Responses
Damn, so healthcare is very expensive in America? Kudos to the Korean doctor!
Oh absolutely! America may be first in its class medically but ETHICALLY this shit is in 1402. A simple asthma inhaler will run you $230-$400 without health insurance. It’s horrible
i'm not saying american doctors are bad at their profession, but they take an inordinate amount of time and will charge thousands minus what paltry med insurance there is. understandable tbh considering how high their own student debt is from med school. this is more of a fucked healthcare system thing rather than their own fault bc i know doctors who explicitly go out of their way to recommend a more affordable means to get treated or lower the bill a little. all the things they wouldn't outright tell you in a hospital cashier, they will tell it off the record.
unrelated but
for one reason or another, i had a check up in the US, took a week for actual diagnosis+treatment that overlapped with a trip to korea. so i went "aight it's bearable imma just have it checked and continue treatment during the trip"
the korean doctor who treated me was like ":'( :'( i am so sorry :'( you don't have national health insurance so it's gonna cost you more than usual :'(" like he was robbing me at gunpoint and he felt bad.
lmao, i checked the bill and it was $1,600 LESS than what it would've cost me in the US and at such short notice too.
it was like a eureka moment where i understood that it wasn't just manga/webtoon fantasy trope that characters could be like, "o no i feel mildly unwell imma get checked at the hospital" because, unlike in the US, you really can afford to get checked for mild illnesses.