3 ms·

You are buying into a distorted image of the typical US population experience. Access to healthcare is pretty much instant and high quality for all but the very

You are buying into a distorted image of the typical US population experience. Access to healthcare is pretty much instant and high quality for all but the very bottom of the society. 85%+ of the population can get an appointment within a day or two and if it’s urgent can access numerous urgent care clinics with almost no wait. Best I can tell for many European countries the situation is significantly worse in terms of access. There is a lot of strange misconceptions about US quality of life from people in other countries.

slaw 4y ago
Very bottom of society has free healthcare. For example for WA. https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care
- fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
  In some states such as Florida and Texas, having low income is not enough for an adult to qualify for Medicaid.
- illiac786 4y ago
  We should define what healthcare means. For example: if you have a cavity, do they simply pull the tooth or do you get a filling? It's just an example, but health care ranges from "preventing you from dying only" up to cosmetic stuff.
wintermutestwin 4y ago
> 85%+ of the population can get an appointment within a day or two I'd love to see where you got that statistic. IME, I have to wait months for any kind of specialist. And when I finally get to see one, my insurance underpays and then I spend endless hours fighting with both the provider and the insurer. This crap happens every single time I need to see a doctor. I can't wait to retire and move to a second world country that has US trained doctors who give you their personal cell number. Heathcare in the US has become a terrible joke.
- acchow 4y ago
  I think this may be an issue with certain provider networks (have heard horror stories about Kaiser and such). I'm with Anthem and I've gone directly to various specialties with appointments within 1-5 days.
- alchemist1e9 4y ago
  > IME, I have to wait months for any kind of specialist. Ok sure so just realize when you retire in that 2nd world country the wait is for GPs! forget specialist. > https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/case-studies/routine-gp-appointment-waiting-times-reduced-by-47-pickering-medical-practice-north/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/case-studies/routine-gp-appoin... The average has dropped to 10 days! The US wait for equivalent of GP is like next 1-2 days, or even same day if you get triaged by the group. Also they are seeing 30+ patients a day which even in busier US locations is at least 1/2 that rate. It’s a myth that US healthcare is worse than other countries.
  - wintermutestwin 4y ago
    >The US wait for equivalent of GP is like next 1-2 days Again, I'd like to see the stats on that. I wanted to see my Dr for an annual checkup and was told it was a 2+ month wait and if I didn't want to wait I could see some random nurse practitioner. There are 2nd world countries where it is incredibly cheap to call your doctor's cell phone and have them come to you in a day or two.
    - illiac786 4y ago
      I can confirm that in multiple European countries you just walk to your GP's office and wait an hour or two (worst case) if you do not have an appointment. I waited 20 min last time I went without appointment. Specialists is a different story, the worst being psychologists/therapists (wait time counted in years where I live).
      - alchemist1e9 4y ago
        The equivalent is urgent care clinics in the US. They are everywhere and you can be seen in 15-20 mins, covered by employer medical plan. Testing, imaging, common medicines and treatments on site. Wait for specialists and surgeries are significantly less in the US than all other G20 countries.
laurencerowe 4y ago
Be sure to check that urgent care clinic is in network first! Having a well paid job in a big US metro gives you access to excellent healthcare but the bureaucracy here is a huge pain compared to countries with universal systems. Coming from the UK I would have picked the NHS as it was when I left 10 years ago over what I have access to here, but the Tories have really run that service into the ground in the interim.
arbitrary_name 4y ago
I'm on FAANG provided PPO and it's a two week wait to see my physician. Specialists are 3-4 months out. Not a rural area. Worse than my experiences in nz, Australia and UK.
wkat4242 4y ago
It's not the access really. More the worry about paying for it. In the US it can cost a lot, and while your employer covers it usually, this means you're really tied to your job. Here in Spain I never have to worry about paying for it. I'm sure the healthcare in the US is world-class considering how much it costs. But that cost is the biggest problem for me. But really, I'm a socialist and considering that this is a swearword in the US for many people, I just don't want to ever live there. My world view is just too different. I've never even visited.
gniv 4y ago
Having moved from a dense hcol area of the US to a dense hcol area of France, my experience has been that 1) I have access to specialists with less than a week wait in both places, but 2) costs in France are much lower than US.
DanBC 4y ago
> Access to healthcare is pretty much instant and high quality for all but the very bottom of the society. The US simultaneously under-treats poor people while over-treating rich people. This is why health outcomes in the US are so bad across a range of indicators.

slaw 4y ago

Very bottom of society has free healthcare. For example for WA. https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care

fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
In some states such as Florida and Texas, having low income is not enough for an adult to qualify for Medicaid.
illiac786 4y ago
We should define what healthcare means. For example: if you have a cavity, do they simply pull the tooth or do you get a filling? It's just an example, but health care ranges from "preventing you from dying only" up to cosmetic stuff.

wintermutestwin 4y ago

> 85%+ of the population can get an appointment within a day or two I'd love to see where you got that statistic. IME, I have to wait months for any kind of specialist. And when I finally get to see one, my insurance underpays and then I spend endless hours fighting with both the provider and the insurer. This crap happens every single time I need to see a doctor. I can't wait to retire and move to a second world country that has US trained doctors who give you their personal cell number. Heathcare in the US has become a terrible joke.

acchow 4y ago
I think this may be an issue with certain provider networks (have heard horror stories about Kaiser and such). I'm with Anthem and I've gone directly to various specialties with appointments within 1-5 days.
alchemist1e9 4y ago
> IME, I have to wait months for any kind of specialist. Ok sure so just realize when you retire in that 2nd world country the wait is for GPs! forget specialist. > https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/case-studies/routine-gp-appointment-waiting-times-reduced-by-47-pickering-medical-practice-north/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/case-studies/routine-gp-appoin... The average has dropped to 10 days! The US wait for equivalent of GP is like next 1-2 days, or even same day if you get triaged by the group. Also they are seeing 30+ patients a day which even in busier US locations is at least 1/2 that rate. It’s a myth that US healthcare is worse than other countries.
- wintermutestwin 4y ago
  >The US wait for equivalent of GP is like next 1-2 days Again, I'd like to see the stats on that. I wanted to see my Dr for an annual checkup and was told it was a 2+ month wait and if I didn't want to wait I could see some random nurse practitioner. There are 2nd world countries where it is incredibly cheap to call your doctor's cell phone and have them come to you in a day or two.
  - illiac786 4y ago
    I can confirm that in multiple European countries you just walk to your GP's office and wait an hour or two (worst case) if you do not have an appointment. I waited 20 min last time I went without appointment. Specialists is a different story, the worst being psychologists/therapists (wait time counted in years where I live).
    - alchemist1e9 4y ago
      The equivalent is urgent care clinics in the US. They are everywhere and you can be seen in 15-20 mins, covered by employer medical plan. Testing, imaging, common medicines and treatments on site. Wait for specialists and surgeries are significantly less in the US than all other G20 countries.

laurencerowe 4y ago

Be sure to check that urgent care clinic is in network first! Having a well paid job in a big US metro gives you access to excellent healthcare but the bureaucracy here is a huge pain compared to countries with universal systems. Coming from the UK I would have picked the NHS as it was when I left 10 years ago over what I have access to here, but the Tories have really run that service into the ground in the interim.

arbitrary_name 4y ago

I'm on FAANG provided PPO and it's a two week wait to see my physician. Specialists are 3-4 months out. Not a rural area. Worse than my experiences in nz, Australia and UK.

wkat4242 4y ago

It's not the access really. More the worry about paying for it. In the US it can cost a lot, and while your employer covers it usually, this means you're really tied to your job. Here in Spain I never have to worry about paying for it. I'm sure the healthcare in the US is world-class considering how much it costs. But that cost is the biggest problem for me. But really, I'm a socialist and considering that this is a swearword in the US for many people, I just don't want to ever live there. My world view is just too different. I've never even visited.

gniv 4y ago

Having moved from a dense hcol area of the US to a dense hcol area of France, my experience has been that 1) I have access to specialists with less than a week wait in both places, but 2) costs in France are much lower than US.

DanBC 4y ago

> Access to healthcare is pretty much instant and high quality for all but the very bottom of the society. The US simultaneously under-treats poor people while over-treating rich people. This is why health outcomes in the US are so bad across a range of indicators.