They bill insurance companies for a percentage and the rest you have to pay, how big percentage depends on how good your insurance is. Also, it is pretty common that insurance companies try to deny their responsibility and either win the claim, or put you through an extensive (and expensive) kafka-like paper haul on your way to get the right of it.
Also, if you have any form of pre existing mental illness or physical ailment, you're gonna have a bitch of a time to get affordable insurance in the US. If you have money, you can get private insurance of the pretty costly kind, which will usually cover your needs, but it costs at least a grand a month.
These last five years in the US have been interesting for me, to compare between systems. I've even seen cases where ppl have great insurance through their work, and then get long term chronic illnesses (MS in this case), where the job finds a way to get rid of them, even though they continue to be productive and do the job, and the reasons are muddled (cutbacks in this case), but very probably in part because of the medical costs. So..I dunnow, while you get good treatment when you're funded, your "funders" can withdraw the carpet from under your feet when you least expect it, and when you need it the most.
Also, something that maybe all non-US people might not be aware of, health insurance through your job can be pretty costly too, just very cheap in comparison to some other options. I've had Great West Health Insurance in the US, which is pretty good, but it darn well cost me $400 from my paycheck, and didn't in any way cover everything. It is still a decent insurance, considered better than Kaiser, which is one of the largest here. Soon my streak of luck with this type of health insurance will end, and I'll have to see what I can afford while working as a contractor again. It's going to be tough if I get ill.
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Also, if you have any form of pre existing mental illness or physical ailment, you're gonna have a bitch of a time to get affordable insurance in the US. If you have money, you can get private insurance of the pretty costly kind, which will usually cover your needs, but it costs at least a grand a month.
These last five years in the US have been interesting for me, to compare between systems. I've even seen cases where ppl have great insurance through their work, and then get long term chronic illnesses (MS in this case), where the job finds a way to get rid of them, even though they continue to be productive and do the job, and the reasons are muddled (cutbacks in this case), but very probably in part because of the medical costs. So..I dunnow, while you get good treatment when you're funded, your "funders" can withdraw the carpet from under your feet when you least expect it, and when you need it the most.
Also, something that maybe all non-US people might not be aware of, health insurance through your job can be pretty costly too, just very cheap in comparison to some other options. I've had Great West Health Insurance in the US, which is pretty good, but it darn well cost me $400 from my paycheck, and didn't in any way cover everything. It is still a decent insurance, considered better than Kaiser, which is one of the largest here.
Soon my streak of luck with this type of health insurance will end, and I'll have to see what I can afford while working as a contractor again. It's going to be tough if I get ill.