Real men do appendectomy on themselves to have something to brag about. (Yes, it’s a real case. A Russian doctor in Antarctica)
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You would have the same reactions in France.
Health care in the US is inhumane, you all deserve better, be sure to vote for someone with a universal healthcare plan.
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Rename it to “health service” instead, because “care” sounds like someone’s concerned about your health.Comparison: some 7.5% of my income goes into a German compulsory health insurance fund, employer has to add the same ammount on top.It coveres everything I need, and it’s paid for even if I’m broke.Enjoy your freedom over there 
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There’s a mixup of obtuse bureaucracy and bribing in act. The simple solution, that will solve all problems is going prepaid. Give the kid a ticket restaurant Edenred.com | Corporate website of the Edenred Group For poorer students the school or the municipality will integrate. Or give permission to get food from home.
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To be fair, at least some of that difference (apparently) is due to different definitions of a live birth. Many European countries don’t count very small premature babies who almost never survive as ‘‘live births’’, or don’t count babies who die within 24 hours of birth.
Of course, that doesn’t account for differences between states in the US, or for the period from 1 month to 1 year old where the infant mortality figures start to diverge between different areas and socio-economic groups within the US…
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These brits are being coddled, I tell you. Someone just coming up to you in the street and voluntarily telling you what medical procedures and services cost? That’s basically communism; everyone knows you can’t run a Free Market if just anyone can get a quote for something before they buy it…
An important part of the American Healthcare Experience isn’t just high prices; but surprise prices, as a best practice backed by invoices that are variously cryptic, unhelpful; and often flat out incorrect; usually as part of an insane parody of dialog carried out by the provider and your insurer generating reams of billing and coding spew while vigorously passing the buck.
If the phrase “explanation of benefits” doesn’t send a chill down your spine you do not truly understand our customs in this area.
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The ambulance charge was the thing that got me when I first heard about it. I knew US medical care cost way too much, but charging you for the ambulance ride just seems like a shake down to me
How come Americans will pay for police and fire services through their taxes, but not ambulances?
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As an Irish person I can say there are many Irish people who go to the US and uncritically drink up the worst excesses of exploitative capitalism while turning a blind eye to the poverty and suffering it creates. A beer was only 4 dollars though.
And Irish people who relocate permanently to the US (in the current era) tend to be total dicks.
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We in the US need to hear this.
but in the UK one needs to hear it more, because the vultures of capitalism are circling, whispering to the “future corpses” that life under their claw will not be so bad.
But it is bad,
it is despicable.
Truly, “If you’re poor, you’re dead.”
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Is it that uncommon in other countries? Australia has a fairly socialised healthcare system, but most states will charge about $1k AUD for a callout.
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In Ontario, Canada we were outraged when it started costing $45 for an ambulance.
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I think something that is often not understood by people outside of the US is that although we have a huge population of un- and under-insured people, the majority of Americans do have insurance. I think that’s one of the big reasons why changing the system is so hard - uncertainty about how the new system would work compared to the existing system that is kinda sorta working for most people.
The more shocking statistic for me is how much equivalent procedures cost in different countries (even when paid for by the government). Many Republicans love to talk about inefficient government programs yet our private system can’t compete with Canada’s or the UK’s public systems.
That said, for those of us with good insurance the US system is really marvelous. I don’t need to get a referral to go see a specialist, any deductible or copay is reimbursed by my employer, and I have an employer funded FSA account that I can use for things like contact lenses and basic healthcare items from any drug store. My doctor will come to my office or home and I can always get a same-day appointment. All of this for my family of four costs my employer a bit over $22k / year in premiums.
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That’s the trade-off, isn’t it? The peaks of the US healthcare experience are some of the highest in the world. But, oh man, those troughs.
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100%.
For the record I’m for a Canadian style system in the US. I have family members in Canada and I sleep a lot better knowing that they can get the care they need.
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Unfortunately, I think America is stuck.
Real universal healthcare is going to mean steep tax increases to middle-class and higher Americans to pay for their fellow Americans healthcare. Most countries did this when healthcare was fairly cheap. Sure, people’s taxes kept rising, but they never faced a “Are you, who is earning $70K, willing to pay an extra $5K to ensure your fellow citizen has decent healthcare? How about $10K more taxes for $100K earners?” choice.
And honestly, I think every other country would fail. I know in Canada there isn’t a lot of push to push my marginal tax rate from 40ish to 50ish percent, despite the desperate needs of a lot of Canadians.
Instead, Canad and others moved into a (relatively) moral healthcare system when the cost wasn’t nearly as stark, which has made the somewhat larger burden in modern times vastly easier to take. In other words, us Canadians are boiled frogs. And yes, the water really is lovely.
The Americans, sadly, have to face stepping into the hot tub from the cold. They will feel the real sacrifice that most of them must make for their fellow Americans head on.
Which means, sadly, that I think it’s going to be a much harder fight. But if the US succeeds, it will be a moral achievement that countries like my own will likely never match.
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If I were Labour I’d definitely be running campaign ads with the apocryphal Einstein paraphrase: “Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is insanity. Vote Labour.”
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I had to take an ambulance a few months ago, and it was actually billed to me from the fire department since they ran the ambulance service, too. Insurance only paid for part of the $1200 so I had the FD trying to get me to pay the extra $300. Took about an hour going back-and-forth with my insurance and the FD but they eventually settled it (don’t know if my insurance ponied up or if the FD dropped it).
And I have good insurance. I can’t imagine if I had to pay the whole $1200.
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My SO recently had to go to hospital by ambulance here in the Netherlands. It ended up costing a few hundred euros, because health insurance here (Bismarck-style mandatory heavily subsidised and regulated private insurance) has a per-year deductible which she hadn’t hit yet.
(GP visits are free, for most other medical care you pay the first €385 each year and insurance pays the rest).
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I’ve been having chest pains, but will not go to the ER unless I’m certain I’m having a heart attack because my healthcare copay is $500 for an ER visit. Being a non-wealthy American is awesome!
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHHHHHHHhhhhhh… Hah.
When my wife shattered her ankle in 2008 – before we were married – I drove her to the hospital because we knew it would ruin us. She didn’t have insurance at the time. And the prices have only gotten much, much worse.
Because those services haven’t been privatized, yet?
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