issue. Funny how the government has no problem capping salaries, but has no ability to cap medical costs.

[@richgerow3472]

Whatever makes their coporate donors richer!

[@arcadion448]

They do have the ability, but thanks to Ronald Regan fearmongering about Socialized Healthcare, Affordable Insulin Now Act which would've capped the cost of insulin is being blocked in the Senate.

[@republicofvegans712]

​@@arcadion448I thought he was a good president

[@arcadion448]

@@republicofvegans712 - Regan and all GOP President's biggest failure is either the national debt, healthcare, or the exploding defense budget.

[@GRosa250]

I had a prescription filled at Walgreens for a generic medication and the paperwork said the retail price was $529 and my insurance saved me $519 (my copay is $10). I looked up the medicine on GoodRX and it said it was $19 at Walgreens for the exact medication and amount. So my insurance saved me a whopping $9.00

[@kathleencove]

It’s amazing the lies they get away with. If any other industry besides healthcare, housing, and college education did this, we’d be sending their executives to jail. Imagine a sock store trying to claim socks cost 25 times the market value, and then give you a “massive discount” of only $9 off the market value, or worse, actually charge you higher than the market value, and then claim you’re still getting a “huge discount” based on their made up prices. Or imagine if a light bulb manufacturer did this. Or if a carrot farmer did this. Or a dairy farm. Or if Dell tried to sell computers this way. People would pitch a fit and wouldn’t tolerate it, would buy from someone else. But somehow we allowed health care, housing, and education to get so bad that there IS no “somewhere else” within our country if you’re buying anywhere off the official legal and commercially regulated market. It’s all monopolized and price gouged. And we’re all lied to about how much these things should actually cost.

[@kimlandefeld3005]

Yes, but they made their effort look GOOD. We can all 'seal clap' for THEM. Idiots all. We need to take back our control over our health. Our government is inept, we can force the insurance companies to fold. They have made BILLIONS off of us for doing NOTHING. We should all get the 'discount'. We should all be able to see the prices we are charged, BEFORE we get the bill. I have a lifelong friend whose husband fell and they went to the ER and it was recommended to get a CAT scan. They asked the price. They were told $3,000.00. The bill came and it was TWICE that. They get to charge whatever they want, and then send patients to collections if they don't pony up what they want. It's extortion.

[@SS-rf1ri]

​@@kathleencovethere's one major difference, people literally cannot choose to opt out of healthcare, or else they die.

[@kathleencove]

@@SS-rf1ri I mean you try living without clothes or food. Those are basic needs too for survival. But we have a system in place for at least trying to make that more affordable for people desperately in need. Healthcare and housing and education are a scam in ways that other basic needs aren’t, and we wouldn’t tolerate it without flipping this country upside down to make it change if it were any of those basic needs. But for some reason, we’ve tolerated a terrible housing, health care, and education system for many decades now… that’s my point. Something’s gotta give.

[@raggedcritical]

As an Australian, the most terrifying thing I heard a politician say was when the then-Health Minister said that he "admired" the US health care system. Happily those clowns got thrown out of power during the last election.

[@thhseeking]

I read years ago that when he was negotiating the trade agreement with the U.S. Johnny "Brown-nose" Howard was being pressured by the U.S. to scrap the PBS. He didn't, because he knew that it would have been political suicide.

[@rickosborne6521]

yeah there is definitely nothing about our healthcare system that is admirable. It's an absolute joke

[@sotch2271]

If an election ever changed anything

[@raggedcritical]

​@@sotch2271 Or to paraphrase: "elections don't change anything so don't vote, person watching a video about how shitty corporate-dominated healthcare is and so is probably not going to vote conservative ever if they do vote."

[@Ogrematic]

Yeah, but you can't own guns. Fuck that.

[@hezigler]

"We have the best government money can buy." Mark Twain

[@Tryo707]

I once had to stay in a hospital overnight, and I take daily meds. Hospital refused to let me bring mine with me and said their pharmacy would provide them. A 360ct bottle costs me $4 every month. This hospital billed my insurance $55 for two pills, and then never even gave me the damn pills!! I had to wait until I left, and I told the insurance all of this and much more yet they still paid over $15k for less than a 24-hour stay. I've also had a 3 day stay and surgery exceed $300k. Oh and I've been billed for other people calling an ambulance, even though I never got in it and refused service. Every aspect of our system has someone trying to squeeze another. Healthcare should not be capitalized.

[@SegaDisneyUniverse]

This is why I haven't stepped foot into a doctor's office in over a decade, I just research my health conditions and figure it out on my own. And this is why I stopped playing intense sports because all it takes is breaking a finger and I'll end up paying back debt for the rest of my life. Heck I don't even have dental care, guess I'll just let my teeth fall out because I can't afford all the work that needs to be done.🙃

[@pyroblade452]

Heads up, raw garlic (not in the jars) have strong antimicrobial and anti inflammatory properties. For mouth abcesses,Get a single clove and crush it. Chew it a bit and let it sit on the affected area. It's going to burn like hell, but doing that twice a day, saved me from several dentist visits. One of them was getting pretty bad, but it still worked like magic! Haven't been to a dentist since I was 8, I turn 29 in a couple months. There is plenty wrong, several cavities, a cracked tooth. I will eventually have to go to a doctor, but I'll see what happens until then...

[@SegaDisneyUniverse]

@@pyroblade452 Oh wow, never knew that. I may have to try that sometime! Thanks for the tip!✌️

[@Gingerfrost]

​@@gorgthesalty similar vote I had a root canal at 15 my Parents couldn't afford the cap and I was a stupid teenager. Who never thought to get it added on. All that in-between present day from then I was busy running around with college and college bills. Over that time it's the largest cavity I have that could've easily been spreading inside the jaw bone to other teeth.

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

" Heck I don't even have dental care, guess I'll just let my teeth fall out because I can't afford all the work that needs to be done." My boyfriend has dental through his job, but it still costs him so much out of pocket that he can't afford to use it unless he needs a tooth pulled, and even than costs damn near $300. His plan is to eventually get them all pulled over time and get dentures instead, because it'll be cheaper in the long run than routine dentist appointments to maintain his natural teeth. I don't blame him, because they're already in bad shape due to extreme poverty growing up. Even if he could afford routine dental care, there's not much they can do for him except... pull the damn things.

[@Veldazandtea]

@@SegaDisneyUniverse Can confirm garlic is good for health. Warm baths too. Keep in mind cleaner people get more sick. Prevents building up immune system due to exposure. Though do stay warm. Better for heatlh.

[@alwaleedalnafia4558]

Man, when I started medical school I wanted to move and work in the US, but in 3 months I learned more about the system and there is no way in hell I'm doing that. I can't believe 7 years later nothing has changed. Not being able to treat patients to the best of your ability due to a insurance BS must be hell. I feel bad for US doctors who have to jump thru hoops every day and even more so for patients who suffer because of greed.

[@Misaka-gt5yj]

US physicians make much more than their EU or SEA counterparts for a reason. Congress is even starting to cut their medicare pay by 2% this year.

[@Violent_Wolfen]

I wouldn't feel too bad, some doctors get kick backs from pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies as well.

[@LegendFromWoW]

The insurance company doesn’t like that Dx code, please try again. In the mean time the patient can be left to suffer because the goblin can only permit you to proceed with the correct code!

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

Thank your Democrats for screwing up health insurance for generations to come…

[@extropiantranshuman]

you don't have to work you can just give out info for free.

[@kailexx1962]

I'm a pharmacist that managed a small, independent pharmacy. I would have patients that would need chronic meds and their insurance would, out-of-the-blue, deny them (even if the patients had been on the meds for months/years). They would tell me that the case is under "medical review" and they could not cover the med. The patient would then call the insurance and be told, "No, everything is fine and your covered. We don't know what that pharmacist is talking about." (Several patients sued the insurance companies). I would then quietly give them the drug at cost until the insurance company relented. (BTW: Doing that violated the contracts with the insurance companies because, according to the contracts, I could not charge the insurance more than I would a cash-pay patient.) Its an f-ed system.

[@LucidDreamer54321]

I used to work in a hospital. The charge price for medications was anywhere between 30 to 50 times the purchase price.

[@anthonyfichera6079]

As someone in the US who got slammed with COVID complication its incredibly scary how accurate this video is. Also it never seemed to matter if I had good insurance, cut rate insurance, or great insurance it never seems to be enough. Now they want coinsurance and I still end up with random bills 6 months later cause oh wait no we decided the doctor shouldn't have done that and we are denying you because "we" think its not medically necessary.....even though two doctors say we need this done because they need more information. Or the best one .... we need to do all these tests in order before we get to the original test that was ordered because we want to save money with lesser tests first but end up at the expensive test anyway and spent way way more money overall. The US healthcare system is a bankrupt (insert non youtube friendly words here )

[@kathleencove]

Yup. I always tell people not to bother paying anyway and sort out the debt later. Why? Because that’s what I ended up having to do anyway even after I tried to pay all my co-pays up-front, because I was slammed with billing months down the line by these greedy bastards. Might as well have not paid for ANY of it in advance and just fricken waited, haggle down some BS charges on my itemized bill after the final bill comes in, and pay off whatever doesn’t get haggled down with an installment plan. End up paying less that way than you do with insurance or paying out of pocket up front. If they’re going to put you into debt that you need to fight hard to pay off anyway, might as well wait it out and pay only what you have to. And I’ve resolved that from now on, after having paid off medical debts in the past, if they refuse to cover absolutely essential things 100% like cancer screening or life saving surgery, I’m not paying a damn cent, I’ll either threaten to sue if they don’t cover it, actually sue them or let it go to collections and then sue them. I’ve just had enough- it doesn’t matter how “good” you try to be following by the rules. Unless you’re a millionaire or billionaire who can afford to pay whopping bills completely out of pocket without even glancing at the itemized bill, if you’re a regular person you’re screwed no matter how much you try to play by the rules. Because the people “above” you aren’t playing by the same rules, price gouging in so many other industries is illegal. Not in healthcare!

[@PooNinja]

There should be a follow up video with another surprise bill in about 3 months when they’ve made up some new non covered expenses on your account.

[@kimlandefeld3005]

I read of a hospital that is suing patients for payment at the rate of a dozen a day. They outsource the lawsuits so they don't 'look bad". One poor lady didn't even know where the bill came from, but there they were suing her. Her husband had passed away and it was one of those 'surprise' bills that they wouldn't even show her, and didn't even have itemized. But, they sure wanted their money.

[@aj383]

The bit about Rheumatoid Arthritis really hit home. My 14 year old daughter was diagnosed 5 months ago, and it has been a shitshow trying to get her medications covered by insurance.

[@PixieoftheWood]

I work at a specialty pharmacy in a department that specializes in RA treatments, and it's always a nightmare at the start of the year because a lot of insurances change, and a lot of patients find out that suddenly they have to wait on a PA to continue getting the treatment they've been on for years, if the new insurance doesn't say they have to change treatments entirely. Not to mention the fact that changing jobs is much harder for these people, because again, new job, new insurance. Of course, corporate America loves this, because it means they have a bunch of employees who are terrified to leave no matter how terribly they're treated.

[@wordup897]

Look into holistic treatment for a cure instead of western med that just treats symptoms for perpetual income. Chinese herbalism, dr eric berg are a couple places to start.

[@aj383]

@@wordup897 thank you for the info. I will definitely start looking into these. The biggest stumbling block for most holistic approaches for us is the cost. I'm a single working parent barely covering rent.

[@wordup897]

@@aj383 sure thing. See also darren schmidt here on yt. Im pretty certain you can beat it with proper nutrition and other low cost treatments. Good luck and let me know if i can help further.

[@wordup897]

@@aj383 Another rec: Arnold Ehret's Mucusless Diet Healing System

[@stephenatkinson2333]

We are duped out of our Constitutional rights and yet so proudly standing on them.😢

[@BishopBrow]

Man it reminds me of the time I had to take my buddy to the ER, because he broke his hand. They charged us a waiting room fee and they insisted on giving him saline at $400 a bag

[@Levittchen4G]

wtf you could make this stuff with table salt this is sickening, evil, devil shit

[@BishopBrow]

@@Levittchen4G yup

[@MKnife]

I spent 10 days in a hospital over the christmas holidays just now (a rather acute and severe problem with heart and lungs). CT-scans, ambulance, medication, ultrasounds and the whole shebang, including medication. I was sent home last week, as I recovered quickly. Yesterday I got the bill for said visit, 440 euros and 25 more for the ambulance. Current exchange rates makes that about the same in USD. National health care here in Finland rules, it saved my life and didn't bankrupt me. While I admit that paying high taxes often sucks but when it is used for things like this, I'm all for it.

[@lorenzotanzi9851]

So lucky! Here in Italy taxes are nearly as high, but public services are definitively worse in quality, and private ones are expensive.

[@uttaradit2]

its called socialism which isnt allowed in merica

[@durk5331]

@@uttaradit2 Because Americans that don't like Socialism are idiots >.

[@dannydaw59]

It's too bad the Republicans here in the US don't want national health care. They label it as socialist which they give bad connotations to.

[@C8Z51Scott]

The problem is the US government will raise taxes, but screws up almost everything.

[@MarvinRoman]

Our health insurance kept pushing an online video based consultation app. We signed up and assumed it would be cheaper. Tried it once. It was a 15 min call that just answered a simple question of whether my wife should go to urgent care. The bill was $249 and our copay for it was $49.

[@jhay_vine5083]

What the fuck 😳😳😳

[@Cheesusful]

Wow, that's ridiculous, that can't be legal

[@cooljamie76]

Google or KZbin video would’ve answered your question for free 🤦🏽‍♂️. It’s all fraud…we live in matrix.

[@MarvinRoman]

@@Cheesusful in a just world it probably would be. I looked up the name of the app it's Babylon Health.

[@MarvinRoman]

@@cooljamie76 what is the matrix?

[@josephbelisle5792]

Great video explaining the health care industry. Its about making profits on human suffering.

[@davidgoldberg1219]

You totally nailed this one. Next time include the politicians telling doctors what to do, when some politicians have little or no education, let alone medical training. Nyuk, nyuk! Joke's on us!!!

[@DemonicAdj]

We really do need to bust them for practicing without a license.

[@davidgoldberg1219]

@@DemonicAdj What a concept!! Hold people accountable!

[@DemonicAdj]

@@davidgoldberg1219 It won't catch on. But they'll happily apply it to us at the bottom, though. And probably tack on blame for our circumstances too. After all, we should have thought about that before we were born poor.

[@davidgoldberg1219]

@@DemonicAdj Don't forget because we're born poor, we deserve what we get, and would only spend any extra money on drugs or flashy cars!!

[@animecore85]

Insurance Goblin dancing over a dead body. Perfect XD!

[@SkellyBeardMan]

As someone who has worked in Healthcare for 8 years...ya this is 1000% true, no lies. I still can't figure out how there are still average US citizens who support this, knowing what we know now. I have a friend in Canada and we always joke about "man, what's it like PAYING for Healthcare". It sucks, immensely.

[@braddishv3146]

What an ignorant comment. The Canadian is paying for their healthcare through MASSIVE taxes. It doesn't just magically appear if a government says, "FREE"! Also I hope your friend in Canada isn't in a wheelchair - because it is now the position of the wonderful government overlords there to give "end of life" suicide drugs as a means to keep costs down.

[@SkellyBeardMan]

@@braddishv3146 and where are you getting this info from, Truth Social?

[@dirkmohrmann8960]

No see, in Canada we pay for healthcare through our higher taxes. I mean if you look at the real numbers, Americans actually pay way more, but Fox news keeps saying it so it must be true anyway

[@SkellyBeardMan]

@@dirkmohrmann8960 That sounds great, I would love if my taxes paid for health care. My taxes instead go into the bank accounts of politicians and CEO's, I mean it sure as fuck isn't going to infrastructure of the country

[@randomstuff-qu7sh]

@@SkellyBeardMan It seems like every time representatives try to do something that would use taxpayer money to benefit taxpayers, several other representatives (mostly on the right) reflexively screech "communism" and "socialism" and do everything in their power to block it. For example, PPP loans and the PPP loan forgiveness gave away billions of taxpayer money with little oversight and mostly to people who would already be considered rich. Then the Biden administration tries to offer student debt relief and it gets challenged in court and is apparently on its way to the Supreme Court, last I heard.

[@tonylegge7261]

The French do it right..... Everybody has a Carte Vitale, and then you decide if to pay the 30% costs above this by themselves or join a mutuelle. Prices in hospitals (private or state) are capped by the Government. I just had my hip replaced and the total cost to me was around $1000. Perfect result too. We in Europe can't believe how medieval your medical system is in the USA. It just seems like a method for Health Professionals (after they have taken the Hipocritical oath) to get rich. Pathetic. My hospital bed was $30 per night. - How much do you pay? As of 2023 your average charge is $2,873 per night.

[@markp6086]

Agree 100% BUT... I have lived in Europe and USA, In Europe I paid much higher income tax, so much higher that the low cost health care balanced out. USA has much lower income tax but high health care costs. pay now pay later, either way they get our money 😅 I have done the math it balances out.

[@tonylegge7261]

@@markp6086 But you forget the hundreds of thousands that are bankrupted every year (650k) and the homeless crisis exacerbated by it. Just so the health professionals can be rich.

[@brianjones7660]

The wave of immigrants is going to bring it to the ground soon enough....

[@mwbgaming28]

I live in Australia and when I got in a motorcycle crash in 2017, resulting in a compound and comminuted right femoral shaft fracture, 2 broken ribs, a moderate concussion, estimated 24% loss of blood volume 2 weeks in the hospital (4 days of which were in ICU) 2 surgeries to repair the damage, 2 months of inpatient rehabilitation, followed by 4 months outpatient The total bill was $21,700, of which I had to pay $31, which was for my prescriptions that the rehabilitation center discharged me with Universal healthcare is amazing

[@DaneInTheUS]

​@Mark P the typical argument ... except when you count what you pay out of pocket, and co-pays and the insurance itself, you actually end up paying WAY more in the US. I hope you never get a chronic medical condition.

[@enfys6493]

I'm a Brit who gets free prescriptions and free healthcare and all for a couple of pence in the pound of taxes every month. I visit the States because I have friends there and when talking about healthcare and health insurance I was gobsmacked at how much they pay every month and still have to pay for deductibles and co pay and so on. Talking to people over there they seem to have the attitude that paying a few cents in the dollar in extra taxes for healthcare for all is a bad thing and paying hundreds of dollars a year in health insurance is preferable, it's crazy. Then I watched the video of a little boy called Mason whose insurance has refused to pay for blood pressure medication and without this he is deteriorating or at least I think he is still alive as the video was made 4 years ago when he was just 10 years old, that is criminal! I recently had to have blood tests and the cost to me was zero, nada, nowt! I have HRT patches, again, zero, nada, nowt! I don't miss the £1.50 a month that is probably the amount from my taxes that goes to the NHS, but, I'd sure as heck would miss £150 every month for health insurance. Aneurin Bevan, who founded the National Health Service has saved the lives of millions using a healthcare model that the miners in the Welsh valleys had to provide healthcare for those who paid into the fund. Out of a small beginning came great things.

[@o0o-jd-o0o95]

You know you live in a sick society when people die because they cannot afford to live. When money dictates whether or not you live that's when we've gone too far. The day that money became more important than human lives is the day that humans lost their way and we'll be lucky to ever find it again

[@Mark.Taylor.]

So basically the whole world?

[@kentknightofcaelin4537]

@@Mark.Taylor. not really. At least not to the same extent as in the USA.

[@InvadeNormandy]

@@Mark.Taylor. You can unironically get better medical care in Mexico.

[@zertun2380]

@@InvadeNormandy or Cuba XD even Venezuela XD

[@ChemFrogEngels]

That's how capitalism works. This whole system is fully corrupted to a core

[@antimattv]

That actor has set a new standard for Goblin mannerisms.

[@copperstaterocketguy1640]

Here's the solution... When the c.e.o of the medical supply company comes into the grocery store, charge him $10,000 per banana $40,000 per slice of bread and a fee for using the checkout oh yeah and the door and the parking lot see how quick cause come down!

[@rascta]

Aren't you glad you have grocery insurance to lower the costs, and you came to an in-network grocery store? Well, except the bananas are out of network, so that'll be another $50,000. And the cashier doesn't actually work for the store, they just wandered in here one day and started working and we just let them, so you'll get a separate bill from them, and we have no idea whether they're in-network or not.

[@sactopyrshep]

If it was only possible….

[@ballsofsalsa01]

​@@rasctaand don't forget, you also have to pay for the oxygen you breathed while inside, and the light that hit your skin , none of that is free, AC to keep the air cool and lights so you don't tumble ain't gonna pay themselves, we're not communists aren't we 😊 free market, gimme your money, or die, after all, self medication is now partially illegal and we'll lobby so traditional treatments and info about the immune system is shown as bogus or misleading 😊

[@adamprobst5543]

they don't go to grocery stores. they have servants and personal chefs to take care of that sort of thing for them

[@theyearwas1473]

They will make you do a EKG in most cases when you don't need one and force it as hospital policy, then you get charges. I worked ambulances for years, ER and ambulances are cashcows

[@John231984]

As someone who has a Chronic health issue, (Auto-immune) works with health insurance (A long term care) and has a parent who worked in medical billing. This is sadly, quite accurate and quite aggrivating in reality.

[@xVoyagerr]

Since I recently started my psychology degree, an “if therapists were honest” video would be so funny lol. Love these videos so much!

[@Fuzznator]

Specially for psychiatry “pills, pills, pills, got a crappy life? Get some pills it will fixed anything fucking your brain

[@OgdenM]

So much yes to this.

[@atdeshpandeat]

Why? What are therapist's secrets?

[@thorn_again]

@@atdeshpandeat well for one, none of them even bother taking insurance anymore because the whole process is so completely broken. So only well off people can get a good therapist anymore.

[@liahknowsbest5092]

💯👏🏾👏🏾

[@jenniferwells2291]

I spent a few years in hospitals after a near fatal car accident. I had insurance but obviously there was plenty left over my mom was supposed to pay. She started bringing me Tylenol, boxes of kleenex, etc from home to avoid paying $5 per tablet (in the 90s) and the hospital didn't like that at all. They tried to say they needed to be able to keep track of that stuff when the truth was they didn't like not getting to charge for it. Oddly when there was obvious things that were wrong or lies on my bills my mother would try to let the insurance know, but they didn't care

[@mayganphynix8267]

Horrible..

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

I once read in an article that it's even worse for people that aren't insured. When the insurance gets a bill, they basically tell the hospital "We won't pay that much" and the hospital goes and starts negotiating with the insurance, until both sides reach an agreement. When someone who isn't insured gets a bill and tells the hospital "I won't pay that much" the hospital sues that person.

[@SilverDreamweaver]

​​@@MyRegardsToTheDodoThe insurance industry lobbied long and hard to make sure they are the only "product" or "service" in the US people we're forced to purchase by law. Now imagine if it was illegal for you not to buy a Dyson vacuum everytime you went into a supermarket. Except that vacuum is just a couple of words on a receipt you're paying hundreds to thousands of dollars for. That would still be better than the insurance industry because at least they aren't literally blackmailing you with your life.

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

@@SilverDreamweaver I totally agree, your healthcare system in the US is totally messed up. It's literally like in a 3rd World Country. Glad we have a better system. I mean, ours isn't perfect by any means, but it's by far superior to the US system.

[@user-vw4ui5gz6b]

​@@SilverDreamweaverThe problem is not the enforced insurance by law, but that it costs very much and covers nothing. Here in Europe it is also enforced. But most will gladly pay because it really covers most costs.

[@odizzido]

The noises the goblin made were great. A+ work, goblin :D

[@zogar8526]

Our insurance such so bad in America. I've been through it. It had a problem with my hip, which in the end needed surgery. But they wanted to do an MRI to see exactly what was wrong. But my insurance was unwilling to cover it, saying I had to try physical therapy first, then after a few months of that, they'd see if they would pay for the MRI. Insurance really does determine treatment more often then not.

[@setcheck67]

I've found the best method is to just go around insurance for some things, you're not required to only take the options they give you and there is facilities that will give you a non-insured MRI for about $150. You can then take the images to the insured facility and use those.

[@ForsythJC]

The medical system in the USA is f*cking RIDICULOUS! Years ago, I had to have an emergency appendectomy. Wound up $6K in debt because of it and still suffering to this day. Last night, I started having a rapid heartbeat and aching in my left shoulder. Because of my experience before, I refused to go to the hospital, which is literally right across the street. I took a shower and went to bed, figuring if I was indeed having a heart attack at 38, at least I wouldn't die in more debt that the corrupt insurance companies would start harassing my family for. That's where our f*cked up system is. Thankfully I woke up today just a little groggy, and hopefully it was just some kind of panic/anxiety attack.

[@user-gz4ve8mw9l]

They'll take whatever you leave behind even then. Picking apart your corpse like vultures circling overhead.

[@AvangionQ]

The American for-profit healthcare system is a unique beast that charges you extra for healthcare insurance, then double-charges you for anything up to your deductible limit, triple charges you for copays, overcharges you for prescription drugs, regularly denies you coverage, and if you use the services with any excess increases your premium rates. We're the only nation in the world where medical bankruptcy is a thing, so you worry you don't have enough and that stress leads to worse health outcomes. It's an industrial horror. Our nation could save half a trillion per year by switching to a Medicare for All single-payer system, but that would lead to so many propagandized idiots screaming SOCIALISM.

[@thebigdog2295]

About 30 years ago I got a bill from a hospital for about two thousand dollars for a trip to the ER. I asked for an itemized bill, and waited till I got it to settle my bill. They had charged me $500 for a Tylenol that you could buy a bottle of; for less than $5. I went to the billing office, and put a bottle of Tylenol on the desk of the accountant, and said that should cover my bill. When the accountant said, we can't except that for payment, I just smiled. I told her if she didn't accept it, since it was unopened, and sealed I would sue the hospital for fraudulent billing practices. Because according to the itemized bill it was worth $25,000. I never got another bill from the hospital for that trip to the ER again. Most people don't realize that this is a scam, and will pay when they're billed by the hospital. When you have insurance, and it pays the hospital they're already being overpaid. They tried again not to long ago. When I finally told the woman who kept bothering me that I would sue her personally, and the hospital they stopped sending bills again. And yes I have been back to the same hospital since then. If you push back they will cave in and stop billing you. Because they don't want their scam to become public knowledge. Too many lawsuits, and their scam will crumble. And yes what hospitals, and insurance companies are doing is a scam. They don't want government regulation, because it would bring it down. Oh and by the way Federal law prohibits medical bills from impacting your credit rating. You can have them removed simply by asking. I'm not a lawyer so don't take any of this statement as advice. But I would suggest that you look into the regulations that hospitals have to follow on their billing process. You might be surprised at what you find.

[@matthewpatrick7263]

About 12 years ago, my insurance nearly killed me. I'd had a surgery that the insurance said I could stay in the hospital for 6 days after. While in the hospital, my breathing was being checked every day, and was getting a bit worse each day. My doctor told me that he didn't think I was ready to leave because something was wrong with my breathing, but the insurance made me. 2 weeks later, I had to be rushed to the emergency room with collapsed lungs. Blood clots had gotten into my lungs. If I'd stayed in the hospital a few more days, they'd have realized what was happening and prescribed blood thinners. Instead, the insurance had to pay for me to spend another week at the hospital, then have an oxygen machine at home for another month (with a portable one as well), several visits to a lung specialist, and blood thinners. I know they care nothing about my life, but they lost a lot of money that could have been saved from a few extra days in the hospital.

[@graysonwagner1855]

Only pay for original admission reason, not what is discovered during visit. Go home and come back an hour later, New reason, more days

[@braddishv3146]

False... that wasn't the insurers fault it was the hospital. Your insurer didn't even KNOW you where in the hospital at the time. Do you think they have people following everyone at a moment's notice to refuse payment?

[@astecheee1519]

They did that because, statistically speaking, it's cheaper to only give 6 days. Truly bloodsucking parasites.

[@tnk4me4]

@@braddishv3146 they have people (medical techs) reviewing your file an making judgments on how much of your stay is covered on admission so basically yeah...

[@williamrosenow6176]

@@braddishv3146 They didn't but the hospital knew what they would be paid for so the hospital did what it needed to do to maximize profit.

[@randomstuff-qu7sh]

Back in 2019, both of my parents ended up in the hospital for different reasons. For a full year after everything that was owed was paid, the hospital kept on sending Dad mystery bills with no itemization, no explanation, nothing. He'd call the hospital, get the run around, and eventually get to someone who said it was a billing error, disregard. A few weeks later, the cycle would repeat. Mystery bill shows up, get the run around, eventually get told to disregard it. This happened for a full year and the bills were not for trivial amounts either. They were demanding $25K or more with each of these bills.

[@xeyladeath]

I had a bill from a doctor's office for $0.00! I didn't pay it, because it was for nothing. I then got a collection notice in the mail because I didn't pay my bill. I called them and explained my situation, and they said it was a error on my account.

[@alvarorubiodomech8327]

A man made millions sending random bills to apple and Google, he went to jail but hospitals pay their bribery

[@MikeyC19836]

1:35 You'll be surprised how Accurate that is. So many times, Doctors will order x rays on the the wrong body part or the body part on the wrong side.

[@MG-do7yg]

Years ago I took my son to the hospital, after waiting hours, that gave him Motrin and sent me a bill for $1,800.00. I didnt have insurance

[@PraiseTheFSMonster]

A similar thing happened to me. But after hours in the waiting room I gave up and left without ever speaking to anyone and they still sent me a bill for $500.

[@CyclingMartialartswithMusic]

I know somebody sent to ER for possible dehydration. Advised to drink water. $5000

[@MultiTelan]

I have heard that demanding an itemized breakdown of the charges helps reduce, if not almost eliminate them, but I have no proof that it actually works. Might be something to try in the future.

[@PraiseTheFSMonster]

@@MultiTelan Doesn't work. It's like a bill after the fact. I got one once and they charged me $200 for a pregnancy test that you can buy at the dollar store, without even asking if it was possible I could be pregnant ( it wasn't). Besides, you have to talk to administration about that, not the doctors or nurses. And it takes forever to get someone in administration to talk to you, if they will at all.

[@Kokorocodon]

God, I'm so glad we have free healthcare in my country... This all sounds like a dystopian nightmare to me

[@ShayKMBR]

It is. And as Americans we actually would pay more in taxes if we didn't have to pay for insurance. But our government, and employers, think we don't want this. And none of us can understand why 😕

[@Kokorocodon]

@@ShayKMBR Greed speaks for itself. I hope the American people can topple this monstrosity one day.

[@JetstreamGW]

In fairness, there's no such thing as "free" healthcare. You're paying for it with your taxes. But yes, you do probably live somewhere where you don't get fucked for your healthcare like we do.

[@Notsogoddess]

Cut the military

[@frigginjerk]

Yeah, but private insurance companies get more money this way, so it's all worth it. Don't you wish that you could die from a treatable illness because curing you isn't profitable enough?

[@UnfilteredMedic]

I worked in Medicine for a long time and Roger is 100% spot on. I worked in the business side of it and since "They" know most people don't look at their bill good enough or learn about how they are billed they keep doing this. Every hospital and clinic has a dept. that can "write off" a lot of a bill or "adjust" it for various "reasons" b/c some payment is better than none and costs far more to take most people to court for it.

[@CynthiaPrice79]

This. From a retired administrative medical specialist.

[@CynthiaPrice79]

The first thing my parents did, after my brain tumor was diagnosed, was ask for a social worker to meet with us. They got me set up with applications/sign-ups to all the programs I qualified for to help pay. It was both the county hospital, and part of the University hospital system:

[@Robertz1986]

True about insurance. Just spent 6 months fighting with the hospital system that I have worked security at for the past five years (they use contractors from an outside company, so we aren't direct employees). I had two standard appointments, one half an hour, the other forty-five five minutes. These services were performed at a small office location far away from any actual hospital. Turns out that this world famous hospital system bills all visits, even to these standalone offices, as POS 19 (Off campus outpatient hospital) and not 11 (Office). It turns out that my insurance excludes outpatient visits, but the hospital system doesn't disclose anywhere that these are outpatient visits, and even labels them "Office visits", and doesn't check if policies exclude outpatient services. The insurance bounced the bills. Yes, security guards at a world famous hospital system aren't provided insurance that can be used at the very facilities we guard, because of course they don't. The hospital, knowing the situation, then not only tried to bill me, but billed me as "uninsured" which means they charge a punitive rate several times the norm for those sorts of services. They wanted $1,000 for what Medicare would be billed maybe $250. They absolutely refused to back down, and I finally had to file a Better Business Bureau complaint against them for not disclosing their billing practices and for billing charges different than they described, based on location, and for telling me my insurance was accepted even though it clearly wasn't. They fought and fought, but finally when I threatened to file formal complaints with the Attorney General's office for deceptive trade practices, they retroactively approved me for "Financial Aid" based on the circumstances and wrote the bills off as a charitable donation, while maintaining they believed that I should have been more diligent. This is how our health system works.

[@SarafinaSummers]

Should've done it anyway. The better business bureau isn't a real government entity.

[@Robertz1986]

@@SarafinaSummers They got the results. I would have pushed it further.

[@erictheredguy]

I've been sued twice for medical bills and I pay over 15000 a year for health insurance

[@tiffanyh.5788]

You pay way to much.

[@Drjordanbreeding]

So, yes, we oversimplified who gets paid what (it’s not all to goblin), but I think for the average person that nuance is a bit lost in the endless bills. We’re also talking about the hospital’s culpability in these insane prices.

[@paineoftheworld]

The complexity is the Secret Sauce™.

[@nilus2k]

Thats true, its not all goblins. There are insurance trolls as well

[@setcheck67]

The thing that bothers me is why hospitals are allowed to charge you for different specialists that you didn't ask for. They're getting to decide who sees you and then also getting to decide what you pay, what? That's like going to restaurant and getting told you will receive rocky mountain oysters and we've already billed you $600, so get the most out of it.

[@bucky8457]

Thanks for the consultation Roger

[@cracked]

Wow! Thank you so much!

[@michaeld4861]

This is probably the most accurate video ever made. I work for one of the big 4 insurance companies and they deny people's claims for no reason (usually because the "system" denied it automatically and for some reason there's no correcting the "system") and even fraudulently charge people for services that are supposed to have a $0 copay by law. Nobody care, what are you going to do? Sue the insurance company? Good like figuring out their "system" let alone winning against their legal team.

[@StevieObieYT]

"Everytime we fire it up, it kills a panda somewhere." Quality... Lol 🤣

[@Zebra_3]

🐼

[@lifetimevic]

America, the land of the free to go bankrupt over a health incident. Crazy

[@brucelee4996]

This reminds me of the Visa commercial where the emergency room waits for the POS reader to say 'approved', before beginning treatment. ☺️

[@cooljamie76]

Damn that’s wild 🤣🤣

[@stewpacalypse7104]

I'm glad this important issue is finally getting the honest attention it needs from mainstream media.

[@zose270]

It's been a thing on KZbin ever since I was in high school. Adam ruins everything also did a episode on it. Unfortunately the larger media is just not going to cover it since a lot of people ain't the idea of universal health care or fixing our system.

[@stewpacalypse7104]

@zose270 it was sarcasm, dude.

[@zose270]

@@stewpacalypse7104 Oh I see. So you're saying it's not important issue and no one should talk about it.

[@stewpacalypse7104]

@zose270 yes, that is exactly what I meant. 🙄

[@csnide6702]

In actuality, it's even WORSE than Roger says ... !

[@an0idiot0of0use]

Ah, the absolute nightmare that is the American health care system! A system made so intentionally complicated that people would LITERALLY rather die than attempt to navigate it! The sheer horror of it all is almost enough to completely push me over the edge of sanity! HOORAY! Wonderful video as always, Cracked Crew! Oh, and Roger? No notes.

[@Justin-Trammell]

I got an ad for "Librety HealthShare" before this, how perfect.

[@sardavie]

Even though this is a serious subject, the insurance goblin is hilarious!!!

[@TooLateForIeago]

The point of tying affordable insurance to employment is to coerce you into staying loyal.

[@kylecopeman6554]

The craziest thing about listening to this as a Canadian and other such stories over the years is that I frequently travel to the U.S. as my family owns property there so I pay for travel insurance in case something happens and I’m hospitalized. It costs $110 per year CAD and I’m covered for 1.5 million in hospital fees as well as transport for my body if my injury would result in death. I’m no insurance expert by any means but when I watch stuff like this it really irks me that Americans get royally screwed over by these insurance goblins and their schemes.

[@regpeg2080]

Roger the GOAT

[@thebeardedlady76]

“Every time we fire it up, it kills a panda somewhere.” That’s dark but hilarious. I’m laughing and crying at the same time.

[@charlescook5542]

Watched a documentary about medical device treatment, when doctors started using mesh treatments they were just using them on patients without charge or consent. Then some insurance rep finds out and wants to start charging thousands for some metal mesh that is worth 5 dollars. Then it turns out the meshes are impossible to remove once your muscles grow into them so yeah Great value eh.

[@_Lightning_Dog_]

When they do biopsies for breast cancer, they embed a tiny coil of metal within the breast tissue “so they know where the biopsy site is during surgery”. They don’t inform the victims that the markers can and do cause numerous problems and the only way it can be removed is with a lumpectomy. Only it wouldn’t be a tidy lump. It’d be a chunk. Chunkectomy. It’s like “the good news is you don’t have cancer. The bad news is you still might need portions of your breasts removed”.

[@CynthiaPrice79]

As a retired medical professional (read: administrative medical office assistant), I am so glad y’all made this video. However, a couple of things I wish you’d mentioned: 1) so insurance companies can legally price fix medical costs, as was covered here. However, did you know that it’s unethical/illegal for a doctor to charge different rates to uninsured vs. insured patients? 2) it’s cheaper to see a cash patient. The reason seeing your doctor is so much more expensive than it was 40 or 50 years ago (even adjusting for inflation), is because we use insurance for everything. That means the doctor has to pay at least three extra employees, anywhere from $10-$25/hr just to handle insurance-related things. That’s a huge part of why your $20 office visit is now $120. 3) it’s not your doctor gouging you. Insurance companies set Reasonable & Prevailing (R&P) rates for a given area. Your doctor doesn’t choose what to charge you.

[@JD-qq8fz]

Let's make insurance illegal. It's a scheme which adds nothing.

[@lehannaallen]

I've noticed a surge of doctors in my area forgoing insurance for small everyday things. It's cheaper for the patient and the doctor if the patient pays out-of-pocket to check that strep throat infection.

[@TheAshleywiggins]

O yeah ,doctors are ethical ...hence the opiod epidemic. It's collusion of both industries.

[@carpeimodiem]

Hence why we pay double what everyone else pays for Healthcare. And why so many Americans die every year because they want to avoid insane medical bills. Yayyyy death cults! 🥳🥳🥳

[@lukecwolf]

Wait is charging different rates unethical or illegal? One can be done with much less negative consequences than the other. Or is it dependant on the area?

[@ABeardedDad]

As a capitalist in Australia, I can say wholeheartedly, thank God for our Medicare system.

[@Georg3e]

Ew capitalism

[@blackpowderkun]

Is it uncapitalistic to have health as a capital 🤔

[@Robertz1986]

Our system is America isn't even capitalistic. It isn't socialistic. It isn't communist. It is literally just a scam. Even in actual capitalism, you would have to be told of the costs in advance, there would be open information about costs, you could shop around, would need no middle man to have access, different customers couldn't be charged arbitrary different amounts based on whose paying, and so forth. Our system is not even vaguely capitalist, it is literally a scam, I'm not joking.

[@michaeld4861]

@@blackpowderkun A national system is by definition not capitalism.

[@blackpowderkun]

@@michaeld4861 so citizen health subsidy then. I just thought of government provided Healthcare as investing on citizens productivity.

[@fanofcodd]

A round of antibiotics in a normal country , 20 $ even without private insurance USA : 500 $ IS THE BEST I CAN DO

[@joshuawertman8711]

I love your "If this thing was honest" videos. They touch on issues we all face and you make us laugh while doing it. Roger is always making me bust up. Keep it up, y'all are awesome.

[@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286]

I once had an MRI that was done under the supervision of a new Radiologist who, unbeknownst to me, wasn't under contract with my insurance company. Until _the day after_ my MRI when her contract with my insurance company started. So I was charged "out of network" price for her services. Since the doctor who ordered the MRI was in network was in network and the facility that did the MRI was in network they were willing to treat the radiologist as being in network so I only owed the 25% of the in-network price. Except I was in catastrophic coverage at that point so if she had actually been in network I would have owed nothing. And the insurance rep told me it was my responsibility to make sure doctors who treat me are in network.

[@JasonArmond]

I immigrated to Canada from the US 15 years ago - sometimes I forget how wrong everything is down there. I've tried explaining this shit to my fellow Canadians and they're just like, uh, that makes no sense, eh? And I'm like, yeah.

[@Nmdixon-cu7vm]

Yikes idk about all that. Canada is pushing that “have you tried killing yourself to fix your problem”, so I’m not so sure about your flex.

[@CyclingMartialartswithMusic]

Weird thing is Americans I spoke to look down on the healthcare system of Canada.

[@TimSlee1]

What makes even less sense is how Canada's healthcare would rather kill their patients than cure them. Not to mention the insane waiting times.

[@GrimCW]

@@CyclingMartialartswithMusic because it's been fed to Americans that socialized Healthcare = years long wait times. They're so full of nonsense some actually believe you'll get half a surgery done and need to come back months later to get the rest... This is the narrative regularly fed to us by many, especially right wing, politicians and news networks. The belief is that private insurance equates to faster and better care. But the reality is that it's the same speed, but your given whatever some non medical person looking at a chart decides you get based on what you pay them, and what maximizes their profit over what they're paying out for your care. Same goes for car insurance that total completely repairable vehicles, just because the one that got in an accident isn't profitable enough for them despite you've probably already given then 20x the value without them having to pay a cent back. (And forcing you to get a new car means they can jack your cost up to boot)

[@dannydaw59]

@@TimSlee1 What are the wait times like for non life threatening medical problems? What do you mean they would rather kill you?

[@dimoslaros724]

Thanks for the material team. Brilliant work!

[@Honest_Ads]

Thank you

[@down-to-earth-mystery-school]

As a person with a chronic illness, the insurance goblin and I are intimately acquainted

[@gaternisbet4399]

just went through it with dentist. have insurance and still payed a ton out of pocket for a root canal. insurance is a joke which made this easy to laugh at. great video! thanks Rodger and cracked.

[@nilus2k]

My favorite is eye insurance, where I seem to get the same pair of glasses for the same price whether I walk in with insurance or without.

[@tm2357]

This is so true. My doctor wouldn't give me a price because she said it depended on what code they used when they billed...

[@dannydaw59]

I can't stand that. It should be a set price that they charge the insured and uninsured. The doctors office should get a concrete answer from the health insurer on how much they will pay for each service.

[@tjj5337]

Excellent video thank you for your honesty ❤

[@ricseeds4835]

This has been simplified and I still can't wrap my head around it

[@unbreakableunion]

Both entertaining and educational.

[@MarkSiefert]

And depressing.

[@kajlauritzen9765]

When I go to the doctor, she finds out what is wrong with me, and prescribes some kind of medicin. I pay for the medicine. When I need to go to the hospital, nobody asks how much money I have. If I get hurt doing sports, and need an ambulance, well, same thing . But of course, I'm in Denmark. 🇩🇰😊

[@thinkbeforeyoutype7106]

GREAT info thanks guys

[@lauraperdue1307]

Every time I laugh at one of these videos, it’s through tears.