Ask HN: Is USA that bad when it comes to health insurance, etc?

I've been in the US for almost 10 years, and its been only the last 6 years that I have had health insurance.

If I were still in Ireland I would pay about 1600 Euros a year to give full coverage to me and my family (wife + 2 kids).

In The US I pay just under $400 on every paycheck (my employer also pays a hefty amount), so thats aprox $4900 a year. That does not include dental, or vision.

I would also add that while my plan isn't bad, its not as good as the Irish equivalent - hard to compare though.

Side Note: You should prefix the title of this with "Ask HN:"

If you work for a typical company, health insurance isn't a huge deal, mostly because the company picks up most of the tab. Its part of the benefits package. You will still typically pay $100-400 a month out of pocket depending on if you have family and kids. That also may include dental and vision. Dental is common, vision is not.

If you are self employed or work at a small company, then insurance is a big deal. I'm going to pay $6K a year for crappy insurance and I'm still going to pay $7k out of pocket expensive this year because my son had to have surgery and our deductible is 7500. So I think the insurance situation sucks. And I got a notice yesterday that they are raising my rates again. For small business that want to cover the health insurance for their employees it is also a big expense and one that keeps rising. It amazes me that insurance companies can raise rates 15-40% a year and get away with it.

As far as saving up for college education, that is not as difficult because it is a matter of living within your means. Make it a priority and save. That said I have different views on fully paying for 4 years of college vs. having my kids pay part of their way. My parents put me through my first year of school and then I was on my own. I tended to work hard at school (to get it finished) than those I know who's parents were footing the bill.

My family nearly went bankrupt from my mom's cancer treatment even though we had health insurance. Until the recent healthcare reform, yearly and lifetime limits and the ability to deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions after enrollment were allowed. My cousin who is healthy but has severe asthma has been unable to attain health insurance on his own since graduating college. He works two part time jobs, but does not have employer sponsored health insurance. The American system is broken and the people who'd benefit the most from fixing it are more concerned about "death panels" that don't exist than looking out for one another.

Agree with other posters. If you do not work for a sizable private or public employer, health insurance can be costly. I have a fairly good deal with the health savings account I have - about 150 / mo and 1200 per annum deductible - for a PPO plan with very good preventive, major medical, and prescription drug coverage.

On the other comment, yes there are some parts in the U.S. that are very poor off, especially in parts of the older cities and in rural areas. My parents just returned from a visit to a very high per capita income European country and were somewhat surprised with how clean and orderly and relatively well off all of the cities / towns they visited were.

Like pretty much everyone has said, the health care situation is Not That Bad if your employer covers it, and if you don't get seriously ill or have an expensive chronic condition.

But health insurance is one of the few ways in which the US really discourages entrepreneurship. Individual health insurance, particularly if you're older, have a family, or have some kind of risk factor, costs a fortune.

The conventional wisdom on homeless people in the US is that the vast majority of the homeless got that way because of mental health problems and substance abuse. I believe it's more of a public policy issue than strictly a lack of money.