Health Care in the US Health care in the US is well-known but very expensive. Paying the doctor's bill after a major illness or accident can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the US, a person's company, not the government, pays for health insurance. Employers have contracts with insurance companies, which pay for all or part of employees' doctors' bills. The amount that the insurance company will pay out to a patient differs wildly. It all depends on what insurance the employer pays. The less the boss pays to the insurance company, the more the employee has to pay the hospital each time he or she gets sick. In 2004, the average worker paid an extra US$558 a year, according to a San Francisco report. The system also means many Americans fall through the cracks (遭遗漏)In 2004,only 61 per cent of the population received health insurance through their employers, according to the report. The unemployed, self-employed, part-time workers and graduated students with no jobs were not included. Most US university students have a gap between their last day of school and their first day on the job. Often, they are no longer protected by their parents' insurance because they are now considered independent adults. They also cannot buy university health insurance because they are no longer students. Another group that falls through the gap of the US system is international students. All are required to have health insurance and cannot begin their classes without it. But exact policies (保险单) differ from school to school. Most universities work with health insurance companies and sell their own standard plan for students. Often, buying the school plan is required, but luckily it's also cheaper than buying direct from the insurance company. TS}In the US, a person's company buys him or her health insurance.