6 ms·

> Can you pay for private dentists, or similar, if you need more immediate service If you need immediate service, you get to a fast track queue and can get fre

by antris 6y ago

> Can you pay for private dentists, or similar, if you need more immediate service If you need immediate service, you get to a fast track queue and can get free dentist care on the same day. If it's non-acute, you can go to a private clinic which is highly subsidized but does costs some money. But nothing like in the US. > And is the wait similar for major things like cancer, brain tutor, or heart surgery If you have serious acute illness, you will not be stuck in a queue. Such a situation would probably be grounds to a lawsuit.

c1sc0 6y ago
Wait, so you are saying there are no long queues after all?
- antris 6y ago
  There are queues. If you have non-acute problems you might have to wait. Especially if you need a dentistry check up, you might get an appointment that's several months away. Though now with COVID the dentistry lines have become shorter
- monkeyshelli 6y ago
  It took me 4mo to get my old ankle injury that I've had since the teens, to get operated. I was in the lowest priority category and this happened just after Covid-19 hit. I got a quote from a private healthcare provider for the operation for 6000e. In the public one it ended up costing 120e.
  - antris 6y ago
    > In the public one it ended up costing 120e Also, just as a sidenote, if you have no income other than governmental income support, Kela will pay these fees. So it is free for those who do not have the income to pay for it.
bedobi 6y ago
No offense but OP is right and you are wrong. Health care in Scandinavia is great in many ways and not so great in others. People do suffer, even die, waiting in line for public treatment, and health care lawsuits aren't really a thing.
- deanclatworthy 6y ago
  Finland is not Scandinavia and its systems are not necessarily comparable. You have shortcomings in any healthcare system, but I'd take this and all its flaws in a heartbeat over the absolute shitshow that is the US healthcare system.
  - bedobi 6y ago
    Finland is very much Scandinavia, but that's a complete side note. The point is, it's absolutely not true that health care in Finland or the rest of Scandinavia is anywhere near as good as popularly imagined by Americans or even by many Scandinavians themselves. Anyone who moves to Scandinavia thinking the high taxes will give complete access to instant top notch treatment in case of cancer or many other conditions will have been straight up misled and deceived. Pointing that out doesn't imply thinking US health care is preferable or better - I certainly don't.
    - antris 6y ago
      > Anyone who moves to Scandinavia thinking the high taxes will give complete access to instant top notch treatment in case of cancer or many other conditions will have been straight up misled and deceived If you want top notch anything, it's pretty obvious that the privilege is accessible only to billionaires. There's no roof on how much money you can spend on any service. The point of the public health care system is that a basic level of care is guaranteed to everyone, not to provide the most opulent service that money can buy.
    - vianneychevalie 6y ago
      Finland is not a part of Scandinavia [0]. It has linguistic, geographic, ethnic and historic differences. [0] https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-finland-part-of-scandinavia.html https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-finland-part-of-scand...

by antris 6y ago

c1sc0 6y ago

Wait, so you are saying there are no long queues after all?

antris 6y ago
There are queues. If you have non-acute problems you might have to wait. Especially if you need a dentistry check up, you might get an appointment that's several months away. Though now with COVID the dentistry lines have become shorter
monkeyshelli 6y ago
It took me 4mo to get my old ankle injury that I've had since the teens, to get operated. I was in the lowest priority category and this happened just after Covid-19 hit. I got a quote from a private healthcare provider for the operation for 6000e. In the public one it ended up costing 120e.
- antris 6y ago
  > In the public one it ended up costing 120e Also, just as a sidenote, if you have no income other than governmental income support, Kela will pay these fees. So it is free for those who do not have the income to pay for it.

bedobi 6y ago

No offense but OP is right and you are wrong. Health care in Scandinavia is great in many ways and not so great in others. People do suffer, even die, waiting in line for public treatment, and health care lawsuits aren't really a thing.

deanclatworthy 6y ago
Finland is not Scandinavia and its systems are not necessarily comparable. You have shortcomings in any healthcare system, but I'd take this and all its flaws in a heartbeat over the absolute shitshow that is the US healthcare system.
- bedobi 6y ago
  Finland is very much Scandinavia, but that's a complete side note. The point is, it's absolutely not true that health care in Finland or the rest of Scandinavia is anywhere near as good as popularly imagined by Americans or even by many Scandinavians themselves. Anyone who moves to Scandinavia thinking the high taxes will give complete access to instant top notch treatment in case of cancer or many other conditions will have been straight up misled and deceived. Pointing that out doesn't imply thinking US health care is preferable or better - I certainly don't.
  - antris 6y ago
    > Anyone who moves to Scandinavia thinking the high taxes will give complete access to instant top notch treatment in case of cancer or many other conditions will have been straight up misled and deceived If you want top notch anything, it's pretty obvious that the privilege is accessible only to billionaires. There's no roof on how much money you can spend on any service. The point of the public health care system is that a basic level of care is guaranteed to everyone, not to provide the most opulent service that money can buy.
  - vianneychevalie 6y ago
    Finland is not a part of Scandinavia [0]. It has linguistic, geographic, ethnic and historic differences. [0] https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-finland-part-of-scandinavia.html https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-finland-part-of-scand...