this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
130 points (87.8% liked)

Ask Lemmy

32263 readers
1601 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I am in the US, so financial calculations need to be factored in.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe, felt like I was going to die, then vomitted.

Now heart beating slightly off, not feeling great but not terrible, had mild chest pain earlier in evening...

Kinda feel off. Have medical insurance with large deductible.

Ignore it? Taxi to ER? Call 911? Genuinely don't know and don't like 911 since police are involved.

Also I feel hot, feel burning around my neck.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works 5 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Healthcare, in the US, is still pretty expensive even if you have insurance. Chosing between maybe dying or being disabled, and being homeless is pretty common place here in the best country in the world.

[–] Libra@lemmy.ml 4 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

I am a disabled American in my 50s, I have dealt with serious medical issues my entire life, including the ones that have made me unable to work for the last ~15 years. I understand the healthcare 'system', such as it is, far too well. But you know what sucks worse than being broke? Being dead.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 3 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

We're not talking about being dead vs being broke. We're talking about being MAYBE dead vs being homeless, hungry, and unable to clothe your children.

[–] Libra@lemmy.ml 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Health insurance exists for medical emergencies; vomiting and chest pains are signs of a heart attack which, I dunno where you're from, but where I'm from that sounds like a medical emergency to me.

I get that the US healthcare system is bad and exploitative and absolutely leaves people in crippling, life-altering debt. But one fucking trip to urgent care is not going to render you homeless unless something is very seriously wrong with you in which case see also: being dead also sucks pretty hard.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Personally, I've seen a lot of doctors and received very little help for my considerable trouble, and more than a little harm. I was fortunate that I rarely have to pay for medical service (but have to forgo it when I do) but if I had been paying all this time, it would be very easy for me to choose feeding my hypothetical children for the current week over another probably useless visit.