in the united states, about 68,000 people die every year because they don't have health insurance.

this is more than the number of americans who are murdered each year.

the folks who do have health insurance are denied coverage by their insurance company for 1 out of every 3 claims, on average.

since 1971, the cost of healthcare in the united states has risen 3,700%.

that's not a typo.

the average number of citizens who declare bankruptcy each year due to medical debts that they cannot pay, by country:

• australia - 0
• canada - 0
• denmark - 0
• germany - 0
• great britain - 0
• finland - 0
• france - 0
• iceland - 0
• ireland - 0
• italy - 0
• japan - 0
• netherlands - 0
• norway - 0
• scotland - 0
• spain - 0
• sweden - 0
• united states - 326,000
• wales - 0

almost every religious institution in the u.s. has sam (sexual abuse and molestation) insurance coverage.

in the united states, prescription drugs have become so expensive that at least one insurance company now pays for its members to go to mexico to get their prescriptions filled.

in addition to paying for the trips, the company puts their members up in a hotel overnight and provides a us$500 stipend to cover any other out-of-pocket costs associated with the trip.

i in 5 americans (43 million people) have unpaid medical debt.

in the u.s., to increase profitability, insurance companies cover fewer and fewer conditions, and pay less for each treatment than in the past. in addition, the portion of a typical medical bill paid by the insurance company has dropped from 90% to 70%, with the patient billed for the difference. this is a large part of why the most common cause for bankruptcy in the u.s. is unpaid medical bills.

it is estimated that - partly due to pressure from insurance companies, partly due the fact that we'd rather text than pay attention to the road - just about every car will drive by itself by 2035.

in the u.s., this will save 30,000 lives per year, 5 billion commuting hours, and us$500 billion in fuel, accidents, and time.

when your doctor bills your insurance company, they use a standardized set of codes to explain what they are billing for. some of the more interesting of the 155,000+ codes:

T63622A - suicide by jellyfish
V9542XA - injury during forced landing of a spacecraft, initial encounter
V9107XA - burn from water skis catching on fire

X822 - intentional collision of motor vehicle with tree

if you are injured on a cruise, don't expect the doctor on board to do much to help. medical facilities on board are minimal, and the doctor is an independent contractor to keep the cruise line from getting sued if he does something wrong.

for serious injuries, cruise ships most often drop passengers off at the nearest port for treatment, and sail on without them. it's up to the passenger to find their own way home, plus medical care in non-u.s. ports is not covered by most insurance, plus you don't get any of your money back from the cruise line.

for all of these reasons, talking to your agent about travel insurance before a trip is probably a good idea.

in the u.s., 42 house fires are caused - per day - by candles. but they sure are pretty.

62% of bankruptcies in the united states are due to medical bills. 4 out of 5 of these people had health insurance, but either they got so sick that they lost their job (and their insurance with it), or could not afford to pay deductibles, co-payments and services that were not covered by their insurance.

example 1: marcie edmonds was billed us$83,046 for 2 scorpion sting anti-venom shots that would have cost us$200 in mexico. (americans are forbidden by law from purchasing medication in mexico by the medicare drug act.)

example 2: melissa torres was in an auto accident. the hospital originally billed her us$4850 for her emergency room visit. when the hospital found out that she received an insurance settlement, they upped the bill to us$20,211.

your employer can legally take out a life insurance policy on you without your knowledge or consent - even if you no longer work for that company - and collect the money when you die. this is known as a 'dead peasant' or 'janitor' policy. congress officially sanctioned this practice in 2006, but it's been going on for more than 40 years. as of 2003, the government accounting office estimated that us$56 billion worth of these policies were currently in place, and the practice has only grown since then.