The US Healthcare System is Breaking Me

The US Healthcare System is breaking me. It's not breaking me financially like it does for most people, instead it's breaking me emotionally because it is so difficult to navigate. I am currently fighting tooth and nail to get the exact same test done that I started trying to get done 9 months ago. The system is so bad it feels like somebody wanted a Hunger Games parody.

Health Problem info:
After suffering for two years, I finally got a diagnosis of Vitamin B1 deficiency which caused beriberi symtpoms. Thiamine (or Vitamin B1) is essential to the function of your nervous system. When it is low, your nervous system can't function properly and you develope beriberi.

Code "drift0r" also saves 5% off (if the link doesn't do it automatically)

10% off w/ code "drift0r"

5% off Netduma R2 Router w/ code "DRFT"

CoD Creator code: "DRIFT0R"
^must be all CAPS, 0 is a zero

Epic Games Support-a-Creator: "drift0r_thereal"

[JackieLombardi]

Holy hell, this sounds absolutely horrifying and frustrating...i'm so sorry you're going through all of this, not only the bs with the healthcare system but all of your heath problems in general. You are such a great and kind person and don't deserve to be suffering like this. I really hope you find healthing at some point in the very near future 💕

[charlesk]

Dift0r, huge fan, and as someone who's had kidney disease since the early 70's, I remember my mom on the phone screaming and arguing with our family medical plan as a child. I've dealt with this all my life. I just want to let you know you're not alone and I empathize with your and your situation. I truly hope things get better.

[balloonedraccoon]

The Healthcare system and the food they make us eat makes me think they don't have our best interests in mind....like genuinely

[MC-poet]

Being unhealthy in this country is a full time job. It's ridiculous.

[SOAP]

People don't really appreciate how broken it is until they have a chronic condition or medical emergency.

[centfacts]

I had a buddy who had epilepsy. After a grand mal seizure I called 911 he was lying on the ground barely able to speak and he said “don’t call them I don’t want to pay the bill” then he stopped breathing. I called them of course and they came. They were able to bring him back. He has no health insurance. He couldn’t pay for his seizure medication which is likely the reason why he had the grand mal in the first place. He was discharged and he now owes $36000 and he still can’t pay for his seizure medication. God bless America right


Here’s another one for you. Myself personally I have asthma. I don’t have health insurance. My rescue inhaler. The one that can literally save me when I can’t breathe is $110 per inhaler. Which I can pay for with my job. I get one about every month and a half. Now they tell me I can’t get anymore until I visit with a doctor for an assessment of my asthma. Which I have to pay up front and it’s $432.

Here’s another one. My buddy is an alcoholic. It was years before he finally accepted he had a problem and had help. He hit his Rock bottom. He asked me for a ride to treatment. I drove him and he walked in. 25 hours off alcohol l. Covered in sweat and wearing a hoodie. He asked for help and they asked for his insurance. He had none. They LITERALLY KICKED HIM OUT!!!! He was sent back home to detox and die by himself. On the bright side he did end up getting sober and he did it completely on his own. He’s almost 3 years sober now.

Here’s my last one. My mother has congestive heart failure. Her heart is working at 27% of a normal person. She was given a vest defibrillator. This device would shock her heart in the event that it stops. They also scheduled a pacemaker implant for her. Then, for reasons we literally don’t know, she kicked off of her insurance. They told her she physically needs to send her defibrillator vest back. The device that can literally save her life. They took the vest back and cancelled her pacemaker appointment. Her medications for her heart are over $400 a month. I pay that out of my pocket for her because I don’t care the price that is my mom.


Overall our system is broken beyond belief. I am sickened and disgusted with my countries inability to care for its citizens. I am truly appalled in every single way. There is a special place in hell for these CEOs

If you made it this far thanks for reading I just want my stories to be heard so people can understand how rough it is living in America with health issues

[Rainspector]

and yet we have a pretty big slice of the population that says it doesn’t need to be fixed

[hamza-chaudhry]

$1100 a month blows my mind, especially considering the service you've described you've received. Its genuinely difficult to comprehend.

[ChristianGames]

I felt the “we cut staff because were not making enough money.” ER RN of 10 years working in high acuity low resource ER in a crime ridden poor city. I finally had to leave because it was effecting my mental health from seeing all the suffering and suffering myself not getting lunches or breaks. The healthcare system has so many problems I don’t even know where to start

[BluStarGalaxy]

I went to a gastroenterologist because I felt like I had a lump in my throat when I swallowed. He gave me a PPI that caused gut issues. So a gut doctor literally gave me gut issues. Pure insanity.

[darmy]

Bro, I’ve had a terrible time with nervous and digestive system issues and ER does nothing unless it’s lethal. Been waiting months for an appointment with referrals.

I gave up and bought the blood tests myself. God I hope it shows deficiency I can correct myself!

[rubencrokaert]

I live in Belgium, we have a great healthcare system. I just wanted to comment because this made me feel awful. I can't imagine what idiocy you have to endure. I hope for a better future for you my man!

[MC-poet]

The system is working as intended. They want you to give up. That's the whole point of paying for a massive bureaucracy when they could be spending that money on providing medical care. I'm currently on disability and dealing with the exact same issues. I was told to prepay for my care as well, and they say they get the amounts from your insurance company, but the reality is that they're only looking at the out of pocket maximum at most and then charging you that. I have a $4000 max out of pocket and overpaid by $2000, and then spent the last two months making phone calls to their billing department and my insurance company trying to get my money back. All so a massive multi-billion dollar corporation can be assured of their profits--never mind that they're far better able to deal with waiting to be paid than I'm able to get by without several thousand dollars I shouldn't have paid in the first place. I know nationalized health care systems/single payer has its flaws, but it's very clear that for profit healthcare is a system that only truly works for the obscenely wealthy and the stockholders in the companies making it harder for you to access care. You want to know what's really telling? If you look at stock returns over the last several decades, the best performing sector is healthcare stocks. I think that tells you all you need to know about who's benefiting from that broken system and why so many people are content with maintaining the status quo.

[howard]

Thank god for Canada 🇨🇦 not a perfect system but way better than the states. I Had a cancerous tumour grow on a saliva gland, had it removed, tested and radiation treatment.. only paid for parking at the hospital and process was very prompt and smooth.. 🙏🏼

I hope all goes well for your man and your health gets better! Health is wealth, it’s the only thing that matters when we’re going thru some health problems. 🙏🏼

[marcosb]

Driftor, have you ever considered to come here in México or any other country near you?

Based on the amount of money you are spending on US healthcare, you could get very premium kind of medical assistance in Mexico for a fraction of what you already spent in the US.

I have seen real state investments for us mexicans in hospitals literally built for people from US that want medical services, for example in Cancún, Quintana Roo or near there. I am sure these exist all around Mexico. Hopefully this info helps you, man!

[evrenmatique]

I'm so sorry you're going through this, It has taken me 25 years to get the correct diagnosis for my mental health conditions and it breaks my heart to see how much effort you've put into your health. All the best

[cinemapigeon]

Yep. People talk trash about other nations' healthcare systems and "wait times" but I have seen first hand tons of going through hoops, insurance/hospitals rationing care, surgeries/procedures that have to be scheduled many months out, etc... all within United States. It is truly like we did get all the worst parts of every healthcare system rolled into one.

[doctorbashir]

Medial branch blocks require documented pain relief of 80% before they will pay for a Radiofrequency ablation.

Some insurer changed that to a need for two separate injections that provide 80% relief, and then they all followed suit basically.


Despite that it’s still better to be honest about your level of relief because that’s what you can expect from the ablation.

It’s the insurers most of the time.

[Aeoss]

Realized this system is screwed when my mother went through cancer treatment. Realized it again when I went through dental surgery and they removed 5 of my front teeth and gave me loose partial dentures, only to find out I wasn't even fully covered for them and far from having the funds for getting the permanent dentures in. I am still wearing the loose partial dentures and it's been almost 2 years. I have coverage and work for the federal gov., yet I feel like my health is just a financial game and they don't care if I eat or die.

[kennypowers]

What I do when I get medial bills in the USA, just not pay them lol. They legally can’t NOT treat me so I either pay the bare minimum or nothing at all and I still get treated. Can’t effect your credit either