03/12/2026
The past weeks have been a crash course for me, not only in dealing with a painful neck nerve issue, but also in understanding how the American healthcare system actually works.
After almost 𝟭𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨.𝗦., this is the first time I’ve had to seriously navigate it. Physical therapy, prescriptions, pharmacies, insurance, approvals… the full experience.
And it made me realize two things.
First, I’ve actually been incredibly lucky with my health for almost a decade here. I never really had to deal with the system in a complex way before, and that’s something I’m very grateful for. 🙏🏼
Second, the U.S. healthcare system works 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 from what I grew up with in Germany. There are so many things you only learn once you suddenly have to figure them out yourself.
One of the most surprising discoveries for me:
sometimes prescription prices can change dramatically just by using a pharmacy coupon. Apps like 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗥𝘅 or 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 can make a huge difference.
At this point I’m wondering 🤔 Should I start a small series:
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. (And honestly… lots of Americans don’t know these things either.)
If you’re navigating healthcare here as well and have learned something surprising along the way, let us know in the comments. Let’s share what we learn and help each other figure this system out.
