You are correct, it's not that simple at all. However, they are willing to work with you. If you show that you are actually willing to pay, that your going to make good on your debt you they will reduce your costs substantially. A lot of doctors are also willing to make private deals with you, I've had a surgeon who has waived all of his own fee's, and a pharmacy who is charging me cost for my medications. I'm probably lucky to be in a small town where everyone knows everyone though.
first of all nobody is even talking about socalized medicine. what is being proposed is a single payer system,supported by higher taxes, similar to what congress has now. there is not going to be any working with anybody. he is now forever uninsurable and unemployable. there are no assets left. everything was burned up in the last year for treatment. i guess if we all cling to our notion that oh well it could never happen to me its more comfortable. in this case it truely was a working productive family man destroyed in one year by medical costs even though he had insurance. from this point on he has to depend on the charity of others for continuing care. i will say this. up to this point he has not been lacking for care but it will be interesting to see how things change now that insurance has run out and he has accumulated another 107k in bills he can not pay.
It will not be the easiest thing in the world for him, I can attest to that from experience. It can be done though. You have to look around, you have to have to be open with them about your situation and ask for the help. In most cases if you have good credit and a legitimate reason you have found yourself in the situation your in such as your friends son has then there are people who will work with you. I think that a lot of things have to change in our system, I'm not by any means saying we should keep what we have...its far from perfect. Anyway if your friend does run into some trouble feel free to get in touch with me.
LOL, like you give a shit. Its fake money. The hospitals come up with these inflated charges to bill the insurance companies because they know they are only going to get a third of what they bill. They tried to charge me full insurance prices and they knew it which is why they never pursued it. Get rid of lawyers and insurance companies and make the providers compete like any other industry. John