Friends of ours were charged $90,000 for the birth of their child after there were some complications and the baby ended up in the ICU.
The US healthcare system is insane. I don't understand how it is a superpower, or why anyone other than the wealthy that benefit from it, would defend it.
Abbott is a US pharma:
Since the passage of the 2017 Republican tax law, Abbott has saved billions in taxes and seen its effective tax rate decline to levels well below the statutory rate of 21 percent. Abbott paid an effective tax rate of 9.6 percent in 2019, 10 percent in 2020 and 13.9 percent in 2021.
Pfizer another US:
Since the passage of the 2017 Republican tax law, Pfizer paid effective tax rates of 5.4% in 2019, 5.3% in 2020, 7.6% in 2021, and 9.6% in 2022. In 2023, Pfizer even reported a negative tax rate and received a refund that exceeded the taxes it paid that year.
But hey - the land of the free!