8.

"US healthcare may be paid partially with employment, but it's not all paid for. Each month, I pay $350 into my insurance. When I get sick, I don't get any benefits until I meet my $2,000 deductible. Then I pay copays until I've paid $4,500 out of pocket — and even then, my insurance still only covers about 90–93%. I'm chronically ill. I hit my deductible by February or April each year. I pay $4,200 a year in premiums, $4,000 in out-of-pocket costs, plus another $2,650 just to meet the tax write-off threshold. That's at least $10,850 a year, and that's only for care covered by insurance. I had $50,000 saved for a house. I was hit by a car while on a bike. Even after insurance and a court settlement, I lost all my savings in two years. I paid more for a six-block ambulance ride in Chicago than for emergency surgery and a two-week hospital stay in Germany."

"Your employer chooses which insurance company you have.…