3 ms·

Interpretation: If you’re poor or middle class, Western and Northern Europe is the best place to be, as the government will take better care of you. If you’re

Interpretation: If you’re poor or middle class, Western and Northern Europe is the best place to be, as the government will take better care of you. If you’re rich (as in $1m+ annual compensation)…maybe the US if you’re interested in paying lesser taxes and keeping more of your money. You’ll pay insurance and education costs out of pocket but you’ll end up with more post-tax income in your pockets than your European counterparts. If you’re born in Nigeria like me, start weeping because your healthcare budget is $6 per person annually (no, I’m not joking)…haha

aww_dang 3y ago
One of the amazing things from a western perspective about the less developed world is being able to buy a full course of antibiotics without a prescription for a few dollars. In the US you'd need an appointment, insurance paperwork or no insurance and then the actual meds might be $50-$80, if your doctor insists on prescribing the latest pharmaceuticals. "I think this is infected" "Looks like it. Here you go!"
- MisterBastahrd 3y ago
  My ex-gf had a condition that needed to be treated with antibiotics and at the time she was between jobs. The doctor made a few calls and her out of pocket for a full prescription was $5.
- boeingUH60 3y ago
  Yeah, drugs are relatively cheap here, and you just walk into a pharmacy and buy it. A true free market, although self-medication is a major problem.
- cinntaile 3y ago
  Antibiotics should be carefully described, so I don't think it's good they can be bought without a subscription.
- jpmoral 3y ago
  Not everywhere 'Western' is like the US. Saw my GP a couple of weeks ago and got prescribed antibiotics. Full course was < 10 AUD. No insurance necessary.
  - infinghxsg 3y ago
    [dead]
  - wil421 3y ago
    Same there in America. Saw my kids pediatrician this week and it was $8 for antibiotic ear drops.
    - Freedom2 3y ago
      What insurance did you have?
- BrandoElFollito 3y ago
  In France (and probably the rest of the EU, at least the countries I visited) you cannot get antibiotics freely. They need to be prescribed by your MD. And usually generics. Cost is 1€. Whether they are prescribed correctly is another story (France used to be very into prescribing antibiotics for everything, this changed in the last 20 years)
  - aww_dang 3y ago
    Generics are generally pretty cheap. There are some indications that US doctors are incentivized to prescribe patented meds. I know I've received them when I strongly suspected a generic would have been fine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8315858/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8315858/ >These analyses included several types of prescribing decisions, finding that physicians who received industry payments were more likely to prescribe drugs made by the companies that had paid them over alternatives, had higher prescribing costs, and prescribed relatively more brand-name products over generic alternatives. The positive results of these studies spanned a broad range of physician specialties and drug classes.
    - BrandoElFollito 3y ago
      In France generics are compulsory (there are some exceptions), otherwise you have some problems with the reimbursement. This is not strong enough but at least this is something. The pharmaceutics have to provide a generic if it exists, even if the prescription is for another drug (except if the MD explicitly states that the specific drug must be used, with an explanation and they have to report this)
0zemp2c 3y ago
[dead]
bjornsing 3y ago
US is also far better if you are middle class and want to accomplish things. It’s not a coincidence that pretty much all the successful ambitious startups are in the US, and not in Europe.
- boeingUH60 3y ago
  I admit that, but that doesn’t matter to the 99% of people who will never start a company.
  - bjornsing 3y ago
    Not in the near term. But in the long term it does: as you can see in the OP historical economic growth is essentially the variable that explains current standard of living.
    - bjornsing 3y ago
      And it also makes work uninteresting and dull for another few percent, who can no-longer choose to work for an ambitious startup.
  - BlargMcLarg 3y ago
    It's not just entrepreneurship. European countries are notorious for safeguarding people against mistakes at the cost of everything else. Safeguarding not just meaning 'you can't fall deep into poverty', but also 'we will give you the means to stay at your current level'. That's how you end up with young people earning median household income unable to get a semi-decent apartment while Joe with a family of 4 making the same amount could never afford his current home, but passed the checkpoint before the bar got raised too high. Great if you're established or the economy is flourishing where you want it. Not so great if important sectors are dwindling and you have yet to establish yourself.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- 3y ago

aww_dang 3y ago

One of the amazing things from a western perspective about the less developed world is being able to buy a full course of antibiotics without a prescription for a few dollars. In the US you'd need an appointment, insurance paperwork or no insurance and then the actual meds might be $50-$80, if your doctor insists on prescribing the latest pharmaceuticals. "I think this is infected" "Looks like it. Here you go!"

MisterBastahrd 3y ago
My ex-gf had a condition that needed to be treated with antibiotics and at the time she was between jobs. The doctor made a few calls and her out of pocket for a full prescription was $5.
boeingUH60 3y ago
Yeah, drugs are relatively cheap here, and you just walk into a pharmacy and buy it. A true free market, although self-medication is a major problem.
cinntaile 3y ago
Antibiotics should be carefully described, so I don't think it's good they can be bought without a subscription.
jpmoral 3y ago
Not everywhere 'Western' is like the US. Saw my GP a couple of weeks ago and got prescribed antibiotics. Full course was < 10 AUD. No insurance necessary.
- infinghxsg 3y ago
  [dead]
- wil421 3y ago
  Same there in America. Saw my kids pediatrician this week and it was $8 for antibiotic ear drops.
  - Freedom2 3y ago
    What insurance did you have?
BrandoElFollito 3y ago
In France (and probably the rest of the EU, at least the countries I visited) you cannot get antibiotics freely. They need to be prescribed by your MD. And usually generics. Cost is 1€. Whether they are prescribed correctly is another story (France used to be very into prescribing antibiotics for everything, this changed in the last 20 years)
- aww_dang 3y ago
  Generics are generally pretty cheap. There are some indications that US doctors are incentivized to prescribe patented meds. I know I've received them when I strongly suspected a generic would have been fine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8315858/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8315858/ >These analyses included several types of prescribing decisions, finding that physicians who received industry payments were more likely to prescribe drugs made by the companies that had paid them over alternatives, had higher prescribing costs, and prescribed relatively more brand-name products over generic alternatives. The positive results of these studies spanned a broad range of physician specialties and drug classes.
  - BrandoElFollito 3y ago
    In France generics are compulsory (there are some exceptions), otherwise you have some problems with the reimbursement. This is not strong enough but at least this is something. The pharmaceutics have to provide a generic if it exists, even if the prescription is for another drug (except if the MD explicitly states that the specific drug must be used, with an explanation and they have to report this)

0zemp2c 3y ago

[dead]

bjornsing 3y ago

US is also far better if you are middle class and want to accomplish things. It’s not a coincidence that pretty much all the successful ambitious startups are in the US, and not in Europe.

boeingUH60 3y ago
I admit that, but that doesn’t matter to the 99% of people who will never start a company.
- bjornsing 3y ago
  Not in the near term. But in the long term it does: as you can see in the OP historical economic growth is essentially the variable that explains current standard of living.
  - bjornsing 3y ago
    And it also makes work uninteresting and dull for another few percent, who can no-longer choose to work for an ambitious startup.
- BlargMcLarg 3y ago
  It's not just entrepreneurship. European countries are notorious for safeguarding people against mistakes at the cost of everything else. Safeguarding not just meaning 'you can't fall deep into poverty', but also 'we will give you the means to stay at your current level'. That's how you end up with young people earning median household income unable to get a semi-decent apartment while Joe with a family of 4 making the same amount could never afford his current home, but passed the checkpoint before the bar got raised too high. Great if you're established or the economy is flourishing where you want it. Not so great if important sectors are dwindling and you have yet to establish yourself.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
3y ago