The article is 2 years old by now, the situation might have improved (even thogh I don't have a clue if it actually did).
The thing is, it is economically justifiable for insurance companies or companies who own hospitals or medicine to charge that much, if people need it anyway. The American health care system is a divided, cluttered expensive mess. Irony is, people who would be helped by policies directly affecting this, protest those for being too 'socialist' or 'communist' (read: they get kind of brainwashed due to a political system that really messes things up, and I'm not even starting about corrupcy). According to that logic, I greet my fellow comrades in Europe.
And the sad thing is that the politics related to the fuzz about Ukraine will divert attention from glaring social problems like this. (I'm not degrading the conflict out there, I could very well lead to a new Cold War...Big powers and their priorities...)
Sorry, this is hardcore mode, special edition. At least, if you believe in such things (the trees don't break when I puch them, so...yeah. I tried.).