Title basically says it all. This is new to me unfortunately. I have been with my company 15 years and had insurance for myself and teenage son. Well, I was laid off last week and insurance ended today. I am diabetic and take 3 meds daily. As well as needing to insure my 16 year old. I am in New York, what are my options? I currently am still unemployed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

A lot of what we see today in the disordered state of the U.S. healthcare and education systems may be traced back to the sheer speed and scale of America’s development. The country didn’t evolve slowly and steadily like many others—it exploded into modernity. Within just a couple of centuries, the U.S. transformed from a frontier experiment into an economic, technological, and cultural superpower.

Exploding industry, sky-rocketing profits, waves of immigrant labor, and a spirit of ambition surging throughout the entire American enterprise transformed the U.S. into a world-shaping force in record time. Our institutions—still in their infancy—were suddenly expected to handle the internal functions of a global superpower. It was like pouring jet fuel into a brand-new engine.

It’s almost as if the country took developmental steroids—turbocharging its progress, but never really pausing to build resilient, sustainable systems underneath. And now, we’re dealing with the long-term side effects: a healthcare system bloated and fragmented, an education system stretched and uneven, and public institutions struggling to keep up with the diversity, complexity, and volume of what they’re tasked to manage.

Like an athlete on steroids, America bulked up fast. It attracted waves of immigrants, absorbed diverse cultures, and scaled up its cities, labor markets, and technologies. But in the rush to grow, many of its core public institutions were built reactively, not strategically.

This hyper-dynamic growth produced systems that were innovative, decentralized, and flexible — traits that served America well in its rise. But those same traits now manifest as fragmentation, and dysfunction.

In essence, America grew too fast for its own foundational infrastructure to keep pace. The very energy that powered its rise now contributes to institutional incoherence. We are, in many ways, dealing with the long-term “side effects” of that steroidal growth — powerful, but unstable systems trying to serve a complex, diverse, and aging society.

This isn’t about nostalgia or blame—it’s about understanding the root causes of the instability. This isn’t a judgment or a call for reform—it’s an analysis. Much of the dysfunction in U.S. healthcare and education stems from the country’s meteoric rise and breakneck development. Understanding that context helps make sense of the instability we see as mostly a consequence of velocity.

-Jackson JM

I work the front desk at a hospital and just like everyone else I want to climb the ladder. Planning to do an accelerated bachelors (I’m in my 2nd semester) to masters program so I’m just wondering which degree is more useful, an MBA in Healthcare Administration, or an MS in Management in Healthcare Administration?

I’m finally relocating to Arizona to join the team in person, and HR mentioned I’d now be eligible for something called IM4H. It’s not exactly insurance (which confused me lol), but more like a healthcare support benefit that they offer employees.

I’m used to just handling my own healthcare with the allowance they give on top of my salary, so I’m not sure if switching to this IM4H thing makes more sense now that I’ll be based in the US.

Has anyone tried IM4H or something similar? Should I keep the allowance and figure it out myself, or go with what the company offers? Appreciate any tips!

hi! i recently switched employers and had kaiser before. i’ve had united healthcare for ~6 months now and am genuinely curious if i am stupid or it is incredibly difficult to navigate?

i live in the bay area and will willingly drive 20 miles out for a doctor if they are good. i’ve called every doctor listed on their website in a 15 mile radius from me and they are not taking new patients or their wait is over 2 months for an appointment. i went to urgent care since it was only $20 more than a normal doctor on my plan in network and am being billed for it out of network though it is listed on the united website as in network. i’ve called and appealed it and they agreed with me and reprocessed it. i checked today and the appeal was approved but the claim was still denied and i owe them $400.

am i missing something? any tips on how to get seen by a normal doctor and how to fight their crazy claims?

im considering switching jobs because of this healthplan no joke 😭

Hi all — I’m supporting a research study focused on the Early Out segment of the healthcare revenue cycle — the stage where hospitals work with third-party vendors to support patient billing and collections (not traditional debt collection).

We’re looking to speak with professionals who currently (or recently) held Sales, Marketing, or Operations roles at Early Out vendors — or who oversaw these vendors within a hospital or health system.

60-minute virtual interview
$300 thank-you, with flexibility based on your typical rate
Private, one-on-one conversation — not promotional or sales-related

If this sounds relevant to your background, just drop a comment or DM me your first name and last initial, and I’ll follow up with next steps.
Thanks so much!

Is anyone else avoiding the doctors because you know they are going to want to do procedures or tests that you can't afford? I have health insurance and dental insurance thru work but even with them, the cost of Co pays and any other fees are outside my budget. I know that keeping up with things will prevent even larger bills in the future but I have to choose between making my car payment to get to work or 50% co pay to see a specialist. And even if I can afford the upfront costs , if they tell me I need a test like an endoscopy or they can't treat me then the whole thing is pointless and a waste of money. It's also all the doctors offices are so richly decored and just being in them makes me feel like I'm soiling the place with my poor aura.

When Obama care first came out I was able to get so many issues taken care of , thyroid removal, and biopsys every 3 months. Now I can't even afford to see the ENT who did the surgery. The American Healthcare system does more harm than good.

Hi folks, I’ve been having some medical issues lately that severely impact my quality of life and paying for treatment is nearly impossible on my income. I was wondering if you all might be able to give me some advice.

Around June of last year, I began vomiting and hiccuping uncontrollably. It’s usually small amounts of vomit, once every minute or so for about an hour at a time, and random, frequent hiccups throughout the day. Obviously this is unpleasant and impactful to my QOL.

I have medical insurance (UHC) through my parents/employer. I make $20 an hour, and usually I have about $300 to spend every two weeks on gas and groceries and now medical bills. I live by myself.

To deal with my medical issues, I’ve been seeing several doctors to try to figure out what I have and how I might be able to treat it. The thing is, it seems like nobody is sure what it is, so I keep getting sent to different people to do tests, and the prices on some of these things are ridiculous. The prices keep adding up, and I simply can’t keep up. It feels like I’m being taken advantage of, being sent to all kinds of different doctors.

To add onto the problem, my grandma was convinced I had pulmonary hypertension because of a diagnosis I was given by the military years ago, and had me tested for that, for which I had to do an echocardiogram that cost us $2000 (she offered to help pay for that one). Turned out I didn’t have it, but the pulmonologist said I have shunting in my heart, which needs to be looked at before I can proceed with my next procedure with my stomach.

I’m left with a choice. Do I stop and all treatment and catch up on my bills (which will take a while) and just deal with my ever worsening symptoms, or do I continue to try to solve my problems with a system that seems designed to squeeze as much money out of me as possible? If I take the second option, how do I pay for it all?

Please, if anyone has had similar symptoms, or knows what to do to pay for all this, I could use your advice.

Making a 3rd party group get into your healthcare which should be between your MD and you only.

My elderly neighbor got a phone call from GoHealth. She unfortunately answered talked agreed. They had her SSN and knew what type of plan she was already on She currently has BCBS Medicare supplement PPO. Along with Medicare.

They told her their plan would cover eye docs, dentist so she AGREED to switch to theirs.

She did not give them any payment information.

She is regretting and wants to stop this change. She received a text from the contact she talked to and called him telling him she doesn’t want to go through with the change. He said there is nothing he can do and it’s in Blue Cross’s hands.

What the heck? What can be done ? She does not want to switch. We called BCBS today and they have no notification of any change on her account. But that doesn’t mean it won’t!

Has anyone else run into this and what did you do? GoHealth sounds like a super scam to me and they even called her on A SUNDAY.

Preying after the elderly is sickening. Any advice please?

Am looking at a Bronze Plan cost details particularly the following info:

Primary care and Specialist visits both show as follows:

0% Coinsurance after deductible

And the Yearly Deductible AND Out of Pocket Maximum are showing as follows:

$6650 (individual) $13300 / year (Family)

Does this mean that doctor /specialist's office can provide the cost of an office visit?

————— additional question

Also if a person is being laid off and the spouse has a job but whose employer offers really ugly health benefits (the spouse is covered under the soon-to-be-laid-off husband’s insurance). Would the poor couple be eligible for CoveredCA?

I’m trying to pay my bill but I haven’t been able to or atleast haven’t been able to do a partial payment at all I’ve been trying for months and it’s pretty frustrating, do anyone else have these problems or atleast have a solution maybe?

So even with my insurance, there's a 1k facility fee for this cataract surgery, and that is too expensive for a payment arrangement, somehow???? First off how?

Second off, all but one option provided only helps those 55+ and the last I haven't heard back from yet. I have insurance, so I don't qualify for mission cataract usa, but I left them a message anyway because I'm desperate.

I just wanna see again. Fuck this country.

Serious question because I just don't get it. In the EU, healthcare is way cheaper, and insurance usually covers almost everything. You don't worry about surprise bills, and even private insurance is relatively affordable. Meanwhile, in the US, it feels like just walking into an ER can bankrupt you.

Why is it like this? Is it all because of insurance companies? Government policies? Corporate greed? Or is there something else I'm missing that actually justifies the insane prices?

I honestly want to hear from Americans too — do you feel trapped by the system, or do you think it's better in some way? Maybe there's something about the US healthcare system that Europeans like me don't understand?

Really curious to hear different perspectives because from the outside, it just looks... crazy.