EU Insurance Covers What Bankrupts Americans – Real Numbers

My neighbor in Valencia had stage 3 breast cancer. Double mastectomy, reconstruction, chemo, radiation, two years of treatment. Total bill: €45 for parking. Her sister in Florida had the exact same cancer. Total bill: $847,000. Insurance covered $623,000. She still owes $224,000. For the exact same disease.

This isn’t a healthcare comparison. This is a crime scene investigation. Every American medical bankruptcy has a European equivalent where someone paid nothing. Not “less.” Nothing. And the outcomes are the same or better.

I collected real bills from real people on both sides of the Atlantic. The numbers are so different they look fake. They’re not fake. They’re just proof that Americans are getting scammed at a level that should be criminal.

The Cancer Bills That Prove Everything

Susan, 52, Denver: Breast cancer, stage 2

• Surgery: $67,000
• Chemotherapy (6 months): $187,000
• Radiation (33 sessions): $98,000
• Medications: $34,000
• Scans and tests: $41,000
• Total billed: $427,000
• Insurance paid: $312,000
• Susan owes: $115,000

Marie, 54, Lyon: Breast cancer, stage 2

• Surgery: €0
• Chemotherapy (6 months): €0
• Radiation (33 sessions): €0
• Medications: €23 (parking fees)
• Scans and tests: €0
• Total paid: €23

Same cancer. Same treatment. One person lost their house. One person complained about parking fees.

Susan is now in bankruptcy proceedings. Marie is back at work, cancer-free, owns her house, has savings. The only difference? Geographic luck.

The Heart Attack That Costs More Than a House

Robert, 58, Phoenix: Heart attack, triple bypass

• Ambulance: $3,200
• Emergency room: $21,000
• Surgery: $188,000
• ICU (4 days): $47,000
• Hospital room (5 days): $15,000
• Cardiac rehab: $8,000
• Medications (annual): $4,800
• Total first year: $287,000
• Insurance paid: $198,000
• Robert owes: $89,000

Klaus, 61, Munich: Heart attack, triple bypass

• Ambulance: €0
• Emergency room: €0
• Surgery: €0
• ICU (4 days): €0
• Hospital room (7 days): €10 (phone/TV rental)
• Cardiac rehab: €0
• Medications (annual): €60 copay
• Total paid: €70

Robert refinanced his house to pay medical debt. Still owes $40,000. Can’t retire as planned. Klaus? Retired on schedule, travels with his wife, thinks Americans are lying when they explain medical bills.

The Pregnancy That Bankrupts Families

Jennifer, 31, Austin: Normal pregnancy and delivery

• Prenatal care: $8,000
• Delivery (vaginal, no complications): $18,000
• Hospital stay (2 days): $6,000
• Epidural: $2,500
• Newborn care: $4,000
• Total: $38,500
• Insurance paid: $27,000
• Jennifer owes: $11,500

Complications happened – Emergency C-section

• Additional surgery costs: $22,000
• Extended stay (5 days): $15,000
• NICU (3 days): $28,000
• New total: $103,500
• Insurance paid: $71,000
• Jennifer owes: $32,500

Isabella, 29, Barcelona: Complicated pregnancy, emergency C-section

• Prenatal care (high-risk pregnancy): €0
• Emergency C-section: €0
• Hospital stay (7 days): €0
• NICU (5 days): €0
• All medications: €0
• Home nurse visits after: €0
• Total paid: €0

Jennifer’s husband works overtime to pay hospital bills for their baby. Isabella’s husband took paid paternity leave. Same medical situation. Completely different lives.

The Chronic Disease Destroying Retirement

Type 1 Diabetes Annual Costs

Michael, 45, Houston:

• Insulin: $8,400 yearly
• Supplies (pumps, monitors): $5,200
• Endocrinologist visits: $1,600
• Lab work: $2,400
• Continuous glucose monitor: $4,000
• Annual cost: $21,600
• Insurance covers: $13,000
• Michael pays: $8,600 yearly

Lars, 43, Copenhagen:

• Insulin: €0
• Supplies: €0
• Specialist visits: €0
• Lab work: €0
• Continuous glucose monitor: €0
• Annual cost: €0

Michael has rationed insulin when money was tight. Went into diabetic coma once. Nearly died trying to save money. Lars thinks insulin rationing is a dystopian fiction. “Why would anyone ration medicine they need to live?”

Over 20 years, Michael will pay $172,000 just to not die from diabetes. Lars will pay nothing and live longer.

The Mental Health Crisis Nobody Can Afford

Sarah, 28, Seattle: Severe depression and anxiety

• Psychiatrist (monthly): $400
• Therapist (weekly): $200 x 52 = $10,400
• Medications: $180 monthly = $2,160
• Hospital stay (suicidal): $12,000
• Annual cost: $24,960
• Insurance covers: $8,000
• Sarah pays: $16,960

Sarah stopped therapy. Can’t afford it. Cut medication doses in half to save money. Got worse. Lost job. Lost insurance. Spiral continues.

Emma, 27, Amsterdam: Severe depression and anxiety

• Psychiatrist: €0
• Therapist (weekly): €0
• Medications: €0
• Hospital stay (3 weeks): €0
• Day treatment program (6 months): €0
• Total paid: €0

Emma got intensive treatment, recovered, kept her job, now manages her condition. Sarah is unemployed, untreated, getting worse. Same illness. Different continents. Different futures.

The Accident That Ruins Everything

David, 34, Los Angeles: Motorcycle accident, multiple fractures

• Ambulance: $4,500
• Emergency surgery: $97,000
• 12 days in hospital: $58,000
• Second surgery: $61,000
• Physical therapy (6 months): $18,000
• Hardware removal surgery: $31,000
• Total: $269,500
• Insurance paid: $161,000
• David owes: $108,500

Marco, 36, Rome: Motorcycle accident, multiple fractures

• Ambulance: €0
• Emergency surgery: €0
• 15 days in hospital: €0
• Second surgery: €0
• Physical therapy (8 months): €0
• Hardware removal: €0
• Total: €0

David declared bankruptcy. Lost his condo. Moved back with parents at 34. Still can’t walk properly because he stopped physical therapy when money ran out. Marco? Fully recovered, back on his motorcycle, thinks American healthcare is “barbaric.”

The Children’s Hospital Bills That Shouldn’t Exist

Tommy, 6, Dallas: Leukemia

• First year treatment: $981,000
• Insurance paid: $784,000
• Family owes: $197,000

The fundraisers. The GoFundMe. The community spaghetti dinners. The second mortgage. The dad working three jobs. The mom who quit her job to care for him losing their second insurance. The medical bankruptcy while their child is still sick.

Lucas, 6, Berlin: Leukemia

• Three years treatment: €0
• Experimental treatment: €0
• Travel to specialized center: €0
• Parents’ hotel during treatment: €0
• Family owes: €0

Both kids survived. One family is destroyed financially. One family is intact. The American family has a recovered child and a ruined life. The German family just has a recovered child.

The Senior Care That Eats Everything

Dorothy, 78, Miami: Alzheimer’s care

• Memory care facility: $8,500 monthly
• Medications: $500 monthly
• Medicare covers: Almost nothing
• Annual cost: $108,000

Dorothy’s house: Sold Her savings: Gone in 18 months Her children: Paying $4,000 monthly they don’t have Her care: Mediocre at best

Ingrid, 81, Stockholm: Alzheimer’s care

• Memory care facility: €0
• Medications: €0
• Additional therapies: €0
• Family pays: €0

Ingrid’s house: Still owns it Her savings: Intact for her grandchildren Her children: Visit daily instead of working extra jobs Her care: Excellent

The Dental Work Nobody Talks About

Karen, 48, Chicago: Needs dental implants (3 teeth)

• Extraction: $800
• Bone grafts: $3,000
• Implants: $12,000
• Crowns: $4,500
• Total: $20,300
• Insurance covers: $1,500 annual maximum
• Karen owes: $18,800

Karen is missing teeth. Can’t afford implants. Affects her job prospects. Affects her confidence. Affects her eating. Chose rent over teeth.

Sylvie, 50, Paris: Same dental needs

• Everything: €180 total copay
• Sylvie paid: €180

Both women needed the same dental work. One has teeth. One doesn’t. Because geography.

The Prescriptions That Kill People

Monthly medication costs – actual bills

Tom, 62, Atlanta (heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure):

• Eliquis: $530
• Jardiance: $490
• Metformin: $15
• Lisinopril: $10
• Atorvastatin: $12
• Monthly total: $1,057
• Insurance covers: $700
• Tom pays: $357 monthly

Tom skips doses. Cuts pills in half. Had a stroke from skipping blood thinners. Hospital bill from stroke: $97,000.

Giuseppe, 64, Milan (exact same medications):

• Monthly total: €8

Giuseppe takes his medications as prescribed. Hasn’t had a stroke. Won’t have a stroke. Because he can afford his pills.

The Real Numbers Summary

Average American medical bankruptcy: $67,000 in medical debt

Average European medical debt: €0

Americans who delay medical care due to cost: 45%

Europeans who delay medical care due to cost: 7%

Americans who ration medication: 1 in 4

Europeans who ration medication: Essentially zero

American deaths from rationing insulin: 4-6 per month

European deaths from rationing insulin: 0

The Insurance Scam Exposed

Americans pay $8,500 yearly for “good” insurance that still leaves them bankrupt. Europeans pay nothing extra or maybe €100 monthly for private upgrades and never see bills.

American insurance reality:

• Premium: $700 monthly
• Deductible: $5,000
• Out-of-pocket max: $15,000 (per year!)
• Copays: $30-100 per visit
• Coinsurance: 20-40% after deductible
• Coverage denials: Constant
• Prior authorizations: Everything
• Network restrictions: Everywhere
• Lifetime limits: Sometimes
• Total possible cost: Premium + out-of-pocket = $23,400 yearly

European insurance reality:

• Cost: Included in taxes or €0-200 monthly
• Deductible: €0
• Out-of-pocket max: Maybe €500 yearly
• Copays: €0-10
• Coinsurance: Doesn’t exist
• Coverage denials: Rare
• Prior authorizations: What’s that?
• Network restrictions: None
• Lifetime limits: Illegal
• Total possible cost: €0-2,400 yearly

Why Europeans Can’t Comprehend This

Showed these bills to my Spanish friends. They literally don’t believe them. Think I’m exaggerating. Think the zeros are wrong.

“$97,000 for a broken leg?” “$38,000 to have a baby?” “$8,400 yearly for insulin?”

They can’t process it. It’s like explaining that water costs $1,000 per gallon. It breaks their brain because it’s so obviously wrong.

One friend asked: “Why don’t Americans riot?”

Good question. We just… accept it. Accept that medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. Accept that people die from rationing insulin. Accept that GoFundMe is our backup health insurance.

The Life Expectancy Truth

European life expectancy: 81-84 years American life expectancy: 76 years

Americans pay more to die younger. We’re literally paying extra for worse outcomes. It’s the worst deal in the history of deals.

But we’re told we have “the best healthcare in the world.” Best for who? Best at what? Best at bankrupting families?

The Hidden Costs Nobody Calculates

Lost wages from untreated conditions. Divorces caused by medical debt. Suicides from medical bills. Careers ended by inability to pay for treatment. Children who can’t go to college because parents’ medical debt destroyed credit.

These aren’t in the statistics. But they’re real. Every American knows someone whose life was destroyed not by illness but by medical bills.

Every European knows nobody like this because it doesn’t happen.

The Business Impact

American small businesses can’t compete because health insurance costs $20,000 per employee. European businesses pay nothing extra. Who has the competitive advantage?

Americans stay in awful jobs for insurance. Europeans switch jobs freely. Who has the better economy?

American entrepreneurs can’t start businesses because they need insurance. Europeans start businesses without that fear. Who has more innovation?

The Actual Solution

Every European country figured this out decades ago. It’s not complicated:

1. Everyone pays taxes
2. Taxes fund healthcare
3. Everyone gets healthcare
4. Nobody goes bankrupt

That’s it. That’s the entire system. No insurance companies denying claims. No prior authorizations. No networks. No deductibles. No medical bankruptcies.

But Americans think this is “socialism” while GoFunding their insulin. Think it’s “communism” while declaring bankruptcy from cancer bills. Think it’s “un-American” while dying from treatable diseases.

The Final Numbers

530,000 Americans declare bankruptcy yearly from medical bills 0 Europeans declare bankruptcy from medical bills

45,000 Americans die yearly from lack of health insurance 0 Europeans die from lack of health insurance

$11,000 per American spent on healthcare yearly $5,000 per European spent on healthcare yearly

We spend twice as much to get worse results and go bankrupt in the process.

The Rage-Inducing Conclusion

Every American medical bankruptcy represents a European who would have paid nothing. Every American who dies rationing insulin represents a European who gets insulin free. Every American destroyed by medical debt represents a European who never sees a bill.

This isn’t about different systems. This is about one system that works and one that’s designed to extract maximum profit from human suffering.

Susan still owes $115,000 for beating cancer. Marie complained about €23 in parking fees.

Robert mortgaged his house for a heart attack. Klaus paid €10 for TV rental.

Jennifer owes $32,500 for having a baby. Isabella paid nothing.

These are the same humans with the same bodies having the same medical problems. The only difference is which side of the Atlantic they happened to be born on.

One side gets healthcare. The other side gets bills that destroy lives.

The numbers don’t lie. The bills are real. The bankruptcies are real. The choice to continue this system is also real.

Every American politician who says universal healthcare is “too expensive” is lying. Every European country proves it’s cheaper. Much cheaper. Incredibly cheaper.

But the insurance companies make billions. The hospitals make billions. The drug companies make billions.

And Americans make GoFundMe pages to pay for insulin.

The real numbers are right here. The comparison is clear. The solution is obvious.

The question is: How many more bankruptcies before America admits the system is designed to fail?

How many more GoFundMes? How many more deaths? How many more families destroyed?

Europe solved this problem generations ago.

America chooses profit over lives.

Every. Single. Day.

And the bills prove it.

€45 versus $847,000.

That’s not a healthcare system.

That’s a crime.