this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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As an American I'm curious what it's like if you need to go to the doctor and how much you pay from say a broken arm to general checkup. Also list what country please

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[–] ProbablyBaysean@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I have heard horror stories about having to bribe the doctor and nurses when you arrive at the hospital in labor because they give bare minimum plus "mistakes" otherwise. Is it free plus expected/required tip?

[–] Riverside@reddthat.com 2 points 1 day ago

You explained the difference yourself with your wording.

In universal healthcare, paying the doctor is a "horrible bribe", and illegal and punished by law, especially for the doctor. In private healthcare, it's the only way to get healthcare.

Private healthcare is the literal horror story, but normalized.

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Didn't hear of something like this, most likely a local scandal somewhere. Not a common practice. However, some officially paid options remain, like the most potent forms of anesthesia, or a private room in some instances.

There are some forms of widespread corruption. Many of the head physicians are bribed by pharmacy companies so that doctors prescribe unnecessarily expensive (albeit still relevant) medication, racking the patient's bills on that. In some instances, bribing the right people allows you to bypass the queues as an urgent patient without being one.

As per maternity hospitals, I've heard of a few...questionable practices, still. The "husband stitch", for example, is still a thing in some regional hospitals, and it's not good for women's health and wellbeing.

[–] ProbablyBaysean@lemmy.ca 2 points 19 hours ago

Cool, thanks for the response