As a cancer patient, I approve of this message. I've spent something like $50,000 out of pocket in 4 years. That's money not going into retirement. I've been in massive debt since I was diagnosed. It NEVER ends.
Millionaires in general I don't have an issue with. It's when they hit (arbitrarily) half a billion or more, where they could DEFINITELY be more philanthropic while still maintaining whatever high falootin' lifestyle they want, that i start having problems
I got pneumonia a while back, one ambulance ride and an overnight stay at hospital was enuf to bankrupt me. At the time I was contract labor, no insurance, with a bunch of credit card debt.
Am a single mother of 3. Ovarian cancer + breast cancer 15 years apart. I also have radiation damage to the lungs, hashimoto (thyroid problems)
and a lot more… My two youngest still live at home.
I am SO lucky I live in Denmark 🇩🇰 with free healthcare, eminent working conditions + superb unions…
A healthcare system which loses 42% of its patients gives the impression that the cheapest patient is a patient that no longer exist exists, and therefore no money has to be paid out towards them or their health issues
If it weren't for a clinical trial drug, we would be homeless. Thank God it worked, but trial drugs are quite the crapshoot and shouldn't be the only option.
As a Canadian I know our health care system has problems and obviously could be improved, but one thing I've never had to worry about in my 61 yrs of living in Canada is whether or not I could afford to get to medical care I needed.
I can't even imagine what this would be like. I have "good" coverage through my employer, but I'm getting older. As an American, I have constant anxiety, knowing I'm still one illness away from bankruptcy, even with insurance. There is no such thing as "max out of pocket."
I don't think Medicare for all is even a possibility after January 20th. It is unlikely we will even have a functioning democracy in four years. Everyone keeps acting like this is politics as usual.
They use the vaccines to depopulate the earth in general, with the cancer it gives to the body! Majority dies after vaccinations and many other test treatments. Humans are been used as practicals in labs! Medicare is the solution if attended now! #preventcancer
Yes, but Medicare is also a very broken system.
I just signed up and something that should be very simple is very complicated. I refilled a prescription that pre Medicare cost $150.00, now on Medicare it was close to $600. The CVS associate laughed and said, but Medicare is paying for most of it
I got medicaid a couple of years ago only because I tried to take my own life and my boyfriend at the time stopped me and got me sent to the hospital where they put a social worker on my case who helped me get approved. horrible that I had to be at the point of wanting to die before I could get it
Now do the percentage who had no savings to lose. The wealth inequity in this country is a disgrace, and it’s the fault of our politicians first and foremost. They created purely financial incentives that have now captured the entire system.
I totally agree, but surely we should look at the entire system and include here: homelessness, mental health, pensions for the retired, statutory holidays etc. etc. it simply shouldn’t be that something like 1 to 2% of the world’s wealthiest people screw the other 98%
If we could secure democracy that may be reality. We all know trump ain’t gonna usher medicare for all in, so what’s with the call for it now? Where was this passion years ago? Seems like those calling for this after it’s too late is just another disingenuous attempt to cause more chaos imo.
IKR, now I’m worried they will destroy Medicare… sell it to United. Medicare runs the best out of all of them. They will ruin what’s left of what is working.
Is anyone else old enough to remember when hospitals were non-profits? Reagan opened them up to privatized corporate ownership, ostensibly to improve quality of care, particularly where costly tech was involved. ... They never told us the result would be care for the rich and bankruptcy for us.
That was the beginning of the end. It's been an unrelenting race to the bottom ever since.
By the way, the per capita national healthcare costs skyrocketed after that move. We spend more on healthcare than any other nation. In return, we have poor access and mediocre medical outcomes.
Yes, we do - but instead we are having to worry about the political party being in power actually killing Medicare all because of the price of eggs….😖🤬
As a cancer survivor I can confirm this. We had pretty good coverage but we ended up deeper in debt than we should have. Had to fight for the right tests to be run and get my chemo approved so many times.
When I became eligible for Medicare I realized that I may finally be able to afford to die from something that doesn't immediately kill me.
And it took only 65 years to reach this pinnacle of luxury in the American health care system. /s
Not only cancer. My late husband had end stage kidney disease and I went through my entire 401 to cover the copayments for dialysis three times a week, numerous surgeries and hospital stays . Oh and medications. 3 years and all gone.
Providing healthcare for all is one of the most patriotic things we could do as americans... odd that those who use the word "patriot" the most have so little idea what it means.
Means wear the flag on your ass and wave one with Convicted Felon and Adjudicated Rapist 🍊 🍕 💩 🤡 face on it, defacing it. An too stupid to understand the irony I just typed
Here's a not horror story. Diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2022, upgraded to stage 4 in July following brain surgery. The surgery copay was $250. Chemo is free, no copay at all. I think we are out of pocket maybe $1K. SO works for USPS and we have Kaiser Permanente, I highly recommend them.
I am not socialist or into too much state control, HOWEVER a health system CAN'T focus on profitability. Healthcare in the US is about 5 times more expensive as in Europe. Healthcare companies still make profits BUT the market is regulated with maximum prices for treatments or medications.
If parents can be locked up for the death of a child for not getting their kid care, BUT insurance agencies are let off the hook because of (checking notes) their profits than we live in an Oligarchy.
Alas, with tRUMP and both houses of Congress filled with MAGAt sheep, the path to single-payer healthcare insurance, or Medicare for All is doomed for at least the next 4 years. If they succeed in creating an authoritarian theocracy, it will be buried with millions of uninsured people.
Sorry to say, but the "socialist" country upnorth which should be called "Capitalism with humanity" Supports everyone who has cancer or needs surgery, without paying a dime more than the "self-insured nationwide program" through our usual income taxes.
And... Many cancers are caused by carcinogenic chemicals released into the environment by industrial activity. We pay for it up front and on the backend. It's a win-win for the billionaires.
Good morning Scott. I watch a clip yesterday of health costs in the US. Without insurance it can cost up to $10K to deliver a baby. In Canada while taxes are higher it costs $0 Canadian gladly pay higher taxes for the healthcare we get.
Source for Bernie’s claim? And if true, malpractice that Harris didn’t go to red zones in swing states repeating this over and over. Where were the anecdotal ads?
We've poisoned the water with forever chemicals. We've poisoned the soil with herbicides and pesticides. We've poisoned the rain with heavy metals. We've poisoned the air with mass emissions. We've poisoned our blood with microplastics.
Medicare for All is the only way justice can be done.
I just received a bill for $167-‘my share’ for blood tests. The first bill I received in 20 years
of being in Medicare and Blue Cross supplemental! The first bill in 20 years of cancer surgery & chemo- subsequent surgeries & medical care! What the
h—- is going on?!
I have survived state 4 lung cancer thanks to an amazing clinical trial drug. I am old enough for Medicare and have good supplemental coverage. But that shouldn't matter. Everyone suffering from cancer should have affordable, if not free, access to today's miracle drugs. EVERYONE!
Health care will continue to be unaffordable unless doctors and hospitals agree to take less profit. Insurance just pays, its the hospitals and doctors that set the price so high.
I’m going to leave this here. Be prepared to weep, be scared, and very angry. This story, in its entirety, has been intentionally kept from the public because the desperate acts of violence are related.
The two best investments a society can make for itself are universal healthcare and universal college and trade school. A well educated (or skilled) AND healthy population pays for itself.
Present a detailed plan on how to get there. There are some major structural and financial obstacles that have to be overcame. The easy part is demanding it.
Remember all the things that trump promised in the last election.
We need a countdown clock on what he actually does that helps the Hoi polloi
any thoughts on how to make a tictok video doing just that?
“Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune the cost of which should be shared by the community.”
Aneurin Bevan
Any so called “cost analysis” related to health care that doesn’t arrive at single payer as a solution is a farce and must be repeatedly and clearly called out as such
America’s healthcare system is a joke—and not a funny one. Billionaires get private jets to the Mayo Clinic, while working families can’t afford insulin. Time to fix it. Universal coverage. Lower costs. Better outcomes. Let’s MAKE HEALTHCARE GREAT!
I promote a liberal agenda with his photo, Nevergoingback, because it’s hilarious and it drives MAGA insane. Let’s take the fight to the elites! #MakeAmericaFairAgain
Reply to Tanner the bot
What a pitiful comeback, bot. Since you are one, I can't expect a Russian in a room full of computer screens to do better.
Shoo fly. Nobody cares.
Reply to Tanner the bot.
Never argue with a bot. But here I go.
Canadian friend spent 6 weeks in ICU, step down and palliative care.
They were charged
$O yes Bot. Zero dollars for what could be a million dollars of care in the US. They paid into a system that provided great care for her/all.
Have a Canadian friend whose mother died from liver cancer... until the end she paid $0; and had such good care. Even visiting nurses to her home when she was able to be there. 1/
Had a friend here in the USA who died from liver cancer. Before his death, his family had lost everything. It cost their home and every bit of their savings, along with his 401K.
I'd give up all of Musk's accomplishments & ridiculously expensive government contracts for National Free Healthcare. And increase & broaden Snap benefits.
My #BreastCancer cost about $500k. We paid about $50k w/employer insurance. It took years and early SS to negotiate the bills. Without #ACA I would have died from lack of insurance due to “pre-existing” clause despite annual mammograms which missed it 6 mos. earlier & my husband would be bankrupt.
I feel the same. I wrote him thanking him for saving my life. Can you believe he wrote me back? President Obama’s letter to me is framed and I thank him every day when I see it. Otherwise, I fear for my dear husband’s fate. It would have been awful.
President Obama’s reply letter to me thanking him for saving my life through the #ACA. It was after he left office that I wrote him and thus the reply on his personal stationery.
Wow. On top of your extraordinary health battle, you had a terrifying financial battle with stressors you didn’t need while fighting for your life. ❤️🩹
I was thinking about this the other day when my banking app shut down due to a fraud trigger from me trying to Zelle a friend $300. How is a company making billions bankrupting the sick any better than a scammer trying to take $300? Why is $300 setting off a fraud alert, but not a life savings?
My best experience with healthcare was in Scotland and I’m from the US. Sad that the powers that be have convinced stupid people that their taxes shouldn’t be used towards Medicare for all.
This. My BIL had cancer. Didn't drain their savings at all. Because he was on Medicare. It is horrific that we have made medical care set up to make insurance companies wealthy while people go into great debt and while people die for lack of care.
I don't dispute that at all!
If these assholes would focus on fine tuning ACA or nationalizing it, instead of ending it,we would all benefit! But here we are.😒
Unfortunately Medicare “Advantage” policies are adopting UHC policies, so we need to be specific and advocate for good and useful Medicare policies for all. I just went on Medicare Advantage and it sucks….also the OTC card issued only pays for crappiest products, denies what I really need.
As a Finn, as a cancer fighter, and as a kidney cancer survivor so far from 2018, that's something we just cannot understand. Yes, our taxes are high. But when my cancer was diagnozed, they said two things: 1) they would do everything they can and 2) I should't worry about money. 👇
And here I am. In Finland, when your cancer is diagnozed, you're automatically a patient of university hospital. I was a professor at that time, 2018, and I was interested in the costs of everything. And, the most basic thing is that it's just the same whether you have an insurance or not. 👇
Over here, especially in case of fatal illnesses, society takes care of the costs. For example in my case, immuno-oncological treatments, radiotherapy, surgery, and wide variety of drugs costs me under $50/month, while the "market price" is about $500000. 👇
It feels strange, because most of the drugs are developed in the U.S. It's just that in our system taxes are collected in order to reduce inequality in front of fatal illness. And I bless, deeply, this Nordic thinking 🙏
This has been a systematic attempt to kill the poor and the weak in this country.
They have access to all of the best, they withhold from us, there is a reason for that.
Amen to that!
I get to full retirement age in a year or so and am lucky that I can just cut down on time at work (5-6 days/month) and keep my pretty good, very affordable health insurance.
And I can do this for 10 years if I want to.
Been crunching the numbers for Medicare and it's not great.
Nope.
I remember when first diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t want to be the guy they held car washes for.
Luckily insurance did take care of me, I’ve been in remission for almost 14 yrs. Insurance companies were different then.
Medicare is still subject to insurance companies. I have original Medicare and a supplemental through UHC. Or I could get Medicare Advantage 100% through insurance. I pay hundreds a month more than I did with ACA. Medicare for all is not the answer. Single payer. FINALLY!
The moment my brother called and said the word cancer, he was dropped and forced on medicaid...he was dead less than a year later. The delays, the mistakes....it was terrible.
Why do you think that "Medicare for all" would be better than what we have now? Letting the gov't run health care would be just as big a failure as SS is right now. Congress would gut coverage to save on taxes. They would raid the trust fund also. UHC is not the solution.
That stat would be the worst in the world by far....it would be unacceptable in any other country so americans need to stop this cooperate greed first and help all those who need it..not just the wealthy...
For sure, and these same people are out there waving the flag saying "we won, we won" and don't get it. But they will soon enough know that they aren't on any winning side.
I know and understand. They blame PMJT here in 🇨🇦 for everything because the liar and king of misinformation who hopes to be PM in our federal election Oct. 2025 says too.
It is just beyond my comprehension the stupidity that has taken hold. smh
Canada & U.S. are being played by the same influences, & they despise democracy. Working together is our best way to push back. Be aware, they’ll manufacture drama to distract & make us doubt.
But, true democracy for all should be our shared goal.
In healthcare for 40 years- we cannot go back to uninsured people. Our hospitals are already closing especially rural hospitals that can’t keep up with patient safety regulations. WHO pays the hospitals for these uninsured people? No one that’s who. Sick fuck*rs
Hi from Australia. My mother has just been through cancer treatment. It involved accommodation in another city for 2 months, chemo and daily radiation.
I only paid for my daily coffee, and her subsidised pain medication.
Out of pocket costs would be less than $500, Medicare the rest 👍
When my husband got cancer in 2015, not only did we spend every bit of savings we had, we took a $21,000 loan to get us through. It took 5 years to pay the loan, but the savings never recovered.
I have had RA since 1993. I worked until the company I worked for changed insurance company. Not only did my insurance cost raise, but my RA was considered a pre-existing condition and no longer covered, so no more treatments. Within a year, I became disabled. It wiped me out.
Sadly Democrats won’t champion universal health care for us either. We had the flawed, but goodness of Medicare and Democrats allowed that to drift into Medicare Advantage plans. Kamala had a plan for Medicare to cover home care and we said ‘no thanks’.
One of my cancer meds would cost me $16,000 per month and is not covered by Medicare or any 3rd party insurance. Fortunately I qualified for assistance through a foundation and am alive today because of their generosity and support.
What is frightening will be the lack of senior care for baby boomers. Anyone dealing with aging parents can see what is ahead and it will cost billions.
Medicare doesn't cover everything either. We still have to wait and see what gets paid then we have to pay the rest out of pocket. This can wipe out a savings very quickly. It's pretty scary.
Agree. Medicare is 80/20 of approved cost. When people say 'Medicare for all', I always wince. We need Universal Health Care that covers everything.....not some 80/20 plan that leaves you responsible for 20%.
Aren't there supplemental insurance policies that take care of that 20%. My dad paid very little in co-pays and deductibles, but I don't know what his monthly premiums were.
Yikes, that is a lot. There probably aren't too many fans of Elon on Bluesky, but I'd like to see him shake up the healthcare industry. Healthcare is too high in this country. My insurance company just paid 180 bucks for a doc to pull earwax out of my ear, took him about a minute.
Yes, there is also Medicare Advantage - basically privatized Medicare. Many people don't like that, we are happy with ours, so far. Medigap policies can be very expensive. Advantage programs have the same issue as most private health insurance - pre-authorization. Neither is health care for all.
There are supplemental policies and if you add eye and dental care the prices go up. Also, lower out of pocket or lower co-pays cost extra. Even if you pay for the extra care the insurance company still has limits on what it will cover. They offer low co-pays, but the coverage still isn't 100%.
Your Healthcare won't be fixed in the next 4 years. Just do your best to keep it together. Watching doctors who can't legally treat patients and companies denying care is absolutely crazy to see.
Comments
and a lot more… My two youngest still live at home.
I am SO lucky I live in Denmark 🇩🇰 with free healthcare, eminent working conditions + superb unions…
Canadian universal healthcare is worth looking at.
https://ezra.com/blog/42-of-cancer-patients-run-through-their-life-savings-in-just-2-years#:~:text=National%20Estimates%20of%20Financial%20Toxicity,being%20diagnosed%20with%20the%20disease.
If you wouldn't have had those vaccines, you wouldn't have gotten cancer. Problem solved.
I just signed up and something that should be very simple is very complicated. I refilled a prescription that pre Medicare cost $150.00, now on Medicare it was close to $600. The CVS associate laughed and said, but Medicare is paying for most of it
That's why millions go on advantage plans.
Have you reviewed it?
By the way, the per capita national healthcare costs skyrocketed after that move. We spend more on healthcare than any other nation. In return, we have poor access and mediocre medical outcomes.
And it took only 65 years to reach this pinnacle of luxury in the American health care system. /s
Medicare for All is the only way justice can be done.
of being in Medicare and Blue Cross supplemental! The first bill in 20 years of cancer surgery & chemo- subsequent surgeries & medical care! What the
h—- is going on?!
One can lose one’s lifesavings, house & car within 1 - 2 years just trying to stay alive.
That’s why my niece started my GoFundMe, but it’s been slow there lately, as folks have it tough all round.
2025 seems a scary year…
It would have already been gone!
Fuck cancer and fuck for-profit "healthcare" corporations. 🖕
https://prospect.org/culture/books/2024-12-09-radicalized-cory-doctorow-story-health-care/
Doctors and pharmacies that do not join the gouge the consumer at any time to enrich stockholders
We need a countdown clock on what he actually does that helps the Hoi polloi
any thoughts on how to make a tictok video doing just that?
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin Bevan
We’re not going to get it now or likely for the foreseeable future thanks to the idiots who gave away everyone’s future on January 5th.
This is America’s “brexit”level fail.
What a pitiful comeback, bot. Since you are one, I can't expect a Russian in a room full of computer screens to do better.
Shoo fly. Nobody cares.
Never argue with a bot. But here I go.
Canadian friend spent 6 weeks in ICU, step down and palliative care.
They were charged
$O yes Bot. Zero dollars for what could be a million dollars of care in the US. They paid into a system that provided great care for her/all.
None have healthcare that is more expensive, more exclusive, more profits-driven than US health "care"
… at least it shouldn’t be.
If these assholes would focus on fine tuning ACA or nationalizing it, instead of ending it,we would all benefit! But here we are.😒
They have access to all of the best, they withhold from us, there is a reason for that.
It’s not just all the health insurance denials.
It’s disability insurance too that denies you when your job tells you to fuck off.
And we need social security expanded. Retirement age, with full benefits, should be brought down to 60.
@scott-dworkin.bsky.social
Marc Elias’s Law Firm Linked to Network of Dem Super PACs Behind Deceptive Text Message Operation
Super PAC network sent texts with inaccurate polling place information and voter registration dat
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I get to full retirement age in a year or so and am lucky that I can just cut down on time at work (5-6 days/month) and keep my pretty good, very affordable health insurance.
And I can do this for 10 years if I want to.
Been crunching the numbers for Medicare and it's not great.
Nope.
Luckily insurance did take care of me, I’ve been in remission for almost 14 yrs. Insurance companies were different then.
🤔🇨🇦
Second they'll blame Democrats and believe it.
It is just beyond my comprehension the stupidity that has taken hold. smh
But, true democracy for all should be our shared goal.
I only paid for my daily coffee, and her subsidised pain medication.
Out of pocket costs would be less than $500, Medicare the rest 👍
See https://sites.google.com/site/tbepporg
Sure you will!
it's still hard to believe what is happening here.