Ask Lemmy

I don't know what to say, I can't imagine it being any other way.

In Switzerland, it works like this: you choose your deductible, between 300 CHF (~330 EUR) and 2500 CHF (~2730 EUR) per year. Lower deductible means higher premiums and vice versa. A typical premium for a 2500 deductible might be 4000 CHF per year (4360 EUR). The insurance companies are private, and they compete, but, the insurance terms are fixed by the state by law - so it doesn't really matter which insurance company you choose. There is zero bullshit like in the USA where, once you need something, they go "ah well you see on page 32478234 of our terms it says you can get rekt, actually". If you need medical services, you get them. It is the law.

Insurance is compulsory. People who can't afford the premium get subsidies by the state. People who don't earn any money for any reason get the entire premium paid for by social services.

France

Fainted outside while getting a covid test with 40C fever

Ambulance trip to the hospital

Stayed a few hours

0€

UK

I have never paid anything for any kind of medical care. I do pay for my medicine prescriptions, which coat about £10 when I need them, which is infrequent.

They are essentially capped at something like £120 per year if you did need a lot.

Sweden.

I broke my knee at 16. Hospital bill: $0 (because I was under age at the time)

Any consultation with a nurse/doctor follows the standard fee of:~$25

Everyone gets free dental until they turn 26 years old.

My dad recently broke his arm (again). The total bill from the hospital including casting and xray: ~$35

If you have to spend more than ~$200 on medications in a year, you will be capped at that amount and everything above is literally, free.

Same goes for doctors visits but that's a separate ~$200 cap reached independently

Australia. A broken arm no fee. General check up - no fee.

You can do things for free or cheap but some things have so long waiting times, that you opt for private doctors, which can be somewhat cheap, at least in comparison with the US and because there is "competition" with the public system.

Italy:

Going to doctor is free. Going to hospital is free unless you went for a non-emergency. In that case you may be eligible to pay something like 30€ (if you are poor you pay 0 anyways).

UK resident: it is brilliant. HOWEVER the politicians seek to turn it into a private system by way of a thousand cuts and being paid members of various think tanks and even being on company boards.

Netherlands

Good, I'd pay my "eigen risico" of a few hundred EUR - presuming I didn't already spend it before then - but it's slowly getting worse due to mass-migration (3x the historic percentage-points of the total population; that's over 100k added on a population of 18 mil, even when that should be closer to 30k instead, historically speaking).

Norway - I think the basic way you and me think about anything health related are so vastly different, its hard for each of us to comprehend the others mindset.

Sweden.

Pretty decent for anything acute (broken something, dislocated whatchamacallit), but utter dog shit for chronic issues. "Yeah, you have sinus issues, wait 3+ months for ENT" or "Okay, Sertraline's doing shit for you except making you more grumpy, but keep trying with it". So fucking awful that literal WebMD can be better for some chronic conditions.

Living in France

I know someone who had to get a liver transplantation. The surgery was costing something like 300000 euros ( around 350,000 USD ). She could never afford such surgery. She was flown by helicopter to the hospital and back on a around 3 hours trip. Did not pay anything...

I'm at the doctor right now here in Australia

Paid nothing. Paid nothing for my tests too

Hi,

(France) for a broken arm or a general checkup you wouldn't pay anything. Actually, for the checkup you would pay upfront (my doc takes 10€) and get reimbursed a few days later.

Don't be fooled, there are constant attacks on this system by the ruling class, they try and nudge the narrative a little bit every day, but it's so entrenched here I keep my hopes up that we won't let it go without a fight.

Russia

Everyone has free health insurance that covers all procedures, doctor visits, ambulance calls, and most hospitalization cases in the respective government clinics based on where they live.

General physicians are available at any government clinic as needed, regardless of where you are. Other specialists are only available at your main clinic and directed to either by GP or as part of a free 5-yearly checkup. You can book an appointment online, call into the clinic, or come in person to do so. GPs are always available on short notice, and you can get there without booking if you need urgent care. Dentists are also available without booking for urgent cases. Trauma units operate 24/7 and accept without booking.

If you're too sick to come in person, you can also call for a GP to arrive through a unified hotline, regardless of your current location, or even whether you have Russian citizenship or insurance for that matter.

The quality of care itself is highly regionally dependent, but mostly alright. Larger cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg have it better, smaller, faraway cities have it worse. Queues differ significantly between places and specialists, and can be anything between 15 minutes and 2-3 weeks.

Private clinics exist, prices are bitey, but the quality of care is generally high. Work can offer private health insurance, giving free access to their services.

TL;DR all free (with some paid options), available to everyone, decent quality, acceptable waiting times.

UK here.

Its better then America, but many fail to see that our NHS wasn't given freely, we struggled for it, and year by year we loose more of it to privatisation. I am currently witnessing one hospital closure in my county, and this is happening across the board. Nhs Waiting lists are a hot topic across the country due in part to years of austerity measures.

amazing. i cant fathom this not being the global norm

i live in Canada and it's a constant struggle to keep it afloat, we have our own brand of braindead morons we call maple maga that actively try to sabotage it at every possible opportunity....

what we do have is pretty good for basic coverage, but it excludes mental and *most *dental, and you still need insurance through work for costs of medicine etc. that being said, all hospital visits, stays, and treatments receive no billings.

just 'getting' universal healthcare isn't enough, you have to fight for it, and you have to fight to keep it.

Spain. I have private health insurance (it’s quite affordable here).

If you are dying, use the public services. They will do whatever it takes (under their material resources) to save you.

If you want comfort and probably reduce waiting times, go private. Public hospitals have long waits for anything that’s not immediately disabling/life threatening.

Example. My dad had a fall at home alone and broke his femur. He used his telemedicine device to call for help. When I got at his home, the paramedics were already there. They stabilised him, put him in ambulance and brought him to a public hospital. The same evening he had a titanium inserted. After five days in the hospital he was transferred to a recovery center.

Guess the cost?

Zero euros.

dental seems insanely expensive even with free or subsidized healthcare. as private pratices dont take state subsidized like medi-caid. at least most dont, the onlys that did are pretty like questionable ones or low quality/soso. ive seen the dental school.clinics, waiting time is quite a while since its low cost. if you have a immediate issue like pain, abscess, broken tooth you really cant afford to wait weeks to get on-boarding to get seen in the first appointment in most cases, since its a student based dental school, they have holidays and midterms/finals so all those days are blocked out for them. right now the ACA helps people with subsidies, but you have to shop around which fits your needs(if you need alot of visits, appts, medication you have to cough up more per month)