Is there the political will to fix it the US' health horror stories?
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The hospital had given him a $160,000 (£119,00) bill for the treatment. King, a former pastor, did not have standard health insurance from his employer, only a cost-sharing alternative plan that said it would not cover the procedure.
"It was pretty traumatic," said the 66-year-old from Lawrence, Kansas. "Who knew that less than a one-day procedure in and out of the hospital could destroy us financially?"
King is one of around 100 million people - or about 40% of Americans - who are estimated to struggle to pay off their medical and dental healthcare debt, according to recent data. The healthcare company King was a member of have previously said it's important that members understand its cost-sharing model and membership guidelines.
The US has one of the most expensive health systems in the world, with spending on health care estimated to reach $5.9tn (£4.3tn) in 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But despite spending twice as much per capita on healthcare compared with wealthy nations of a similar size, the US has a lower life expectancy than those other nations, according to health research nonprofit KFF.
As costs have continued to grow, so have Americans' frustrations with the US healthcare system.
In December of 2024, a gunman fatally shot UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, a father of two, on a busy street in Manhattan. Some took to social media after the murder to celebrate the alleged assassin, Luigi Mangione, as a kind of folk hero, believing Thompson's killing to be a reaction against the system.
Supporters of the murder suspect flock to stand outside the courthouse in New York for his hearings, wearing backpacks and shirts saying "Free Luigi" and carrying signs protesting the healthcare industry.
Last Friday, a judge threw out a federal firearms murder count against Mangione, which was punishable by the death penalty. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, one of Mangione's lawyers, thanked his fans after the judge's decision, saying: "We r
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