5 ms·

So you are right on the general principle (at least I think so), that healthcare should just be available for everyone etc. That is not the case in the US. But

So you are right on the general principle (at least I think so), that healthcare should just be available for everyone etc. That is not the case in the US. But as a software engineer in the US it is not a worry. Like not at all.

carlsborg 6y ago
How about if you’re a seed stage startup?
- ghaff 6y ago
  It's a cost you probably need to have or you're going to have trouble hiring people.
  - kmonsen 6y ago
    I thought I answered this, but you are right. All the startups I have talked to, even seed startups, have decent medical. There is a fundamental difference though. The startups actually use insurance so you have to deal with the insurance company, while Google/Amazon/others self insure and just use the network etc. So if you have Google insurance you call a specific Google number and they will help you. At least that have been my experience.
    - ghaff 6y ago
      Many companies that self-insure still contract with an outside administrator that is usually a department/subsidiary of an insurance company. In my experience, there's no material difference. You still have covered procedures, tiers of insurance, etc. I've admittedly never worked for one of the big West Coast companies so perhaps their insurance is more gold-plated than the norm, e.g. I still pay out for my insurance even though my employer does as well.
      - kmonsen 6y ago
        You are probably right, I just know the administrator for the google and Amazon insurance were always super helpful and even though I have had some massive claims I never had to fight with the insurance company. Like I said many times I believe in any decent paying job in the U.S. healthcare is taken care of. I still pay a portion of my paycheck for insurance too, and the amount varies depending on which insurance you want. I think the highest I have seen is still less than $500/month for whole family coverage.
pavlov 6y ago
A few messages below in this thread, someone writes: "San Francisco’s only level 1 trauma center does not take private insurance, so if you are taken there, expect an absolutely massive bill despite how good your employer-provided health insurance is." Sounds like this would be a worry for anyone in the city, software engineer or not.
- kmonsen 6y ago
  Nah, my insurance (like all Google and Amazon insurances) have an out of pocket maximum/year. It is like less than 10k.
capableweb 6y ago
> But as a software engineer in the US it is not a worry. Like not at all. Cool. What about the rest of you, the majority of people who are not in tech? I get the feeling that many Americans don't worry about services as long as they themselves are covered, while many go without.
- sneak 6y ago
  If you ignore national boundaries and just look at human beings in general, basically the entirety of the global west does precisely this. ~half of the humans don't even have internet access.
  - capableweb 6y ago
    The list of countries without "universal government-funded health system" is smaller than the list of countries with it. US (together with Uganda, Yemen, Jordan and some other countries) is pretty lonely with its healthcare system. In general, the West does not work like the US when it comes to healthcare. And when you compare globally, the US still has the highest "Health Expenditure per capita", far higher than any other country really. There is no way to spin it, healthcare is absolutely terrible in the US and gets worse every year.
    - sneak 6y ago
      I wasn't trying to spin the healthcare situation, just to point out that "fuck you, got mine" isn't really unique to the USA, but is echoed in the entirety of the global west. One just needs look at the vaccine distribution situation to see this writ large.
- kmonsen 6y ago
  If they would let me I would vote for M4A, and give every American decent healthcare even if it would raise my taxes a bit. But that is beside the issue in this thread. All software engineers can safely move to the US and not worry about healthcare. Personally I would not move now as I think democracy is dying, but that is a different concern I guess.

carlsborg 6y ago

How about if you’re a seed stage startup?

ghaff 6y ago
It's a cost you probably need to have or you're going to have trouble hiring people.
- kmonsen 6y ago
  I thought I answered this, but you are right. All the startups I have talked to, even seed startups, have decent medical. There is a fundamental difference though. The startups actually use insurance so you have to deal with the insurance company, while Google/Amazon/others self insure and just use the network etc. So if you have Google insurance you call a specific Google number and they will help you. At least that have been my experience.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Many companies that self-insure still contract with an outside administrator that is usually a department/subsidiary of an insurance company. In my experience, there's no material difference. You still have covered procedures, tiers of insurance, etc. I've admittedly never worked for one of the big West Coast companies so perhaps their insurance is more gold-plated than the norm, e.g. I still pay out for my insurance even though my employer does as well.
    - kmonsen 6y ago
      You are probably right, I just know the administrator for the google and Amazon insurance were always super helpful and even though I have had some massive claims I never had to fight with the insurance company. Like I said many times I believe in any decent paying job in the U.S. healthcare is taken care of. I still pay a portion of my paycheck for insurance too, and the amount varies depending on which insurance you want. I think the highest I have seen is still less than $500/month for whole family coverage.

pavlov 6y ago

A few messages below in this thread, someone writes: "San Francisco’s only level 1 trauma center does not take private insurance, so if you are taken there, expect an absolutely massive bill despite how good your employer-provided health insurance is." Sounds like this would be a worry for anyone in the city, software engineer or not.

kmonsen 6y ago
Nah, my insurance (like all Google and Amazon insurances) have an out of pocket maximum/year. It is like less than 10k.

capableweb 6y ago

> But as a software engineer in the US it is not a worry. Like not at all. Cool. What about the rest of you, the majority of people who are not in tech? I get the feeling that many Americans don't worry about services as long as they themselves are covered, while many go without.

sneak 6y ago
If you ignore national boundaries and just look at human beings in general, basically the entirety of the global west does precisely this. ~half of the humans don't even have internet access.
- capableweb 6y ago
  The list of countries without "universal government-funded health system" is smaller than the list of countries with it. US (together with Uganda, Yemen, Jordan and some other countries) is pretty lonely with its healthcare system. In general, the West does not work like the US when it comes to healthcare. And when you compare globally, the US still has the highest "Health Expenditure per capita", far higher than any other country really. There is no way to spin it, healthcare is absolutely terrible in the US and gets worse every year.
  - sneak 6y ago
    I wasn't trying to spin the healthcare situation, just to point out that "fuck you, got mine" isn't really unique to the USA, but is echoed in the entirety of the global west. One just needs look at the vaccine distribution situation to see this writ large.
kmonsen 6y ago
If they would let me I would vote for M4A, and give every American decent healthcare even if it would raise my taxes a bit. But that is beside the issue in this thread. All software engineers can safely move to the US and not worry about healthcare. Personally I would not move now as I think democracy is dying, but that is a different concern I guess.