3 ms·

Given that would never happen in every other OECD country, yes, it does.

by testing22321 2mo ago

baggy_trough 2mo ago
So essentially the stat claim is meaningless?
- testing22321 2mo ago
  Not at all. As you said, someone has a medical concern, and they don’t go to the dr because of cost. Exactly as the stat says
  - baggy_trough 2mo ago
    We should be concerned because somebody values the health care received less than a $30 copay?
    - rawgabbit 2mo ago
      In my experience, it is the blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, cat scans, and interpretations ordered by the physician. The labs, technicians, and interpretation may or may not be in network. Six months after the visit, I get a bill from a third party I never heard of.
SpicyLemonZest 2mo ago
There are many OECD countries where primary care appointments are not free. France, Switzerland, Japan, etc. Countries that do make them free still have some sort of rationing mechanism that prevents primary care practitioners from being overwhelmed. In the UK, for example, appointment requests are triaged based on urgency and non-urgent appointments will often have to wait a while. In Canada, it's somewhat quicker to get appointments with your provider but much harder to find a provider if you don't already have one. More generally, the goal of a functional healthcare system is to make sure everyone gets the care they need to achieve good health outcomes, not to ensure that everyone can have as much of a doctor's time as they'd like.
- testing22321 2mo ago
  > the goal of a functional healthcare system is to make sure everyone gets the care they need to achieve good health outcomes Which the US system fails at, miserably
  - SpicyLemonZest 2mo ago
    Absolutely, but if you want to fix it you have to understand why and how it fails. If you think that 92% of Americans can't afford adequate care, you're going to be very confused by the shape of the debate. If the status quo is working for only 8% of Americans, how can it possibly be that we're not shaking things up? The reliable polls I've seen (https://news.gallup.com/poll/654044/view-healthcare-quality-declines-year-low.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/654044/view-healthcare-quality-...) tell a very different story. Most Americans understand that the healthcare system has big problems, but the vast majority think that the care they personally receive is good, although there's been a slight downtrend since 2020. So it's hard for any reform proposal to gain traction without reassuring that majority that the healthcare they enjoy won't go away.
    - testing22321 2mo ago
      > the vast majority think that the care they personally receive is good Which is actually the problem. Americans have been propagandised for so many decades they are not well educated enough to have a clear understanding of where their country lags behind developed countries.

Given that would never happen in every other OECD country, yes, it does.

baggy_trough 2mo ago

So essentially the stat claim is meaningless?

testing22321 2mo ago
Not at all. As you said, someone has a medical concern, and they don’t go to the dr because of cost. Exactly as the stat says
- baggy_trough 2mo ago
  We should be concerned because somebody values the health care received less than a $30 copay?
  - rawgabbit 2mo ago
    In my experience, it is the blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, cat scans, and interpretations ordered by the physician. The labs, technicians, and interpretation may or may not be in network. Six months after the visit, I get a bill from a third party I never heard of.

SpicyLemonZest 2mo ago

There are many OECD countries where primary care appointments are not free. France, Switzerland, Japan, etc. Countries that do make them free still have some sort of rationing mechanism that prevents primary care practitioners from being overwhelmed. In the UK, for example, appointment requests are triaged based on urgency and non-urgent appointments will often have to wait a while. In Canada, it's somewhat quicker to get appointments with your provider but much harder to find a provider if you don't already have one. More generally, the goal of a functional healthcare system is to make sure everyone gets the care they need to achieve good health outcomes, not to ensure that everyone can have as much of a doctor's time as they'd like.

testing22321 2mo ago
> the goal of a functional healthcare system is to make sure everyone gets the care they need to achieve good health outcomes Which the US system fails at, miserably
- SpicyLemonZest 2mo ago
  Absolutely, but if you want to fix it you have to understand why and how it fails. If you think that 92% of Americans can't afford adequate care, you're going to be very confused by the shape of the debate. If the status quo is working for only 8% of Americans, how can it possibly be that we're not shaking things up? The reliable polls I've seen (https://news.gallup.com/poll/654044/view-healthcare-quality-declines-year-low.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/654044/view-healthcare-quality-...) tell a very different story. Most Americans understand that the healthcare system has big problems, but the vast majority think that the care they personally receive is good, although there's been a slight downtrend since 2020. So it's hard for any reform proposal to gain traction without reassuring that majority that the healthcare they enjoy won't go away.
  - testing22321 2mo ago
    > the vast majority think that the care they personally receive is good Which is actually the problem. Americans have been propagandised for so many decades they are not well educated enough to have a clear understanding of where their country lags behind developed countries.