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| HellHound:
I'd rather live in a socialist country because of the greater safety nets in case something bad happens to me (lost my job, injury, etc) than here in America. I wouldn't live under communism though, that's for sure. I don't want to have to choose between being bankrupt and jobless, or having some kind of illness or health problem for a long period of time |
| Cappytaino:
--- Quote from: HellHound on January 01, 2018, 12:51:11 PM ---I'd rather live in a socialist country because of the greater safety nets in case something bad happens to me (lost my job, injury, etc) than here in America. I wouldn't live under communism though, that's for sure. I don't want to have to choose between being bankrupt and jobless, or having some kind of illness or health problem for a long period of time --- End quote --- I lived in Switzerland growing up, and I have quite a few stories about the amazing healthcare system. Obviously, this is entirely anecdotal, but bear with me; When I was younger, I fell off of a stool and cut my face up on a glass table. I was bleeding pretty badly from the side of my face and we were obviously concerned and rushed to the hospital. It took me 9 hours of waiting to have a doctor, and they didn't even stitch my face up. They told us to come back tomorrow because it wasn't life threatening. Once the doctors heard that we were Americans (and realized we had money to pay them), they COMPLETELY changed their tune, offering to treat me then and there, because there was more money in it for them. The reason we left Switzerland in the first place was because my mother had grown a malignant tumor and was on a waiting list to see a specialist, but because of her age, the wait was expected to be 9 to 18 months. We picked up and moved back to the US and treatment was started within the week. God only knows what could've happened if it were allowed to grow and potentially metastasize for another year. Did it cost more than it would have in Zurich? Certainly. But the treatment she received was top notch and quick, and she's been in remission for years now. I don't disagree that healthcare is ludicrously priced in the US for people who don't have insurance, but that's more a result of industry lobbying and corruption which needs to be reigned in. The price of private healthcare in Switzerland is crazy as well, but the point I want to make is that the quality of service in the US is uniformly stellar in comparison to the variable experiences we had in Switzerland (which were many more than just those two, but those are the most effective at demonstrating my point) |
| SeventhSandwich:
--- Quote from: Cappytaino on January 01, 2018, 12:57:38 PM ---I don't disagree that healthcare is ludicrously priced in the US for people who don't have insurance, but that's more a result of industry lobbying and corruption which needs to be reigned in. The price of private healthcare in Switzerland is crazy as well, but the point I want to make is that the quality of service in the US is uniformly stellar in comparison to the variable experiences we had in Switzerland (which were many more than just those two, but those are the most effective at demonstrating my point) --- End quote --- It isn't just lobbying and corruption though - the basic principles of market economics are the reason why healthcare is so expensive. Lots of life-saving medications are patented and held by single owners who have no incentive not to price-gouge people. This exists independent of how much it costs to get something through drug approval, since the price set by a monopolist is just going to be a function of the cost of producing the pill and how much people will pay for it. The reason why everyone pays less for healthcare outside of the United States can be summed up a couple ways. The obvious one is that people in India pay less because their currency has far less purchasing power, meaning consumer demand is lower and providers are forced to set lower prices. In other countries, there are socialized healthcare systems, or the government just aggressively regulates the prices that providers can set. We can't control one of these things, and the other two involve more regulation rather than less. I don't know why your mother had to wait so long for life-saving medical treatment. I know very little about Switzerland's health system, but I'm reading that it's based on compulsory enrollment in private insurance, so I don't know why your provider put her on a wait-list. |
| Cappytaino:
--- Quote from: SeventhSandwich on January 01, 2018, 01:19:47 PM ---It isn't just lobbying and corruption though - the basic principles of market economics are the reason why healthcare is so expensive. Lots of life-saving medications are patented and held by single owners who have no incentive not to price-gouge people. This exists independent of how much it costs to get something through drug approval, since the price set by a monopolist is just going to be a function of the cost of producing the pill and how much people will pay for it. The reason why everyone pays less for healthcare outside of the United States can be summed up a couple ways. The obvious one is that people in India pay less because their currency has far less purchasing power, meaning consumer demand is lower and providers are forced to set lower prices. In other countries, there are socialized healthcare systems, or the government just aggressively regulates the prices that providers can set. We can't control one of these things, and the other two involve more regulation rather than less. I don't know why your mother had to wait so long for life-saving medical treatment. I know very little about Switzerland's health system, but I'm reading that it's based on compulsory enrollment in private insurance, so I don't know why your provider put her on a wait-list. --- End quote --- My mother is older; at the time she was in her late 50s. As far as I can tell, younger people are given higher priority for certain treatments/specialists. |
| SeventhSandwich:
--- Quote from: Cappytaino on January 01, 2018, 01:31:02 PM ---My mother is older; at the time she was in her late 50s. As far as I can tell, younger people are given higher priority for certain treatments/specialists. --- End quote --- This happens to some extent in the United States too. stufftier plans have worse triage systems for illness. Buy a nice enough plan and they'll cover acupuncture with no co-pay. Have a terrible plan and they'll charge you a $300 co-pay to get an abscessed tooth removed. I don't know the details of why they delayed your mom's treatment. For some cancers (like p-spot cancer), waiting and watching is a safe gamble. But I'm guessing that wasn't the case since you had to leave the country. |
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