According to experts, the five most important things you need to know about healthcare in the United States are: 1) there's no universal healthcare; 2) healthcare can be very expensive; 3) most people in the U.S. have health insurance; 4) people get most of their care from their "primary care provider"; and 5) people usually need an appointment to get medical care.
All in all, the American healthcare system is unlike most others in the world, and that uniqueness comes with its own set of challenges. We’ve collected images from across the internet, shared by people who have experienced these challenges, to show how they appear in everyday life.
#1 Dentist Office Charged My Sister $500 For A CT Scan They Never Performed
Went in today to see the apparent CT scan taken last week compared to the current X-rays. The “current” CT scan is missing her implant that was put in 5 years ago…
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#2 The Amount Of Paper United Healthcare FedEx Overnighted Me - A Denied Appeal Over Sterilization
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#3 United Healthcare Denial Reasons
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#4 I Was Billed Over $2m For A Week In The Hospital
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#5 $7,000/Month Gets You 4 Pokes In The American Medical System (Psoriatic Arthritis)
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#6 American Healthcare In A Nutshell
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#7 Capitalist Innovation
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#8 No Longer An “Annual Exam” But “Preventative Annual Exam” So If I’m Not Perfectly Healthy With No Complaints I’ll Get Double Billed. Why Is It Like This?
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#9 On Hold With Covered California For Over 11 Hours Because They Cancelled Our Health Insurance
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#10 A Friend Of Mine Recently Got Bit By A Rattlesnake While On An Evening Hike. This Was His Bill From The Hospital. He Doesn't Think His Bad Insurance Will Cover Much Of It (U.S.)
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#11 My Insurance Ended Up Backing Out Of My Duel Colonoscopy And Endoscopy
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#12 I’m Being Over Charged By Insurance After My Daughter Was Born. This Is The Pile Of Mail I Have To Go Through To Prove They’re Ripping Me Off. Pear For Scale
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#13 Noticed A New Sign On Display At My Last Doctor’s Appointment. Why Even Have Insurance?
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#14 Insurance Wouldn’t Cover My $1000 Mri. So I Bought One On Groupon
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#15 Cut My Finger And It Cost Me 600 Bucks That I Don't Have. Insurance Didn't Cover It
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#16 Got Admitted To A Hospital Psych Ward For Urgent Help. Insurance Paid 20k, I Can't Pay That Much Per Month And Student Loans Start Soon. Well That Sucks
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#17 Person Was Double-Charged For Ultrasounds
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#18 US Healthcare. This Is What $17,000 Looks Like… Insurance Refusing Next One Because I’m "Over Limit"
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#19 This $4k Bill On Top Of The Trauma Of Having A Miscarriage
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#20 When You Live In America And Can't Afford Healthcare
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#21 In The United States, This Is What $14,714.49 Of Medication Looks Like
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#22 Why Do We Pay For Healthcare Insurance When It Won't Even Cover The Cost Of Routine/Preventive Care?
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#23 Diabetic Supplies Getting Cancelled Because I Can't Afford Them
Type 1 diabetic, can't afford the $430 a month for my insulin pump supplies. Guess they can just cancel my life saving supplies oh well.
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#24 If My Healthcare Provider And Hospital Don’t Reach An Agreement Within The Next 3 Weeks, I Can No Longer See My Oncologist
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#25 This Response From My Therapist Office
I lost my job with commercial insurance last November. My new job had a 3-4 month probation period. I paid out of pocket thru march. It was always known I’d be getting insurance mid April. This is their response when I told them I had signed up.
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#26 A Loved One Just Got This Ambulance Bill In The Mail After Being Taken To Hospital Against Their Will (Mental Health Related)
Guess why they were depressed in the first place... Medical bills.
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#27 I Have Over A 100 Lipomas On Me And My New Dermatologist Wants To Treat Them As Cosmetic Which Means Insurance Won't Cover Them
American. The cost to remove one of these out of pocket is $300. Alot of them hurt when they are pushed in. My kids push them all the time accidentally when playing rough with me. My arms look deformed and lumpy. I had an amazing dermatologist who was sweet and helped write it on the bill in a way the insurance company would cover it 100%. She removed a bunch for me and was helping me. She retired and the place hired a new one. She doesn't do that and it doesn't matter to her if it hurts. She's set on them being cosmetic only and insurance now refuses to pay. 100×$300...$30,000 can't afford even to get the 20 removed off my arms now :( guess I'm a deformed freak with painful lipomas for the rest of my life. God I hate our healthcare system in America.
Image credits: Windyandbreezy
#28 Wife Pays Over 400$ A Month For There To Be Only Two Doctors In The City
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#29 Medical Insurance Company Owed Me Almost 7000$, They Sent It In 69 Checks Of 9$ In Big Heavy Packet
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#30 The For-Profit Healthcare Industry Repossessed A Veteran's Legs This Week Because He Couldn't Afford To Pay A Co-Pay. Healthcare Is A Human Right, Capitalism Isn't Our Friend
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#31 Bill For A Stomachache
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#32 My Husband Got Bit By A Bat Who Found Its Way Into Our Bedroom In The Middle Of The Night. Here’s Our Bill For The Rabies Vaccination With Insurance
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#33 I Walked Into The ER, They Gave Me 1 Painkiller, Then Told Me They Don't Have An Ophthalmologist On Staff And To Go To A Different Hospital
$7,781 billed and was there for 10 minutes. Luckily I had good insurance. A completely failed system.
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#34 A Sign In My Hospital Reminding Nurses To Bill Patients For A Pillow Even Though They Are Dying. Yeah USA
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#35 I Had A Really Bad Reaction From A Lip Ring & This Is Why I Went To A Piercer To Fix It. They Said It Was The Worst They Had Ever Seen. Cost Like $20
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#36 Is This A Joke? Someone Actually Has To Pay This
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#37 Sign At The Doctor's Office My Wife Goes To. I Guess Her Being Sick Enough That I Need A Leave Of Absence From Work Isn't Bad Enough
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#38 Healthcare In The USA: $396 Bottle Of Eye Drops My Dad Needed Before Cataract Surgery
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#39 My Visit To The ER As A Veteran. This Is What Universal Healthcare Would Look Like
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#40 The Bill I Received After A 17-Mile Ambulance Ride
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#41 This Is What $10,000 Looks Like Under The American Health Care System
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#42 Friend Tried To End Herself & This Was The Bill (With Insurance) For Laying In A Bed All Night
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#43 American Insurance
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#44 Losing My Semi-Affordable Healthcare Plan Because Providing It Put The Company At “Undue Financial Risk”
I (32) am a self-employed writer, so I pay for my own health insurance. It’s been so hard finding any kind of affordable plan that covers my medications, has a low deductible, and offers super basic care. And by semi-affordable, I mean I still pay $200/month premiums, $60/month meds, plus copays, my deductible blah blah blah (if we consider that reasonable) Just received a notice a few weeks ago that my plan premium would go up in 2024 but the deductible would go down. Did the math and decided it was worth it. Was really to re-enroll w/ VA’s new marketplace next week. And then this came in the mail today. Living in America is a fever dream, and I hate it.
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#45 I Am Not Allowed To Talk Directly To My Health Insurance. I Have To Go Through This Middle Man
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#46 The Actual Cost Of A 30 Minute Therapy Session
This is the actual cost of a 30 minute telehealth therapy appointment. My therapist works from home. There is absolutely no reason for a single 30 minute therapy session with a social worker to cost this much. Yes, I realize I am not actually paying that amount but doesn't anyone see what's wrong with this?! I know my therapist didn't get paid that much. Where does this money go?
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#47 My Ambulance Bill
I was very sick last month with myocarditis and had to be transported off site for cardiac MRI and had to be on oxygen and EKG. Although it was down the street and a short 3 minute ride in Boston. Unfortunately since I was having difficulty communicating due to shortness of breath and leaving my house with not even my ID or belongings. Clarified with them about my insurance and will hopefully be resolved. Will hear back in a few weeks. Stressful
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#48 Price Of My Chemo Pills Every Month After Insurance And A Savings Card
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#49 Can’t Hold Your Baby Unless You Pay Us
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#50 Recent 6 Hour Er Visit In The Great Country Of USA - Still Owe Over $3k Even With Great Insurance
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#51 This Dental Estimate My Partner Recieved Just To Make Him Pain Free
This is after insurance too. The dental industry is absolutely insane.
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#52 That Price For The New Medicine My Doctor Says I Need
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#53 I Have An Autoimmune Disorder. This Is The Amount Of Bills I Received For A Single Diagnostic Test Due To Insurers Negligence And A Clerical Error. US Healthcare: Do Better
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#54 The Hospital Bill For My Broken Femur Car Crash. $2500 Towing Fee And $1400 Ambulance Bill Not Included
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#55 My Kid Was In The Hospital For 3 Days Due To Pneumonia. Thank God We Have Insurance. I Don't Know How Anyone Can Still Defend U.S. Healthcare
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#56 My Cousins Child Birth Bill From The Hospital In The USA. Never Seen Anything This High
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#57 How Much My Kid’s 30 Day Supply Of Generic Adderall Would Have Cost Without Insurance. ‘Murica
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#58 We Got An Eko Done. We Received A Bill For $5400, Asked What Would Happen If We Paid Cash. The Hospital Dropped It To $1254. The 1254 Was Way Less Than Our Deductible. Insurance Is A Scam
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#59 Japan Pays For Everything And Gives You Money Too So The Baby Has A Great Start
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#60 Treatment For Tongue Cancer Was Only $300k Minus Chemotherapy
I was vaping throughout high school and got dealt a bad set of cards in my life. I’m doing good now but it goes to show that it only takes 1 major healthcare issue to derail everything in your life at the moment.
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#61 Each Of These Teeny Pills Costs $40
So glad my family has health insurance, but how do people without health insurance afford medicine in the U.S?
Can’t imagine not having health insurance.
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#62 My Gyno Is Trying To Charge My Insurance (That I Know Will Try To Argue It) For An Iud I Didn't Receive
So I went in to get an IUD, but couldn't get it done since my gyno didn't have the proper dilator at the clinic and was told I'd have to get it done at the hospital, thats all fine and dandy. Well then I decided to check my health portal since the appointment hadn't posted last time I had logged in, low and behold they're trying to charge me for an IUD I did not receive. Like you really think my insurance won't bat an eyelash when I have another appointment for an additional IUD.
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#63 The Cost Of Having Three Of Your Front Teeth Replaced In America
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#64 Affordable Healthcare
Behind the curtain...the rich will continue to get richer. We are blinded by minor distractions so people can get their clicks and make their billions. Sucks to be us right now I guess.
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#65 Got My 2018 Health Insurance Estimate. Going Up Almost 40% For The Same Coverage
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#66 I Don’t Even Know What To Caption This. So Depressing
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#67 It's Just So Tiresome
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#68 Called A Local Mental Health Organization For Help After An Unaliving Attempt. This Isn't Even The Hospital Bill
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#69 One Of The Downsides To Cancer Is Large Bills Like This Every Month
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#70 For Those Of You Who Struggle To Understand Health Insurance In The United States. I Work In Healthcare, At A $9/Hr Job. Here Is The Insurance They Are Offering Me
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#71 Employer Changed Insurance Provider This Year. My ADHD Meds Cost $25 A Month Last Year. Now It's Over $350
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#72 My Sons New Prescription Medicine EOB
20 day supply and he won’t be stopping this medication, likely ever, if it works. Mind blowing.
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#73 All That For A Tylenol
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#74 American Insurance Companies Are Now Sending D**th Threats To Organ Transplant Patients. I've Been Taking This Medicine For 9 Years And Need It To Survive
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#75 The Doctor Looked At Our Son's Cut, Said It Wasn't A Big Deal, And Told Us To Go Home
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#76 I Honest-To-God Got A Bill For The EMTS Telling Me My Son Was Dead. This Is Just Among The Zillion Goddamn Reasons We Need Universal Healthcare
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#77 The American Healthcare System, Not Rich Enough To Live
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#78 My Son’s New Rescue Meds For Seizure Disorder, $2k Retail, $700 With Insurance
New rescue meds for 7-year-old with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Retail $2k. With insurance (BCBS), $700
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#79 Make Sure You Take Care Of Your Teeth, Folks
My insurance pays up to $1k a year - doesn't really help much when you need 17 crowns.
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#80 I Think I Nailed My CPR Training
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#81 Cost Of A Rattlesnake Bite In America
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#82 They Finally Finalized My Hospital Bill
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#83 Had To Take My 3 YO Son To The ER Last Week. Fear Was Appendicitis But After 45 Min Of Moaning He Burped For 5 Seconds & Was Fine So We Asked To Leave. The Bill? $4,179
I called the hospital billing dept. You won't believe how this ends. Here's the breakdown: $2,215 - "The visit" $740 - 2 min visit with the doc $1,224 - "Standard" nurse's swab of my son's throat & nostrils for covid/strep test $0.07 - Tylenol (how generous) I proceed to tell them (politely) that the same "tests" are $50 at a pharmacy down the road & they weren't even related to my son's symptoms. There must be a mistake. Nope. I tell her we're technically "cash pay" (we are members of a healthcare sharing org), and ask if there is a cash-pay discount. She says, "Yes. Let me calculate it for you." Cash pay price: $685 TOTAL Of course, I'm relieved personally, but I can't help but think... THIS is why millions are paying insane amounts in insurance premiums every month. ERs/hospitals are out of control. Can someone make this make sense?
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#84 Charged $992 For A $22 Tube Of Lidocaine At Chippenham Hospital In Richmond, VA
I was in a car accident a few months ago and visited the burn center for a minor airbag burn. I spent 20 minutes with a doctor whose time was worth $561, but apparently their magic Lidocaine was worth the $992 at a 5000% mark up. Whenever you call the hospital to get information about or dispute the charge, they always route you to a collections agency. The collections agency just claims they don’t dispute the charges and offer to take $100 off the bill. Their supervisor does the same thing.
I was never provided an estimate. I never agreed to pay this amount. They didn’t even give me the tube of lidocaine. Because I have a thousand dollar deductible, I’m now seriously in the hole for something I would have gladly picked up from the pharmacy. It’s obvious they survive by spinning you in circles until you give up.
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#85 How Is This Legal?
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#86 3 Days In The Hospital
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#87 Had 1 Appointment At A Psychology Center On Campus, Was Told It Would Only Be $18 And Paid That At The Appt. Got Sick, Had To Cancel My Next One. Now I Have An $86 Bill I Cant Afford
I went to a psychology center at my university for an intake appointment due to pretty severe anxiety. They told me it was sliding scale payments and due to my income would only be $18, so I went and that's what they paid. I felt pressured by the therapist to schedule a second appointment so I did, even tho I did not like her very much. Day of I'm throwing up so I call and cancel, they just say okay. Now a few weeks later I have an $86 bill, $72 because apparently my appointment is somehow $90 instead of the $18 I was told and $14 for a cancellation fee. I'll pay that fee, whatever, but I would never have scheduled an appointment if I knew it'd be $90 because I do not have that much money. I'm literally working two jobs and only eating twice a day to survive rn. I'm so pissed off at them sending me a bill way over what I was told weeks later and I genuinely don't know how I'm going to pay it. It makes me sick just thinking about literally throwing away $86 for something I got nothing out of.
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#88 My Wife Was Assaulted By A Psych Patient While Working As A Nurse In The ER. She Just Got Billed For It
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#89 Cost Of My Wife's Bloodwork At The Hospital I Work For And Get Insurance Through
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#90 Delivering Healthcare Using Markets Is Immoral
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#91 So I Broke My Leg. This Doesn’t Include The Emergency Room Visit Prior
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#92 The American Insurance System Is The Best, And We Don't Want Socialist Medicare For All
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#93 $5 For Two Generic Epipens! In The Past, My Insurance Company Didn't Give Me A Choice And I Had To Always Buy Name Brand
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#94 The Retail Price Of My Antidepressant Before Insurance
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#95 Health Care In The US. "Urgent" Care
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#96 7 And A Half Thousand Bucks To Sit In The Recovery Room One Hour While They Just Watched Me
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