10 ms·

One of the main reasons why I gave up career in the States and came back to my home country (Japan) was healthcare. I had a day surgery in the US and the whole

by euske 8y ago

One of the main reasons why I gave up career in the States and came back to my home country (Japan) was healthcare. I had a day surgery in the US and the whole experience (i.e. bills) just scared heck out of me. I am very happy with the system here. Everything is extremely efficient compared to the US. A little while ago, I had this mysterious headache and went to an orthopedist, dentist, psychiatrist, neurosurgeon then took an MRI. All within one week. My Canadian friend told me that it would be a half-year ordeal in Canada. By the way, I'm not rich.

DennisP 8y ago
That fits with what the book described. The author had a bum shoulder and saw a doctor for it, in each of the countries he covered. In Japan he got an appointment immediately and the doctor offered surgery the next day. Financially they're the most efficient of all the countries in the book.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
stuxnet79 8y ago
In Canada, if it was serious, half a year is actually even quicker than I'd expect. I'd really love to try out the Japanese healthcare system. As it stands, I'm convinced that healthcare is an impossible problem to solve.
- david927 8y ago
  I'm convinced that healthcare is an impossible problem to solve. You need to travel more. The German system, for example, is very old, very simple and works very well.
  - egeozcan 8y ago
    I like the healthcare situation in Germany but normally you would have to wait months for a surgery, if it's not very critical. An appointment with a specialist can also mean waiting weeks or months.
    - GFischer 8y ago
      Weeks is not bad... Months is. And as you said, it's for non-critical stuff. A mixed system - government-managed for important things, with extra healthcare you can pay on top, like the one we have here in Uruguay, seems to work best. As far as I can tell, we have the best healthcare for anything but special/rare cases which would be best served by a top specialist from the US or Germany. For the remaining 99% of cases it beats any system I know of.
    - david927 8y ago
      I don't know where this idea comes from. I'm American but my experience with healthcare in European countries where I've lived (England, France, Czech Republic and Switzerland) is unparalleled. I had my gall bladder removed (non-critical) in France; the wait was two weeks and everything about the experience was impeccable.
    - thousandautumns 8y ago
      That's not that uncommon in the US either though. My mother had an issue that required seeing a dermatologist, and just getting in to see a dermatologist was initially going to take about 6 months. After calling for a month, she was eventually able to get her wait down to 2.
- Cthulhu_ 8y ago
  It's not though, it's solved in a lot of countries. Even - or particularly - those that are economically worse off than the US, such as Cuba.
- dalore 8y ago
  UK is fine too. Even minor surgery I was scheduled in for 2 days after seeing a doctor. We are having some trouble due to austerity cuts and freezes by the current conservative government. But in the whole it works.
joering2 8y ago
Just got hemoroids frozen and cut with laser. Cost here in USA under premium insurance was $12,000. Went to Germany got it done on the same equipment in luxury stay for 14 days at $870. Plus $800 plane tickets. Meanwhile a friend of mine had a heart attack. As a Bank of America emplyee he had somewhat goog insurance that paid some. He was left with $180,000 bill.
- dzhiurgis 8y ago
  Should have treated yourself with business class seats...
- arcticfox 8y ago
  > As a Bank of America emplyee he had somewhat goog insurance that paid some. He was left with $180,000 bill. Forgive my ignorance but how is that possible? The highest out of pocket maximums for Marketplace plans is $15700 for an entire family.
  - EvanAnderson 8y ago
    He may have been traveling when he had his heart attack: https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-stockmans-medical-bills-topped-1-million-what-happened-11545934412 https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-stockmans-medical-bills-to... He may have been attended-to by out-of-network practitioner: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Out-of-Network-ER-Surgeon-Leads-to-Surprise-34K-Bill-for-Virginia-Family-493660951.html https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Out-of-Network-ER-S...
    - lostlogin 8y ago
      What’s with the ‘out-of-network’ thing that gets pulled out regularly? Is healthcare really that much more expensive to an insurer if it’s done at one site or another? Sure, they’d prefer it was done in-house so that the ticket can be clipped multiple times, but it’s clearly just made up numbers that are produced currently.
      - 8y ago

by euske 8y ago

DennisP 8y ago

That fits with what the book described. The author had a bum shoulder and saw a doctor for it, in each of the countries he covered. In Japan he got an appointment immediately and the doctor offered surgery the next day. Financially they're the most efficient of all the countries in the book.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

stuxnet79 8y ago

In Canada, if it was serious, half a year is actually even quicker than I'd expect. I'd really love to try out the Japanese healthcare system. As it stands, I'm convinced that healthcare is an impossible problem to solve.

david927 8y ago
I'm convinced that healthcare is an impossible problem to solve. You need to travel more. The German system, for example, is very old, very simple and works very well.
- egeozcan 8y ago
  I like the healthcare situation in Germany but normally you would have to wait months for a surgery, if it's not very critical. An appointment with a specialist can also mean waiting weeks or months.
  - GFischer 8y ago
    Weeks is not bad... Months is. And as you said, it's for non-critical stuff. A mixed system - government-managed for important things, with extra healthcare you can pay on top, like the one we have here in Uruguay, seems to work best. As far as I can tell, we have the best healthcare for anything but special/rare cases which would be best served by a top specialist from the US or Germany. For the remaining 99% of cases it beats any system I know of.
  - david927 8y ago
    I don't know where this idea comes from. I'm American but my experience with healthcare in European countries where I've lived (England, France, Czech Republic and Switzerland) is unparalleled. I had my gall bladder removed (non-critical) in France; the wait was two weeks and everything about the experience was impeccable.
  - thousandautumns 8y ago
    That's not that uncommon in the US either though. My mother had an issue that required seeing a dermatologist, and just getting in to see a dermatologist was initially going to take about 6 months. After calling for a month, she was eventually able to get her wait down to 2.
Cthulhu_ 8y ago
It's not though, it's solved in a lot of countries. Even - or particularly - those that are economically worse off than the US, such as Cuba.
dalore 8y ago
UK is fine too. Even minor surgery I was scheduled in for 2 days after seeing a doctor. We are having some trouble due to austerity cuts and freezes by the current conservative government. But in the whole it works.

joering2 8y ago

Just got hemoroids frozen and cut with laser. Cost here in USA under premium insurance was $12,000. Went to Germany got it done on the same equipment in luxury stay for 14 days at $870. Plus $800 plane tickets. Meanwhile a friend of mine had a heart attack. As a Bank of America emplyee he had somewhat goog insurance that paid some. He was left with $180,000 bill.

dzhiurgis 8y ago
Should have treated yourself with business class seats...
arcticfox 8y ago
> As a Bank of America emplyee he had somewhat goog insurance that paid some. He was left with $180,000 bill. Forgive my ignorance but how is that possible? The highest out of pocket maximums for Marketplace plans is $15700 for an entire family.
- EvanAnderson 8y ago
  He may have been traveling when he had his heart attack: https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-stockmans-medical-bills-topped-1-million-what-happened-11545934412 https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-stockmans-medical-bills-to... He may have been attended-to by out-of-network practitioner: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Out-of-Network-ER-Surgeon-Leads-to-Surprise-34K-Bill-for-Virginia-Family-493660951.html https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Out-of-Network-ER-S...
  - lostlogin 8y ago
    What’s with the ‘out-of-network’ thing that gets pulled out regularly? Is healthcare really that much more expensive to an insurer if it’s done at one site or another? Sure, they’d prefer it was done in-house so that the ticket can be clipped multiple times, but it’s clearly just made up numbers that are produced currently.
    - 8y ago