It's hard to overstate how bizarrely opaque healthcare pricing is in the US. Despite the quality of the care ranking favorably worldwide, medical bills are an after-the-fact surprise.
In the diplomatic, foreign exchange, and expat communities living in the US, a common advice is "don't get sick". Those who can afford to travel often get care "back home" or elsewhere in Europe or Asia, because the costs can be determined in advance -- not to mention almost always cheaper.
Meanwhile, Americans are subject to surprise pricing, supposedly-helpful "Explanation of Benefits" forms that itemize procedures into miniscule sub-steps costing several hundreds of dollars each, a complete inability to reconcile a bill with the corresponding insurance claim -- to say nothing about trying to correct a paperwork mistake should it occur, or even being able to detect it in the first place.
In the diplomatic, foreign exchange, and expat communities living in the US, a common advice is "don't get sick". Those who can afford to travel often get care "back home" or elsewhere in Europe or Asia, because the costs can be determined in advance -- not to mention almost always cheaper.
Meanwhile, Americans are subject to surprise pricing, supposedly-helpful "Explanation of Benefits" forms that itemize procedures into miniscule sub-steps costing several hundreds of dollars each, a complete inability to reconcile a bill with the corresponding insurance claim -- to say nothing about trying to correct a paperwork mistake should it occur, or even being able to detect it in the first place.