3 ms·
Having used the ER twice in fifth grade in Canada, it seemed fine? Like, yes, sure you have to wait 12 hours to see a doctor if you're not bleeding out the ches
by cbhl 8y ago
Having used the ER twice in fifth grade in Canada, it seemed fine? Like, yes, sure you have to wait 12 hours to see a doctor if you're not bleeding out the chest. But also, I didn't have to face the prospect of paying $300 for a 15 minute consult, or going to jail to receive treatment.
If you have a cold, you find a PCP or a "health clinic" and make an appointment for same-day or later-that-week. And sure it's hard to find that PCP, but with my PCP in the US I have to book appointments three weeks in advance!
I'd argue "75%ile time waiting in the ER" is not a great metric. That neither tells you how easy it is you are to get preventative or routine treatment, nor how well your ER is able to handle a mass-shooting type catastrophe.
- citilife 8y ago_Without insurance_ you can see a doctor in the U.S. for relatively cheap. I'm talking, $100 for a clinic visit. I've done it plenty of times for less. The healthcare in the U.S. seems nuts because you are _billed_ for hundreds of dollars, but that's because they have to subsidize medicare patients AND insurance companies have negotiated rates based on percentages. So, they may only pay 40% of what is billed, but you are shown much more. It's a scam everyone is involved in, which is why we need open pricing and open "how much insurance actually paid".
- cbhl 8y agoWithout insurance, a 15-minute consult in Canada is, like, $40 CAD. That's like $20 USD. Factor of 5x or 10x savings.