Americans Describe Their Worst Healthcare Nightmare Stories
As much as America is hailed as the land of opportunity, that promise comes with major trade-offs. There are few more substantial than the healthcare system, which is rife with unnecessary complexities. Unlike many other countries, the US is notorious for flawed practices such as poor insurance policies, miscommunication, and astronomically high medical bills that can ruin lives.
A thread from the Ask/Reddit subreddit contains some of the most shocking examples of how bad it can get. The stories range from heartbreaking to infuriating due to the lack of care and empathy from both healthcare providers and insurance companies.
Stories have been edited for length and clarity.
1
An Insurance Company Hijacked A Patient’s Medication
From Redditor u/SalemScout:
I have so many, but the most recent one that makes me seethe is for my mom:
My mom has been on anti-seizure medication for over ten years. One of the downsides to the medication is it makes your bones brittle. So her doctor prescribed her a shot (Prolia) to help. The shot is done in sequence, every six months.
Health insurance approved the first shot only. A medication that is meant to be done every six months, no matter what, and they said only the first one was medically necessary.
That isn’t how the medication works! If you approve the shot, it should be for the whole sequence! Even the doctor was screaming down the phone line at them. My mom reached a point (getting close to the six month mark) where she was like, “Fine, I’ll just pay out of pocket this time until we can get it sorted.”
The clinic where she was going (not her doctor) wouldn’t let her have a second shot even if she paid because the insurance deemed it medically unnecessary. I thought she was going to strangle a nurse.
We finally, finally, after many calls and fights and screaming matches, got them to cover the second shot. Which held her over until she could go on Medicare. Now, suddenly, there isn’t any problem ordering the shots.
If I try to tell someone what medications they can and cannot take, I would be arrested for practicing medicine without a license. But Insurance companies get to do it all the time.
Ranked #1 by 387 voters with a 99% upvote rate
387 votes
What do you think?
Rough?
2
A Misdiagnosis By Insensitive Staff Caused A Patient Severe Emotional Distress
From Redditor u/Careless_Day_3506:
I went to several doctors because of abdominal pain and was dismissed as it just being my period. This happened over the course of several months.
I ended up going to the hospital because the pain became severe they find white blood cells in my urine so they assume I have a uti but another nurse decides to do an ultrasound just Incase it’s appendicitis. Turns out I have a grape-sized tumor and, having lost my dad to cancer only a few months prior, I wasn’t in a good headspace. They take me back to my room. My original nurse walks in and sees me crying and, in a very agitated tone says, ‘It’s just a UTI, no need to cry over it.”
Ranked #2 by 363 voters with a 99% upvote rate
363 votes
Rough?
3
A Dying Woman Had To Pay $11,000 A Month For Hospice Care
From Reddior u/theassassintherapist:
My aunt had medical health insurance. Then things went south and she had to go to nursing home. They covered the first 100 days of stay partially, but what happened afterwards was not something anyone should have to experience.
After the first 100 days, insurance stopped coverage and she had to pay out of pocket for her stay, at the ridiculous rate of $11k PER MONTH. For subpar service. Apparently Medicaid won’t start until she has less than $2000 to her name and you can’t just give away your money to your next of kin, they actually look back 5 years to prevent that. It’s the most disturbing and dystopian thing ever.