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Oh wow. Feel super bad for her and wish her the best of luck and speedy recovery. At the same time this absolutely terrifies me and shows how fragile life is.

Oh wow. Feel super bad for her and wish her the best of luck and speedy recovery. At the same time this absolutely terrifies me and shows how fragile life is. Thankfully Simone is in Sweden so she does not have to worry about the financial impact (she has enough to worry about). I am self employed here in the US and pay for my insurance plan 100% out of pocket (don't qualify for any subsidies). The plan is frankly god-awful with something like an annual max out of pocket of $10,000 and $7,000 deductible. A cancer diagnosis would financially ruin me even though I pay nearly $400 a month in health insurance premiums. If I was diagnosed with cancer, the last thing I should have to worry about is how I am going to pay for it (especially seeing as I pay more than my fair share). The reality is I have way more of financial burden even though I am paying full price than somebody who get's their plan subsidized from Obama Care. They pay significantly less (sometimes nothing), yet have better care than me. I can truthful say, I would fear the financial impact more than the cancer which is a scary reality.

timack 8y ago
She has posted on twitter that she is staying in the US for treatment. https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368 https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368
- nodesocket 8y ago
  That is because the US has the best treatment and medical care in the world. Kind of proves the point about universal healthcare not working.
  - berg01 8y ago
    In this particular case (I have personal experience and have done the research) I'd say the two countries are on par, if you are lucky enough to get the top level treatment in each country.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
    - nodesocket 8y ago
      People not having access to care is not related to the quality of the care. The fact that she has completely free medical care in Sweden, but is staying in the US to have the surgery proves that the quality of the care in the US when you can afford it is the best in the world. You are misunderstanding what quality of care means.
  - jeffhiggins 8y ago
    Maybe she’s wealthy enough to be able to not go bankrupt for her treatment, and staying around friends and family and avoiding travel are all good ideas for someone with brain cancer?
    - deaddodo 8y ago
      Not quite how healthcare works in the US. Unless you consider having the money to cover your max out-of-pocket (between 1000-4500usd, depending on insurance plan) and copays (50-125usd) as "wealthy". The situation you're referring to applies to the 11-12% of Americans who have no health insurance. An unfortunate situation that the US should work to rectify (ideally with a universal option), but hardly the third-world situation most Europeans envision.
      - nodesocket 8y ago
        I don't know what plan you have, but my $400 a month plan max out of pocket is <strike>$10,000</strike> $7,350 annual (resets each and every year).
      - dragonwriter 8y ago
        > Not quite how healthcare works in the US. Unless you consider having the money to cover your max out-of-pocket (between 1000-4500usd, depending on insurance plan) and copays (50-125usd) as "wealthy". Max annual out of pocket includes copays, do you don't need to cover both separately, but 1000-4500 is not the range of out of pocket maximums. The limit for a bronze marketplace plan is $7,300 for an individual plan or $14,600 for a family plan; the average for bronze marketplace plans is about for $12,000 for a family plan. And that's for things the plan covers; there's obviously no maximum for services excluded from coverage.
        suddenseizure 8y ago
        .
        dragonwriter 8y ago
  - brailsafe 8y ago
    Nobody made that point and it definitely doesn't prove it. Edit: Also weird that you seemed to first imply that the U.S system wasn't great
    - nodesocket 8y ago
      I am implying that insurance is awful, the actual care if money is not an issue is the best in the world in the US.
      - DanBC 8y ago
        > The actual care if money is not an issue is the best in the world in the US. That doesn't seem to be true across a range of indicators.
  - curiousgal 8y ago
    You’re being sarcastic right?
berg01 8y ago
She is having the surgery in the US: https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368 https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368 I guess she has a health insurance as part of her employment at Adam Savage's Tested.com. Having a Swedish citizenship, she also has the option to travel back to Sweden, sign a form and within a day or so be eligle for free healthcare there.
- evfanknitram 8y ago
  Why would she have to sign a form and wait a day to be eligible? I have never had to sign a form to get healthcare here.
  - abcd_f 8y ago
    Probably to re-establish the residency status. The same thing is in Canada except the med coverage restarts 3 months after you settle back on the Canadian soil.
    - berg01 8y ago
      Exactly.

timack 8y ago

She has posted on twitter that she is staying in the US for treatment. https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368 https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368

nodesocket 8y ago
That is because the US has the best treatment and medical care in the world. Kind of proves the point about universal healthcare not working.
- berg01 8y ago
  In this particular case (I have personal experience and have done the research) I'd say the two countries are on par, if you are lucky enough to get the top level treatment in each country.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
  - nodesocket 8y ago
    People not having access to care is not related to the quality of the care. The fact that she has completely free medical care in Sweden, but is staying in the US to have the surgery proves that the quality of the care in the US when you can afford it is the best in the world. You are misunderstanding what quality of care means.
- jeffhiggins 8y ago
  Maybe she’s wealthy enough to be able to not go bankrupt for her treatment, and staying around friends and family and avoiding travel are all good ideas for someone with brain cancer?
  - deaddodo 8y ago
    Not quite how healthcare works in the US. Unless you consider having the money to cover your max out-of-pocket (between 1000-4500usd, depending on insurance plan) and copays (50-125usd) as "wealthy". The situation you're referring to applies to the 11-12% of Americans who have no health insurance. An unfortunate situation that the US should work to rectify (ideally with a universal option), but hardly the third-world situation most Europeans envision.
    - nodesocket 8y ago
      I don't know what plan you have, but my $400 a month plan max out of pocket is <strike>$10,000</strike> $7,350 annual (resets each and every year).
    - dragonwriter 8y ago
      > Not quite how healthcare works in the US. Unless you consider having the money to cover your max out-of-pocket (between 1000-4500usd, depending on insurance plan) and copays (50-125usd) as "wealthy". Max annual out of pocket includes copays, do you don't need to cover both separately, but 1000-4500 is not the range of out of pocket maximums. The limit for a bronze marketplace plan is $7,300 for an individual plan or $14,600 for a family plan; the average for bronze marketplace plans is about for $12,000 for a family plan. And that's for things the plan covers; there's obviously no maximum for services excluded from coverage.
      - suddenseizure 8y ago
        .
        dragonwriter 8y ago
- brailsafe 8y ago
  Nobody made that point and it definitely doesn't prove it. Edit: Also weird that you seemed to first imply that the U.S system wasn't great
  - nodesocket 8y ago
    I am implying that insurance is awful, the actual care if money is not an issue is the best in the world in the US.
    - DanBC 8y ago
      > The actual care if money is not an issue is the best in the world in the US. That doesn't seem to be true across a range of indicators.
- curiousgal 8y ago
  You’re being sarcastic right?

berg01 8y ago

She is having the surgery in the US: https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368 https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz/status/990983271705018368 I guess she has a health insurance as part of her employment at Adam Savage's Tested.com. Having a Swedish citizenship, she also has the option to travel back to Sweden, sign a form and within a day or so be eligle for free healthcare there.

evfanknitram 8y ago
Why would she have to sign a form and wait a day to be eligible? I have never had to sign a form to get healthcare here.
- abcd_f 8y ago
  Probably to re-establish the residency status. The same thing is in Canada except the med coverage restarts 3 months after you settle back on the Canadian soil.
  - berg01 8y ago
    Exactly.