Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US has the best healthcare and actually does make high quality healthcare accessible to a larger range of people.

EU countries have healthcare systems that greatly vary. Some are a combination of public with private insurance. Small countries like Switzerland and Denmark can fare very well but have very different dynamics making comparison nearly impossible.

I find many problems with the US systems but the quality of healthcare isn't so much the problem. It's the bureaucracy and how it's financed (ever so complicated!) and the opaqueness of information that makes it so frustrating.

I don't think anyone will argue that the quality of care in the US is subpar compared to most other countries, just that the system is so broken that we are paying ridiculous amounts for something that other countries charge half the amount for private care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had insurance my entire life. My parents had a great plan and then I do as well (Kaiser Permanente). I can't say that I can complain about anything. I get new doctor's appts within the month, but I'm also young (40s) and haven't had any major issues other than birth. My dad recently needed brain surgery and he was able to go to one of the top surgeons in America for this type of tumor. He easily got an appt and insurance paid most of it.

I really don't think ours is as broken as the news makes it seem. Except for ERs. ERs truly are some kind of sh!tshow. But that's because people clog them up with tons of unneeded stuff. They should be pushing people to urgent cares or primary care doctors, but they can't. Oh and therapy is a sh!tshow too. But I think if therapy was easy to access, nearly every American would be going weekly. There is some cost/benefit analysis there. Kaiser definitely wouldn't pay.

A lot of my friends have lived abroad and were not happy with the medical care and did indicate that they preferred ours. In Ontario my friend got supplemental private insurance because her company said she'd need it. She wasn't happy with them trying to push a vaginal birth on her when she'd had back surgery and a prior c section. Friends currently living in England also have private insurance.

The US system is "broken" in that a person can go bankrupt due to medical debt. No other civilized country has this problem.

The best type of system is both public and private, where you can get private insurance if you want to. Most civilized countries have this option. Also, their insurance is no where near as expensive as ours, and neither are the costs for the medical care even if you pay out pocket.

Donyou know why in other countries people don’t go bankrupt over the medical cost? Because they dead. At least in America we have a choice to go bankrupt or be dead. Over there you don’t have this choice.

That's just a ridiculous response. You still get care in other developed countries. It isn't a choice of dead or bankrupt.

Once again, mortality data does not back this up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had insurance my entire life. My parents had a great plan and then I do as well (Kaiser Permanente). I can't say that I can complain about anything. I get new doctor's appts within the month, but I'm also young (40s) and haven't had any major issues other than birth. My dad recently needed brain surgery and he was able to go to one of the top surgeons in America for this type of tumor. He easily got an appt and insurance paid most of it.

I really don't think ours is as broken as the news makes it seem. Except for ERs. ERs truly are some kind of sh!tshow. But that's because people clog them up with tons of unneeded stuff. They should be pushing people to urgent cares or primary care doctors, but they can't. Oh and therapy is a sh!tshow too. But I think if therapy was easy to access, nearly every American would be going weekly. There is some cost/benefit analysis there. Kaiser definitely wouldn't pay.

A lot of my friends have lived abroad and were not happy with the medical care and did indicate that they preferred ours. In Ontario my friend got supplemental private insurance because her company said she'd need it. She wasn't happy with them trying to push a vaginal birth on her when she'd had back surgery and a prior c section. Friends currently living in England also have private insurance.

The US system is "broken" in that a person can go bankrupt due to medical debt. No other civilized country has this problem.

The best type of system is both public and private, where you can get private insurance if you want to. Most civilized countries have this option. Also, their insurance is no where near as expensive as ours, and neither are the costs for the medical care even if you pay out pocket.

Donyou know why in other countries people don’t go bankrupt over the medical cost? Because they dead. At least in America we have a choice to go bankrupt or be dead. Over there you don’t have this choice.

That's just a ridiculous response. You still get care in other developed countries. It isn't a choice of dead or bankrupt.

Once again, mortality data does not back this up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had insurance my entire life. My parents had a great plan and then I do as well (Kaiser Permanente). I can't say that I can complain about anything. I get new doctor's appts within the month, but I'm also young (40s) and haven't had any major issues other than birth. My dad recently needed brain surgery and he was able to go to one of the top surgeons in America for this type of tumor. He easily got an appt and insurance paid most of it.

I really don't think ours is as broken as the news makes it seem. Except for ERs. ERs truly are some kind of sh!tshow. But that's because people clog them up with tons of unneeded stuff. They should be pushing people to urgent cares or primary care doctors, but they can't. Oh and therapy is a sh!tshow too. But I think if therapy was easy to access, nearly every American would be going weekly. There is some cost/benefit analysis there. Kaiser definitely wouldn't pay.

A lot of my friends have lived abroad and were not happy with the medical care and did indicate that they preferred ours. In Ontario my friend got supplemental private insurance because her company said she'd need it. She wasn't happy with them trying to push a vaginal birth on her when she'd had back surgery and a prior c section. Friends currently living in England also have private insurance.

The US system is "broken" in that a person can go bankrupt due to medical debt. No other civilized country has this problem.

The best type of system is both public and private, where you can get private insurance if you want to. Most civilized countries have this option. Also, their insurance is no where near as expensive as ours, and neither are the costs for the medical care even if you pay out pocket.

Donyou know why in other countries people don’t go bankrupt over the medical cost? Because they dead. At least in America we have a choice to go bankrupt or be dead. Over there you don’t have this choice.

That's just a ridiculous response. You still get care in other developed countries. It isn't a choice of dead or bankrupt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had insurance my entire life. My parents had a great plan and then I do as well (Kaiser Permanente). I can't say that I can complain about anything. I get new doctor's appts within the month, but I'm also young (40s) and haven't had any major issues other than birth. My dad recently needed brain surgery and he was able to go to one of the top surgeons in America for this type of tumor. He easily got an appt and insurance paid most of it.

I really don't think ours is as broken as the news makes it seem. Except for ERs. ERs truly are some kind of sh!tshow. But that's because people clog them up with tons of unneeded stuff. They should be pushing people to urgent cares or primary care doctors, but they can't. Oh and therapy is a sh!tshow too. But I think if therapy was easy to access, nearly every American would be going weekly. There is some cost/benefit analysis there. Kaiser definitely wouldn't pay.

A lot of my friends have lived abroad and were not happy with the medical care and did indicate that they preferred ours. In Ontario my friend got supplemental private insurance because her company said she'd need it. She wasn't happy with them trying to push a vaginal birth on her when she'd had back surgery and a prior c section. Friends currently living in England also have private insurance.

The US system is "broken" in that a person can go bankrupt due to medical debt. No other civilized country has this problem.

The best type of system is both public and private, where you can get private insurance if you want to. Most civilized countries have this option. Also, their insurance is no where near as expensive as ours, and neither are the costs for the medical care even if you pay out pocket.

Donyou know why in other countries people don’t go bankrupt over the medical cost? Because they dead. At least in America we have a choice to go bankrupt or be dead. Over there you don’t have this choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had insurance my entire life. My parents had a great plan and then I do as well (Kaiser Permanente). I can't say that I can complain about anything. I get new doctor's appts within the month, but I'm also young (40s) and haven't had any major issues other than birth. My dad recently needed brain surgery and he was able to go to one of the top surgeons in America for this type of tumor. He easily got an appt and insurance paid most of it.

I really don't think ours is as broken as the news makes it seem. Except for ERs. ERs truly are some kind of sh!tshow. But that's because people clog them up with tons of unneeded stuff. They should be pushing people to urgent cares or primary care doctors, but they can't. Oh and therapy is a sh!tshow too. But I think if therapy was easy to access, nearly every American would be going weekly. There is some cost/benefit analysis there. Kaiser definitely wouldn't pay.

A lot of my friends have lived abroad and were not happy with the medical care and did indicate that they preferred ours. In Ontario my friend got supplemental private insurance because her company said she'd need it. She wasn't happy with them trying to push a vaginal birth on her when she'd had back surgery and a prior c section. Friends currently living in England also have private insurance.

The US system is "broken" in that a person can go bankrupt due to medical debt. No other civilized country has this problem.

The best type of system is both public and private, where you can get private insurance if you want to. Most civilized countries have this option. Also, their insurance is no where near as expensive as ours, and neither are the costs for the medical care even if you pay out pocket.

Anonymous wrote:If we're talking straight healthcare, it's the US far and away. The circumstantial evidence - that wealthy foreigners travel here for care - is fairly clear. Have you ever heard of travel for health care (except to get cheap plastic surgery/dental care)? I lived in Western Europe for 5 years - there were some nice plusses - in home visits by the pediatrician, for example, but when we needed serious interventions, it was terrifyingly slow and difficult. I had a preemie at 30 weeks, and every day I walked into that NICU I thanked my lucky stars she was born in the United States.

Now, if we want to get into the insanity related to cost/transparency/access/pressure by pharma to treat problems rather than prevent them...that's certainly another discussion in which the US does not come out on top.

Anonymous wrote:US is the best of course people want to harp on the billing and the large costs but no one pays that much out of pocket as its covered by insurance unless you do something dumb by choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i am from the uk, and while i dont think it is the best, I think it is amazing and integral to being a developed country that there is free healthcare for anyone who needs it.

I think what's really misunderstood is you can also get private healthcare just like you can here. but there is a safety net.

But there is free healthcare in the US as well to those in need. It's called medicaid. ERs also can't turn people away. We also have the healthcare marketplace where plans are really affordable. No one is supposed to be uninsured. Except people don't get the plans still. Dh's friend wasn't okay with spending $55 a month on it.

A lot of my family is on medicaid in a LCOL area. It's really not bad.

Anonymous wrote:US is the best of course people want to harp on the billing and the large costs but no one pays that much out of pocket as its covered by insurance unless you do something dumb by choice.

Anonymous wrote:If we're talking straight healthcare, it's the US far and away. The circumstantial evidence - that wealthy foreigners travel here for care - is fairly clear. Have you ever heard of travel for health care (except to get cheap plastic surgery/dental care)? I lived in Western Europe for 5 years - there were some nice plusses - in home visits by the pediatrician, for example, but when we needed serious interventions, it was terrifyingly slow and difficult. I had a preemie at 30 weeks, and every day I walked into that NICU I thanked my lucky stars she was born in the United States.

Now, if we want to get into the insanity related to cost/transparency/access/pressure by pharma to treat problems rather than prevent them...that's certainly another discussion in which the US does not come out on top.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the reason UK, Canada and elsewhere get cheap medications is that the US basically pays for them for the entire world and any small amount the drug companies get from government healthcare countries is just gravy.

We could probably reduce the prices we pay here by forcing the drug companies to charge all countries the same amount.

Do you have something to back that up?