Wrahng. He did go to a doctor:
I've never actually heard him tell this story before, so I'm going to comment on some bits of it. I'm assuming that the story is at least based on real events, although I wouldn't put it past Phil to make it all up for sympathy/so he could have a hot take about healthcare in the US, but there are definitely some details that are bullshit.
They do not hand you the bottle of pills at the pharmacy. They put them in a sealed bag with the information papers on the outside because you're supposed to read them first. (Not that anyone really does.) They definitely do NOT let you hold it before you've paid.
Gout medication is not expensive. I had Gout (PL, I know) pretty close to the same time as this story was told, and it was like 10 bucks. It's possible that he was prescribed something different that is expensive, but there really aren't very many different medications for it, so this is very unlikely.
The part that got a good laugh out of me was him complaining about the terms of the healthcare plan itself, and using it as an indictment of the ACA and healthcare in the US in general. He signed up for this plan, had been paying for it for however long by the time this story takes place, and at no point previously did he actually read the terms of the policy. He had been paying 200 dollars a month, which is enough to get a pretty decent plan, for a policy with a $5,250 deductible. He just went on the marketplace and picked the first plan it listed as "suggested" without even looking at it. Obviously, this is the fault of everyone except himself.
He uses this to argue that the ACA, and healthcare in the US in general suck, and that the money he's been paying in is being used to cover healthcare costs of other people without jobs (lol) on Medicare/Medicaid. I know Phil is dumb, but there was so much ignorance packed into this that it is almost impressive.
