I went through a similar thing. My mom had advanced ovarian cancer ten years ago, and even though she 'had insurance' in the American sense of the phrase then, when you added up the things they didn't pay for, it was thousands of dollars a month, punctuated by five-figure expenses here and there. (Spoiler alert: I spent all my savings, went $100k into debt, and then she died.)
I think there is a misconception about the health care you get in the USA if you are broke and uninsured/underinsured. They will set your broken bones, they will amputate a gangrenous limb, they will do what they need to do in order to prevent you from dying today in their hospital.
But you certainly won't have an easy time scheduling a consultation with the specialist who is treating patients with that new cutting-edge chemotherapy compound with less violent side effects, or obtaining long-term treatment to suppress multiple sclerosis episodes, etc.
The son pays the bills because otherwise his mom will probably have to suffer more and will probably die sooner.
I think there is a misconception about the health care you get in the USA if you are broke and uninsured/underinsured. They will set your broken bones, they will amputate a gangrenous limb, they will do what they need to do in order to prevent you from dying today in their hospital.
But you certainly won't have an easy time scheduling a consultation with the specialist who is treating patients with that new cutting-edge chemotherapy compound with less violent side effects, or obtaining long-term treatment to suppress multiple sclerosis episodes, etc.
The son pays the bills because otherwise his mom will probably have to suffer more and will probably die sooner.