The US Healthcare System Sucks: A Comic

No, that’s not the title Dustin Harbin gave his comic, published by the New York Times last August; he (or they) called it “The Shame of Crowdfunding Health Care”. But it’s the same thing, really. This is a late mention — although you can still donate to the GoFundMe for his medical costs — but I want to capture it for posterity.

In short, Harbin had a bicycle crash and landed on his face, which required significant repair work to his jaw and teeth, and a resulting huge medical bill. Since he’s a cartoonist, he’s got no savings and no insurance. (And isn’t THAT an indictment of the medium we all love? That it’s taken for granted cartoonists don’t have the basics of financial stability?)

You can read the story at the first link above. (And Harbin posted a followup last September.) What struck me most was this text panel, which nicely sums up so many of the problems with the US healthcare system.

Companies should not make money off people’s suffering, particularly when they don’t have the information or ability to make informed decisions whenever their product is needed.

(I’ve been reading a lot of Britfic with police characters, and because everyone loves to use “person got injured so other person declares their feelings” plots, every so often my brain kicks in and thinks “glad they’re in the UK so they all aren’t bankrupted as well.”)