yes indeed

and if you cannot, contact the relevant place. don't just leave it. payment plans are a thing

EXACTLY THIS

Hi I help sue people for a living and some of these debts are ridiculously large

my mom got into credit card debt a few years ago and debt collection calls are stressful and I do not wish them upon anyone

i'm sorry to hear that it's not an easy situation to be in

it's fine. it's better now, but a lot of it would have been better sooner if she'd not just. ignored it all

yeah i get that

ha i wish i could pay my medical bills

or my student loans

(i don't pay rent, but internet, water, cat payment, car insurance and that badly leaves me enough for meds and food)

american medical bills areridic though

do they charge interest on med bills?

nope just collections fees and attorney fees

theladyunicorn: they fucking are.

just. 500 copay for emergencies. 80 copay for most of my doctors

That's not counting labs

hearing these stories make me realise just how lucky we are here

I don't even have health insurance. Can't get it through work because it costs too much. Can't get it through the state because I 'make too much'.

And fuck the marketplace.

that is just ridic

Hope I never get really sick 'cause I'm just gonna die.

that makes me so mad

Make too much. Sure, tell that to the dozens of people I've had to borrow money from during the past year in order to make it to the next paycheck.

Not to get salty in your post, but I think the ppl who say America is the best country in the world really need to take a look at what's happening in the country because uh no.

Not even close. Not by a longshot.

It's all good and hard agree

anothersadsong: fucking seriously

like. people die for want of antibiotics for a tooth infection.

it used to be so common. young adults. every year

komikbookgeek: Oh God, teeth. Mine are rotting out of my mouth because I have no other choice.

so did my dad's

Thank God it's not noticeable yet because they're in the back of my mouth but that's not going to last forever.

i owe my dentist 900 because my dental only covers cleaning and 'routine' care until you've had it a year

I had to borrow $90 for an EXAM where they told me yup, you've got problems. But we're not gonna do anything until you have the full amount for the extraction. And that doesn't take into account all the OTHER STUFF we'll have to do with your OTHER TEETH.

That's after the 870 i paid as my part of the bill

INSANE.

yep

Like, how is that okay?

You can DIE from a tooth infection.

never mind i have leaking heart valves from rheumatic fever

so it would be really easy for me to get so very sick

anothersadsong: people can and do die. a lot

Sucks feeling like a ticking time bomb.

yep

I've heard stories where people can't afford both pain killer and antibiotics sometimes

and one person picked pain killers and died of infection

Yeah, I had my gall bladder out when I was 22 and couldn't afford the painfillers. AFTER SURGERY.

holy shit.

I'm so sorry

I couldn't afford an inhaler when I have a really bad upper respiratory infection

who needs to breathe anyway?

Oh, yeah, it's not like breathing is vital to y'know living or anything.

yeah that is why people die is dental infections

need the pain killers to work so you can afford to get the tooth pulled. that's the cheap option

It's such a broken system and so many people are suffering.

yeah