They're barely keeping their heads above water when they discover he has cancer -- and his insurance won't pay. So he begins cooking meth. I think this part is realistic: At first he figures up how much $$$ his wife (future widow) will need to pay off the house, raise and educate the kids with her working part-time -- and he's trying to figure out if his health will hold out long enough for him to make that amount of money. But then as the money begins to roll in, he wants more and more and more.
Small point, but his insurance would pay, just not for the *best* doctor which is what his wife is convinced he should have. It's a really interesting examination of American attitudes towards death and compromise.
It's sort of like your first point. Americans experience a sense of privation when they don't have the best of everything, and we have a skewed, entitled idea of what "everything" means based on what society teaches us to expect.
I'm glad you brought that up. I had forgotten that Walter White's insurance wouldn't pay for treatment, but I always found that part to be bogus since Albuquerque teachers union provides health insurance and it's not like they were asking for experimental treatment for Walter (or were they? Sorry, if that's the case.)
But the same issue came up with Walter's brother in law, Hank, when he was hurt on the job. Once again, meth money was used to buy physical therapy and recovery treatment for Hank. I remember specifically they emphasized that "good" physical therapy wouldn't be covered by Hank's federal government provided insurance and I found that to be a bogus argument.
Yeah, isn't it, like, they have to wait for the treatment to be approved which could take up to two weeks while the doctors say it's better to begin right away? Or rather, the doctor sort of says because the insurance person is right there in the room moderating the conversation.
I like the ambivalence, the way it reflects Americans' paranoia about insurance companies. It's not clear if the extra care is needed or if the women are being hysterical children infuriated that they can't have what they want right now, under the guise of caring about someone else.
Update: Okay I found the scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp5FcuyIr-0It would only take a few days - week for the insurance. But I think most Americans would have the reaction that why should they wait at all, especially when PT seems like a no-brainer? I don't know that a delay is realistic, though.
Then the difference in coverage is 4 sessions a week vs. every day and there may be doctors who aren't in network. Again, I don't know if this is realistic for federal workers. I do know there are fancy doctors in my city who don't even take insurance because they cater to the rich and don't have to bother.
Everyone will want to do everything possible for their loved one's health but as the doctor says, past a certain point outcomes are uncertain so we have to rely on what's "medically justifiable." If we did what was "optimal" for everyone, insurance companies would soon be economically unviable which I think would be a greater tragedy than the individual one.
The best part, I realize re-watching it, is how this parallels Marie's attitude towards Hank's condition. The doctor urges her to be realistic but she can't accept anything less than the very best outcome. The American faith is no longer Christianity but the conviction that statistics don't apply to oneself.
(Sorry, I know insurance discussions are a little OT but I get really excited about talking about Breaking Bad.)