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My understanding, as an American, is that people in single-payer countries tend to see doctors much sooner than Americans do. Say I'm sitting around and I fina

My understanding, as an American, is that people in single-payer countries tend to see doctors much sooner than Americans do. Say I'm sitting around and I finally decide to get pain in my wrist looked at that I've had since I broke it ten years ago. I could see a specialist in less than a week. However, I probably would have had it looked at 7 or 8 years ago if I was in a single-payer system. Maybe I would have had to wait 6 months to see a doctor, but that still puts me about 7.5 years ahead of where I am now. I know a lot of people who have bones that never healed right because an emergency room visit is going to cost you a fortune whether or not you are insured, so they don't go to the ER because it doesn't hurt 'that bad'. I imagine that is somewhat less prevalent in places with socialized healthcare.

mistermann 9y ago
Indeed, there are benefits to both systems depending on the situation. My point is that a significant percentage of Canadians are very dishonest about the shortcomings of our particular system....so when non-Canadians read things like "'long wait times' narrative is complete propaganda FUD", they have no way of knowing that the person is not telling the truth.
stolsvik 9y ago
This is a very interesting point. I actually thought Americans with insurance went to the doctor for absolutely anything, and felt very entitled to that since they pay so much for their insurance. What you point out is that it might be the exact opposite - and although I do often think "oh, I won't bother them with this..", I never consider cost to be an issue..
- Declanomous 9y ago
  Yeah, the thing is that our health insurance has a deductible still, and it's generally a percentage of the cost of the visit. Since prices aren't published, you have no idea how much anything will cost until afterwards. Even the doctors can't tell you how much anything will cost. It reminds me of an old joke about things that don't have a listed price: "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." I think that mentality is really prevalent in the US when it comes to healthcare, regardless of how expensive the procedure would actually be.

mistermann 9y ago

Indeed, there are benefits to both systems depending on the situation. My point is that a significant percentage of Canadians are very dishonest about the shortcomings of our particular system....so when non-Canadians read things like "'long wait times' narrative is complete propaganda FUD", they have no way of knowing that the person is not telling the truth.

stolsvik 9y ago

This is a very interesting point. I actually thought Americans with insurance went to the doctor for absolutely anything, and felt very entitled to that since they pay so much for their insurance. What you point out is that it might be the exact opposite - and although I do often think "oh, I won't bother them with this..", I never consider cost to be an issue..

Declanomous 9y ago
Yeah, the thing is that our health insurance has a deductible still, and it's generally a percentage of the cost of the visit. Since prices aren't published, you have no idea how much anything will cost until afterwards. Even the doctors can't tell you how much anything will cost. It reminds me of an old joke about things that don't have a listed price: "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." I think that mentality is really prevalent in the US when it comes to healthcare, regardless of how expensive the procedure would actually be.