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> This is the point that is missed in every hacker news / reddit post that spends hours making fun of how bad the US is. Mostly of the 'making fun' is due to t
by helsinkiandrew 5y ago
> This is the point that is missed in every hacker news / reddit post that spends hours making fun of how bad the US is.
Mostly of the 'making fun' is due to the fact that millions of US citizens have no or little health care and choose not to have treatment because they can't afford it, are limited about what treatments they can have, or have it and are made homeless or live under huge debts.
Just about every country which has some kind of health care system also has private health care/insurance that means you don't have to wait for treatment or have more choice about what, when and where things happen. Because of the competition of the 'free' healthcare systems these policies are usually much, much cheaper that the US.
I work in a company that gives me private medical insurance (which means I might get treated a little early for a non urgent condition, perhaps in a swanky private hospital) but feel good that people that can't afford it won't die, and that I can quit my job and not worry about getting ill.
- brianwawok 5y agoIt's deeper than that though. There is a deep group of rural american's who refuse health care, even when provided by their job at extremely low cost. Doesn't really matter how you change it, the rural american's who don't trust doctors aren't going to do anything different?
- cudgy 5y agoInteresting. Do you have a source for this data point?
- brianwawok 5y agoYes. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/vaccine-hesitancy-in-rural-america/ https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/vaccin... https://www.npr.org/2021/05/04/993270974/why-lagging-covid-vaccine-rate-at-rural-hospitals-needs-to-be-fixed-now https://www.npr.org/2021/05/04/993270974/why-lagging-covid-v... https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/04/15/987412681/its-not-a-never-thing-white-rural-southerners-are-waiting-to-get-the-vaccine https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/04/15/9874126...
- cudgy 5y agoI was referring to this statement: “There is a deep group of rural american's who refuse health care, even when provided by their job at extremely low cost.” Particularly the part about those with insurance not seeking care. The articles cited are concerning vaccine takeup rates, which reasonable people can differ.
- brianwawok 5y agoNot really, it’s the same root cause: a distrust of doctors.