[entropy12]

Healthcare was expensive in 2 states where I spent the most time.

1. Illinois
2. Washington

The monthly premiums was not the problem. $300-$400 was OK.
Things got expensive when hospitalization with surgery was required. For example a visit emergency room due to onset of gall bladder attack, 2 day stay in hospital with surgery to remove gall bladder, the bill was north of $40,000. First we had to pay individual & family deductible, and then insurance covered 80%. Net out of pocket was $8500. That does not include $4500 in yearly health insurance premiums. May be that is not a problem to you, for us it was a big dent in our budget.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

a visit emergency room due to onset of gall bladder attack, 2 day stay in hospital with surgery to remove gall bladder, the bill was north of $40,000. First we had to pay individual & family deductible, and then insurance covered 80%. Net out of pocket was $8500.

The premium up here for a non-group policy is a little over $400 per person per month...been that way for a while.

The reason hospital costs are so high is because they are gouging cash-paying and insured patients to offset the screwing they are getting by providing "free healthcare" and underfunded medical welfare (MediCaid)

The practice is called "cost shifting".