Reply to Which country actually has the best healthcare system?

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[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]

+1.  My adult DD, with ties to both France and the US, preferred to live in France during the pandemic, where she knew that she had good healthcare [b]and wouldn't go bankrupt or die because she didn't have enough money for treatment.  [/b]It was a huge relief to her and everyone around her to know that she would be cared for and if the system got overwhelmed it would be handled in an equitable way - not just those with money or connections get care.  [/quote]

This is often repeated but do you know anyone personally who has gone bankrupt [b]or didn’t have enough money for treatment?  [/b]

I know the statistic about bankruptcies but it’s misleading because it simply means the person who filed bankruptcy had outstanding medical bills.  It could even be a $50 copay.  It’s like saying the people who filed bankruptcy did so from cell phone bills since they likely also owed a small amount to Verizon.

Seems like the number of people who 1) Don’t qualify for Medicaid 2) Don’t have employer provided healthcare or aren’t married to someone who does 3) Can’t afford to purchase a plan through the exchange is very low.  4) Is under 65 or over 26.

French wages on the other hand are much, so you’re likely better off in the US and simply finding a job that provides health insurance.

[/quote]
dp.. I do.

My cousin died of leukemia back in the 90s. She worked a low wage job that didn't provide health insurance.  By the time she went into the hospital due to severe illness, she was stage 4.

And let's look at the research rather than just anecdotal stories. It's not due to the inability to pay a $50 copay; it's $200K worth of cancer treatments and the like that causes the medical bankruptcy.  You say, "Just get a job that has insurance".  Not all companies provide health insurance, and ACA can be expensive for some. It would not be possible for every working American to get a job that has medical insurance.  Medical insurance shouldn't even be tied to employment.

https://apnews.com/article/medical-debt-legislation-2a4f2fab7e2c58a68ac4541b8309c7aa

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127305/

https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/medical-debt-bankruptcy-hospital-bill-forgiveness

[img]https://i.insider.com/5d0fc0812516e92db213a8a7?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp[/img][/quote]

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