Hospitals charge so much due to the cost of medication, cost of doctors salaries, cost of surgeons salaries, cost of medical equipment and operational costs including utilities and also due to a lack of price controls, the fee service model and high administrative costs as well as the need to cover the costs from uncompensated care and negotiated discounts with insurance countries.
The U.S. healthcare system unlike many other countries does not have government mandated price controls which allows hospitals to set their prices based on market forces and negotiations with insurance companies.
The U.S. healthcare system is also complex and has extensive administrative tasks such as billing, coding and navigating insurance systems that contributes to higher costs.
And hospitals often charge higher prices to the insured patients to offset the costs and recover the costs of providing care to uninsured patients and from those patients that cannot pay.
Insurance companies can also negotiate lower rates with hospitals and hospitals must make up for the discounts by charging higher prices to other payers.
If you can't afford to pay the full amount of the medical bill or hospital bill you may be able to negotiate a payment plan or even seek some financial assistance from the hospital or other organizations.
Private health insurance costs as much as $477.00 per month for a single person and for a family the cost of private health insurance can be as much as $1,437.00 per month and sometimes more.
The private health insurance costs vary depending on health insurance plan type, your age, coverage level and location.
Around 26 million Americans have no health insurance which is around 8 percent of the American population.
Many Americans cannot afford to pay for the health insurance and others don't qualify for other health insurance programs so they have to do without.
And some Americans also forgo seeing a doctor or forgo other health care.
In America if you can't afford healthcare you could face delayed or skipped medical care which can potentially lead to worsening of your health conditions and medical debt.
However in emergency situations you're legally protected and a hospital must treat you in an emergency situation even when you cannot pay or have no health insurance.
If you cannot afford healthcare you should see if you qualify for programs that can help you pay for healthcare.
The ACA offers subsidies which help low and middle income people afford health insurance premiums and out of pocket costs.
And many pharmaceutical companies offer programs which help people who qualify with the cost of medications.
And organizations such as RxAssist and NeedyMeds also can guide you to free or low cost medication programs.
Other options are community health centers which can help provide reduced cost prescriptions and other healthcare services based on your income and services such as GoodRx also offer discount cards which can lower the cost of your prescriptions at many pharmacies.
You can also go to government hospitals if you have them available which are not really free but can be cheaper than other hospitals.
Government hospitals are not free at least in the United States.
Government hospitals in the United States are available but the cost of the care at the Government hospitals is often covered by health insurance or paid for out of the patients pocket.
The United States has federal, state and local government owned hospitals, although they are not really free.
The United States does not have a universal healthcare system in which healthcare is provided free to all it's citizens.
Government hospitals are also funded by taxpayers and are often designed to serve certain people like veterans and people in need of specialized care.
And while some government hospitals might offer you discounted or free care in certain situations and to certain people, most people are actually expected to pay for their own medical care, either through insurance or paid out of pocket.
Also federal law requires hospitals that get money from Medicare to stabilize any patient which arrives at their emergency room, regardless of any insurance status that patient may have.
Some hospitals including government hospitals also offer and provide charity care or reduced care for people who cannot afford full payment.
And government programs such as medicare and medicaid can also help to cover the cost of healthcare for people who are eligible.
Some examples of government hospitals are federal hospitals that are operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, state run psychiatric hospitals and county run hospitals.
If you can't afford a hospital and require emergency care the hospital must treat you.
And if you're poor, someone from social services can also help you apply for Medicaid, which can also help with your post-treatment care.
If you have financial resources, many hospitals will also work out a payment plan for you which typically includes some kind of cash discounts.