After that, again, I remind you, that when you see the Swiss press brag about the Swiss medical system, weirdly, they brag that it is the most expensive in the world. (Ok, I think I remember seeing it twice, so maybe my sample isn't representative, but it definitely got my attention.)
What adjective would you prefer to see than "expensive" in that sentence, and what does that tell you?
｜霜の狼｜人面獣心」🐺❄️
@grrrr_shark Huh, what do they mean by expensive? I could see bragging on "oh we spend more [from the government] on healthcare for our citizens!". I take it this is not that?
@IceWolf I think they mean to imply that, but since insurance is private here, that is certainly not what it actually means :(
@grrrr_shark OOGH. Here I was thinking Switzerland was one of the Mythical (to us) Good Places where healthcare is actually state-covered.
@IceWolf Insurance-wise it IS better. It's sort of what Obamacare promised to be before it was gutted to Hell - it's private, but if you're below a certain income level, the state pays for it and you get the same private insurance. So it's... better. (I'm originally American, so I know the story)
But Switzerland isn't Sweden. SUPER capitalistic in all the ways, with a few European social ideals and a great reputation it only sometimes deserves.
Two other IMO important properties of this setup is that insurances are required to offer basically the same thing: they have some leeway in requiring one to jump through some hoops before visiting a doctor, but then there is no concept of a "network" of doctors, nor can insurances have any exclusions for preexisting conditions (I gather that post ObamaCare this is also true in the USA?).
/* either of you: please feel very free to tell me to butt out */
@robryk @IceWolf That's just what I've seen from underemployed friends - I probably know little more about the post-Obamacare world than @robryk ;)
I do know I was uninsured for several years in the 90s and it was fucking terrifying. I spent 600 1994 dollars on an ER visit because I had an infection that got so bad I was screaming.
Could have been cleared up by a doctor 6 weeks earlier with ease, but the ER HAD to treat me, the doctor didn't. SUCKED.
@robryk @IceWolf That was what I said, more or less - if you can't pay for it, you get the same insurance as the people that do.
That makes a huge difference.
And I think the preexisting condition thing is... well... maybe different than pre-Obamacare, but not *solved*. I know there's been a great deal of pullback on a lot of fronts. But I could be wrong - I left the US *just* before Obamacare