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As a German, this whole thread reads entirely bizarre. The US health system is the blind spot of the nation. The kind of fuckery you people have to endure every
by WA 7y ago
As a German, this whole thread reads entirely bizarre. The US health system is the blind spot of the nation. The kind of fuckery you people have to endure every day and the kind of thought processes it requires, is astonishing.
As a German, you don’t have to spend any brain cycles on health insurance or medical costs. If you’re self-employed, you maybe need to think about getting private insurance. Besides that: health care is just there for you. You don’t have to pay almost anything from your own pocket (besides glasses and some depending on the age).
The financial aspects usually can’t ruin you. Prices are "normal". I had a US friend over a while back. She had a tooth ache. The dentist fixed it and the bill was like 180 bucks or so. She couldn’t believe how cheap it was compared to the US. And this wasn’t some shitty job with inferior materials or whatever.
- agumonkey 7y agoSame goes for education, I remember the awkward silence when I told to a NY girl that tuition fees for public college in France was around 500eur/year. Of course taxes are different.
- mgkimsal 7y agoand I bet it's all completely untied from 'employment', right? this is the other huge blindspot we have here (US) - we've got generations of people who all have some odd belief this is somehow morally 'better' than employers provide this (because... that means you're 'working' and you need to be 'working' for the right/ability to have access to medical care).
- stjohnswarts 7y agoWhy is insurance tied to "employers" in Germany? That seems antithetical to the "healthcare for all" that I keep hearing about Germany and other European countries. Why would a private contractor be on their own for health care? Taxes? I mean even as a contractor I still have to pay taxes like everyone else.