[syriacus]

My mother has kept the cancelled check from the hospital bill for my birth - paid in full at a little over $300. Compare and contrast to modern times!

I believe you.

When we were married, in 1970, my husband was too slow to tell the personnel office to add me to his health insurance policy. Even though our son was born 10 months after we were married, we had to pay the obstetrician and the hospital ourselves. We had very little money, but were able to pay for everything without going into debt.

[mountaineer]

My sister was in an bicycling accident in the mid-1980s, requiring surgery, and she didn't have insurance. The hospital set up a payment plan and the debt was paid in a couple of years, end of story. In 1992 I injured a shoulder slipping on an icy sidewalk. At that time, I didn't have health insurance. I called several doctors, but none would see me, even though I assured them I had the money to pay the bill in cash. To this day, I just shake my head in disbelief over the whole situation.