Some quick thoughts on the negative sentiment of US healthcare system
Long term GoFundMe is not the sustainable way to pay medical bills
We are in the holiday season, and we all know one common theme in the USA is “shop until drop”. I am not criticizing anyone here, and I do appreciate my kiddos getting all kind of stuff for me - handmade or bought online, or TJ Maxx - mom took our 14-year-old there. Btw, our 14-year-old wrapped all the gifts for the family.
In a bigger picture, the holiday spending and shipping probably made up 1/4 of US consumer spending for a year (I am just guessing here). At the same time, remember the article says 40% of American people cannot come up with $400 cash for emergency savings. Now at least we know one place the money went - shopping.
In last 20+ years, those costs: education (pre-K and college), healthcare and housing skyrocketed compared to others. But complaining is not the strategy. Chanting the killer of the healthcare insurance executive doesn’t fix the issue either. We need to think deeper. Came across this NPR article and I tend to agree: UHC murder suspect railed about U.S. health care. Here's what he missed.
Admitting the truth is hard sometimes: gun violence, traffic accidents, over dependency on cars, sedentary and couch potato lifestyles and so on. On the other hand, I saw two women probably in 70s, religiously walk outside for exercise almost everyday. I recall many years ago my colleague does similar walk - and it was very hard for me to catch his pace. He is probably 15 years senior than me. Health and wellness is not only the responsibility of doctors, nurses, insurance companies, the government bureaucrats. Nor our spouses. May have something to do with our parents (genes 🙂. And most importantly it's about our life styles (what we eat, how we sleep, do we exercise and so on). Remember the old saying, an apple a day keeps doctors away. We love most of our doctors (the good ones). But at the same time, we don't want to make them overwork 🙂
So at least let us shop less, consume things in moderation, and put away $400 for emergency expense. Remember that 10-year-old car could potentially need some money for repair too. This week I actually paid $667 for my minivan. And a few weeks ago, instead of claiming insurance, I paid the collision repair out of my own pocket. The bill: about $3,200. And I did not put up GoFundMe for either of those.
You can try that too. A few years ago, it was the 1st time I bought a car (a used preowned certified Camry LE) via check instead of via financing, the feel of that is liberating, to say the least :-)