Reply to Which country actually has the best healthcare system?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We lived in France and were on national healthcare with a 75 euro a month top up plan.

One thing that they had that I loved is a national doctor appointment booking website that most doctors used. You can search specialty, neighborhood, languages, etc. by availability. Because of this, we could always get a same day appointment. (We were in Paris.) Most doctors would also upload any health records from the visit to this account so you always have them.

We also had a home doctor visit service for weekend and overnight health issues that didn’t warrant an ER. They also offered off-hour telehealth appointments. It basically was an urgent care, but at your home.

As long as you stay within the system, there is also basically no paperwork to deal with. All of your bills (which usually ran 25-50 max) would get automatically sent to the health service and your linked top up insurance for reimbursement within 48 hours. Prescriptions too.

The negative:
If you go to the ER for something not super serious, waits can be long. 
Their testing ages for screening exams like mammogram and colonoscopy are older than the US, so if you want to be screened earlier purely for your own peace of mind and not because if family history, you pay a couple hundred out of pocket. 
Dermatologists were in short supply within the system. 
Therapy was not easily reimbursed but psychiatrists were. 
Doctors are paid less and there are health deserts in rural areas with not enough doctors.

I think I’d still choose the French system though. Never having to worry a medical bill would sink us was such a mental relief I swear it improved my health. 
[/quote]

We have lived in Europe as well and the US system seems to prioritise testing and preventive care and on an individual level, those make a difference in adverse outcomes- i.e. cancer screening which catch cancer early is great for that individual but on a societal level- which socialised medicine prioritises, it doesn't really do much. So the US spends more money on testing and screening without much impact to society. Of course if you are the one with cancer who was saved, you'd be all for it.[/quote]

Every system has to ration care because there simply isn't enough to go around. Some countries try to do it on the basis of fairness or need. [b]The United States chooses to ration it based on the ability to afford it. [/b][/quote]

Then how do you explain Medicaid?  Medicare?

The US spends more on healthcare than any other country.  Some of this can be attributed to the health of our citizens.  But there’s also the fact that Americans may simply receive MORE healthcare.  I’m not convinced the rationing here is to the same extent as other western countries.  [/quote]

Do you think a Medicaid patient receives the same level of care an executive with concierge care? Medicare is the exception because it covers old people who care about their ailments and vote [/quote]

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