Because the majority of people in the US can't afford to go to hospital for the flu. It would bankrupt them. So they don't. The "sweat it out" and pass it on hoping they can get away with it. Most of them probably have to go to work because if they take a day off they don't get paid, take 2 off and they most likely get fired.
I never quite understood why people believe this?
While not on a Federal Level, most US States have laws that the employer must provide sick leave and even those who dont most have an arrangement with their employer anyways.
It is always the people who have never lived in the US and/or hold a steady Job who make up these claims... same with healthcare. ![Face Palm :palm:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/facepalm.gif)
The only thing that the US does different than Switzerland, to my knowledge, is that Switzerland forces you to get healthcare (if you dont have one you cant get a job) to prevent the dummies to fall flat on their faces. And I have lived in Spain and Germany (periods longer than 2 years) to know that their "holy" Universal Healthcare system sucks compared to the Swiss and probably the US.
![Banging Head |O](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/bangheadonwall.gif)
You are confusing paid medical leave ( I was home for a week and still got paid ) with medical bills.
How about bad migraine, you take an over the counter pain killer, you have weird sensation, you call ambulance, they take you to hospital, doctor looks at you for a minute, gives you one injection, and after half an hour your're ok and you go home. A week later you get bill from a hospital for 6500 USD for "services rendered".
I had medical, so they sorted that out. That is how it was around 1999-2000 in USA. And medical didn't mean dental. You had to get that insurance extra, so you don't have to pay few hundred USD for a minor repair on a tooth.
I don't know how Obamacare works now, but it used to be, basically, you die or pay. Or they treat you and than you go bankrupt.