As an outsider, the US health system is one of most confusing aspects of your country. Its so obviously corrupt and a bad deal for everyone, yet it remains the same. Just too much profit to be made, I guess.
I had one experience with the US health care system. Injured myself snowboarding and went for an xray. Cost me $900, which is nuts. Back home (New Zealand), I could have the same injury, same procedure and walk out without even thinking about a bill. However, I was willing to accept it because I'm a foreigner who doesn't pay taxes etc (and my travel insurance sorted most of it). Then I saw the actual invoice. I got charged $10 for two ibuprofen. That's fucking criminal. Just straight up theft.
Oh, and it took over a year to get the bill finally sorted because the hospitals billing department was in another state to the hospital, the doctors were independent contractors or something, and they couldn't email me an invoice, so they had to fax it to me. In 2013. A fucking FAX. Even when I provided my info, the hospital couldn't work out how to contact an international insurer, so it went to debt collection before being eventually sorted well over a year later.
It blows me away that you have citizens fighting to keep the current system.
American politics is fucking nuts.
