Americans React To What US Healthcare Looks Like Abroad | Loners #45
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2024
- #europe #healthcare #reaction
In this video, we discuss the problems with the US healthcare system alongside our foreign friends who agree. We hope you enjoy this video and if you do please don't forget to like and subscribe! Thank you all so much :)
Original Video --- bit.ly/3XHbB8U
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Last year, I got a rare, potentially fatal infection working on my farm in Australia. I drove myself to hospital in the middle of the night, where I was admitted immediately for an MRI scan, X-ray and ultrasound. First thing in the morning, I was airlifted to a large city hospital 200km away and stayed in the ICU & single-room recovery for a week. I received daily gastroscopies, IV antibiotics, steroids and pain relief until I was well enough to go home.
I was also given a cab voucher to the train station to get home. My car had remained parked at the hospital for 7 days. I then drove to the pharmacy to pick up ongoing antibiotic meds, pain relief and had weekly follow-up GP appointments for a month. I paid a total of $34 for the train ride home and $25 for a month of medications. That was it. Nothing more. Access to affordable healthcare is a human right: Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Read about my x-wife's experience in France (comment above yours)
This is normal in a civilised country. You would have been treated the same in the UK.
@@bradsalubby Yes. Australia has a reciprocal agreement with the UK, so Australians can access the NHS for necessary medical care.
@@anserbauer309 I believe any visitor can access A&E. The NHS will try to claw back costs from non reciprocal countries but they never get any funds back tbh.
@@bradsalubbyIt sounds like what happens to Spain and the "medical tourism". Dozens and dozens of millions.
You said it’s hard to wrap your mind around not having to worry about going to the doctors- for me (UK citizen) it’s hard to wrap my mind around HAVING to worry. It’s crazy.
Hi from Belgium , here (and in Europe in general) medical debt is not really a thing. It's a pity that most people who need to learn about universal healthcare don't check channels like these.
True I'm Italian living in Antwerp Belgium and Pisa Italy. 🇮🇹🇧🇪
In Belgium, we also have "BIM" status for low-income people. With this they pay almost nothing. Otherwise in Belgium health care can become expensive if you go to private or non-contracted doctors and hospitals because they can increase their prices. As a general rule, it costs +- 5 € for a visit to the general practitioner and a large part of the prescribed drugs are reimbursed.
Hi from the UK 👋 🇬🇧 the problem is that Americans have been convinced by their government and the pharmaceutical industry that health care that the rest of the world has is communism lol 😆
@@richardhall6034 indeed my friend so true. 😂, The US is a plutocrasy and don't now it
You two seem like a lovely couple…shame your country will not treat you better….
I really do feel for you guys. Our NHS is overworked and underfunded but without it I would be mysteriously communicating from beyond the grave.
Me too, Steven and my monthly medications costs are £10.82 because I buy a pre prescription certificate otherwise in the U.K. it would be £130 to £140, imagine how much it would cost me in America…..
@@concordep2504 In the UK, presciptions are completely free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Only England charges for prescribed medications, although it's at a low capped price.
@@fallyoverguy precisely not the UK in this case but purely England!
Same here in Australia Steven.
'Conservative' governments over the last decade here have overworked and underfunded our system as well and we are, once again, endeavouring to get it back on track.
To our American cousins ... you will NEVER have a comparable healthcare system in the US as long as you keep electing 'Conservative' (Republican) administrations.
Yeah but the NHs in UK is at risk because they have an electorate thats thick as fuck and consistently votes against its own kids welfare because the telly and paper told them too.
Hello, fellow guy from Germany here. I love your channel, and you two have such a wonderful personality. It makes me so sad too see such a lack of humanity in the US health care system. It's only a question of humanity..
The fact that you have to pay to hold your newborn baby made me speechless..
I wish you best luck and all best, and maybe you decide someday to come to Germany or another wonderful European country. Open minded people like you are more than welcome.
Many greetings from Bavaria ❤
I'm from the UK, 5 years ago I fell off a ladder and I knew I had broken my arm because I heard it snap. I went to hospital, I was rushed to the front of line in the ER/A&E and had x-rays straight away, turned out I had dislocated my elbow as well as broken my arm. Within a couple hours I was being sedated to have my elbow popped back into place. Then the next morning at 9am I was 1st in line for theatre. I had a metal plate and 9 screws put in my arm which are still there today (I have lost some movement in my elbow but its 95% healed now).
And then I was prescribed loads of drugs for £7/$8 and that was the only cost I had to pay. I wonder how much all of this would have cost me if I had been in the USA, Thank you NHS.
Funny how Americans do not like to reply to comments like yours DDT. Yet they will go off on one when they read a comment that is anti-gun generated.
You understand ,of course, that after insurance, the cost for what you said, would probably have been approximately 25,680 dollars
@@katk3439 BTW..i heard through a "rag" magazine,t hat "millions of trees" were cut down in Scotland recently, to make way for "windmills". Is this true?! or is it internet bull from a rag? [ source the "Sun" in England ).
@@lukeyznaga7627 The Sun is like if Fox News did a newspaper, my friend. Scotland has cliffs galore. If they chose to cut trees instead, the people in charge of it should not be in charge of making a sandwich, let alone these sort of operations.
One thing that is always underestimated is that if you have universal healthcare system, then the state is interested in keeping the costs low. That means keeping people healthy. Thats why europe has so many prevention systems tied in with healthcare. Going to the doctor is cheaper for the state than the emergency room. obesity costs the state lots of money, so there are programs for healthier eating, and so on. That also exlains the higher life expectancy in countries with universal healthcare systems.
When they mentioned the guy that died of diabetic acidity I lost it, that is inhumane, why would you charge that much to someone who just wants his medication to be a productive member in society, he had a whole live before him but that just vanished due to corporate greed, I'm in tears right now, this is hard for me to digest
It is especially galling due to the fact that the Canadian inventors of insulin gave the formula to the world for free, because they believed it was a human right to have access.
I am now 60 years old Norwegian and it blew my mind when i found out as a youth that US did not have public health care. The greatest land on Earth 😐🇧🇻 My daughter had to go to hospital when visiting US and even thou she had insurance we got duplicates of the bills sent to us in Norway. The ambulance alone together with the appliances in the ambulance included the paper sheet on the stretcher etc.was 6000 dollars. And every hospital part she was moved between was their own economic entity so we saw the bills from every one. It was a lot for 4 days in hospital i can tell you. In Norway it would be free. 🥳
And for that reason, most European insurance companies try to get you out of the US as soon as you need any care. It's usually cheaper to book you a private jet than it is to pay the hospital bills.
when you've got all that oil, gas and hydropower you're probably the richest per capita after Saudi Arabia so no wonder. Not so easy to fund it in the UK, say :-(
@@daffyduk77 You need to look up uk health. No fees there either.
@@daffyduk77 Well we do not use more than 3% of the profit of the oilfund evry year!
evrything is funded by taxes that are around 30 to 34% of your paycheck!
And for that evrything of our hospitals,pensions,unemployment benefits,disability benefits,parental leave,schools(both lower and higher education),military,police,firefighters and so on is thru the taxes!
@@karstenstormiversen4837and since when are you „rich“? Isn’t that only a few decades and you had the socialized health care before?
As a 75 year-old Canadian, I can honestly say, I wouldn't be here if I lived in the United States! I really feel for you and your wife! She's a lovely lady! Take care and l hope for the best for you and your fellow citizens! Peace and Love from Canada! P.S. If the USA stopped funding the Military Industrial Complex through its outrageous wars, there would be nothing stopping taking care of it's people! ♥️✌
The US could keep it's military spending and still have universal healthcare but the politicians are paid by big pharma to let them price hike everything medical.
In the UK if you are employed by someone else your taxes are calculated at source, and so there is no need to do a tax return (PAYE- pay as you earn). The exceptions are if you are earning over a certain amount, if you have a second source of income (rent, second job, shares) or if you are self employed. But as a result 3/4 of people never fill in a tax return.
That sounds similar to how it works in germany.
Similar in Sweden, but we need to confirm/sign off (electronic works fine) that the numbers the Tax people got is correct.
Yeah, about same in Norway
Similar to Australia. We still need to confirm whether or not we earned enough to require lodgment of a return then if we do it can all be done online and most of the data pre-fills from the tax office data but things like additional income from private sources such as gifts etc and deductions may need to be entered by the taxpayer. Very simple if you are a wage earner but more complex for business operators.
Charles....yes, well said, concisely explained. Robert, UK.
No, these are not "special cases" or anything like that. I can go to the doctor whenever I want without it costing me anything (I live in Germany). I also had to call the ambulance once. That didn't cost me anything either. Our health care system is not perfect but the more I learn about the American one, the more it seems like a dystopian nightmare. I learned from this video, for example, that insurance may be tied to the city and that you lose it when you move. Crazy.😲
But I think now that we are all connected through the Internet and see comparisons with other countries, the citizens of America will certainly not put up with this forever. At least I hope so for you guys.
I have a friend in the US and he sprained his ankle badly in the middle of the woods and wasn’t sure if it was broken. Since I broke my foot a few years back (in Germany, for a total cost of 150EUR for 15 days at the hospital, three operations and three months of physical therapy) i told him to go to the doctor and have it xrayed. well, turns out the insurance only covers his home state and he was visiting relatives somewhere else. This shouldn’t be happening, nowhere
Yes, we do have something like co-pay in Germany: 10 € per day for a max of 280 € per year for hospital stays, 10 € for ambulance car or a taxi to hospitals, between 5 to 10 € for most prescription meds (regardless if they cost 10 € or a million €). That's it. No co-pay for a visiting a doctor, no co-pay for any surgery, no co-pay for cancer treatment, no co-pay for ER, etc. My wife had cancer twice, she still pays exactly the same per month for health insurance as before. Right now she pays approx. 150 € per month, because she is on disability pension; the max monthly pay for any person for health insurance is a little over 400 €. For those who have not opted out of public health insurance (there are actually people doing that), we actually never see a medical bill. It is directly sent to the health insurance and they pay it, fully.
Not sure if there are still small fees, when going for emergency services of doctors outside of general opening hours (like on weekends), but otherwise i can confirm.
Best example from myself? I am a public employee, still just enrolled in the basic public healthcare. My employer (state) required (let's ignore the legal aspect) a medical exermination by their doctors. During those tests i had a blackout. Since they couldn't determain if it was something serious or just the combination of missing sleep, anxiety, stress ect i was send to my GP. GP send me to a cardiologist, then a neurologist, who send me to make a CT.
Highest waiting time? 2 weeks (neurologist), since it wasn't time critical.
Cost: ~15€ for transportation to the neurologist and the CT. (I COULD have gotten that back, but didn't want to put in the work for 15€)
My contact lenses are paid for by my insurance because they are special lenses for my eye illness. I have them for at least a year, so they are not cheap, around 500€ for the pair. My "co-pay" for that is also always 10€ 😅
I'd like to add that if opt for glasses or contacts then your insurance will only cover the most basic frames and lenses, and the contacts won't have any sophisticated options. For all the additional features like especially light frames, UV blocking lenses, etc you have to pay yourself. As I am a user of glasses I do know that when I need new glasses it will be fairly expensive, but it's a one-time only expense around 500-800 euros once in several years. So while not cheap, it is a calculable expense.
The co-payment for prescription drugs in Germany is 10% of the drug price, but no more than €10; the patient has to pay costs under €5 themselves.
Example:
Price: €3.95 of which to be paid by the patient himself - €3.95
Price €7.50 of which to be paid by the patient himself - €5
Price 250000€ of which to be paid by the patient himself - 10€
There is also an exemption from co-payments (for medication costs) from 2% of the annual gross amount of the person, for the chronically ill from 1% of the annual gross amount.
This can be submitted later (using the pharmacy receipts and stating your own annual gross amount) or paid in full at the beginning of the year, which means that there is no longer any co-payment when you pick up medication from pharmacies (especially recommended for the chronically ill with a high need for medication).
Not sure with that ambulance. After an accident with my motorbike I got a bill of 20,- € for the ride to the hospital. But that was in 2008 or 2009 - so maybe they lowered the additional payment in the meantime. Or maybe because there was no real reason (I was almost not injured) but to reassure my parents - and at their express request - I had asked to be admitted to have a thorough check-up.
i’m from scotland where all healthcare (unless you decide to go private or unless its cosmetic) is 100% free, any checkup, any x-ray, any surgery and medication is all covered by taxes. it shocked me to my core when i found out they have to pay like £10 for medicine in england… you can imagine what my reaction was when i learned about the cost of american healthcare 😭
Why do you think prescriptions are 100% free?? subsidised by the UK government. Devolution has not been good for England.
all of the healthcare provided by the nhs in scotland is provided by “nhs scotland” not nhs england, meaning 100% of the funding is from the scottish government, which is paid for by the taxes of our citizens. anything going on with the english nhs is not relevant to scotland as they’re ran by different governments and people in 2 different countries.
@Isla I didn't say NHS England, I said from the the UK government. Do you really think a couple government
@@isla1687 Actually most of the money the Scottish government gives to NHS Scotland is from the annual Barnett Formula disbursement from Westminster - paid for by tax payers all across the UK, not just Scotland. So we're chipping in for your free prescriptions, even though we don't get it ourselves. You're welcome.
www.gov.uk/government/news/latest-figures-detail-uk-governments-record-funding-of-41-billion-a-year-for-the-scottish-government
@@isla1687 hi Isla I’m born and bred Scottish, live in England work in the NHS, until moving here I thought Scotland had a bad wrap and we were penalised financially. What a shock I had, we pay for each item on prescriptions £10.40 approx, eye tests, and social care you don’t get the benefits that you get in Scotland. I don’t think Gray was having a go at you. NHS Scotland do use their budget differently. What I will say is the same applies to wales and Northern Ireland, it’s only England that has less money spent on individuals. Sending all my best to you x
Being ill is stressful enough without having to worry about being able to afford it . Just finished 6 chemo treatments and now have to have radiotherapy . Thank you NHS in the UK
Good luck with the treatments hope things go well for you
@@tarkett8529 Thank you
@@bobbyboko6317 no worries fingers crossed for good news
I am from Salzburg/Austria (Middle.European Alps). We´re ranked 4th best healthcare-system in the world. Because you asked: a prescription-fee is always $ 6,-. Always!!! (when prescripted by a Doctor, that is). It does not matter if it is a prescription for a flu-medicine or cancer, we´re only paying about $ 6,- as a bureaucracy-fee over here. Old people and minimum-wage people will mostly pay nothing.
Insurance here in the Netherlands covers healthcare everywhere - even in other countries. However, they will only cover up to what the same treatment would cost in the Netherlands. That's fine almost everywhere, but if you travel to the US, Canada, or Singapore, they strongly recommend people to get extra insurance, because prices are so much higher.
Yup, that's why you get a travel-insurance, for the lenght of your travel.... 👍🏻 Or you just get a continious one for less than €100 per year and don't have to think about it anymore.
@@herztone8002 Yep.
Belgian here and obviously traveled to Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
Never worried one bit about something happening.
When I went to the US for work I checked my health insurance more than my plane ticket. The first being fucked up can screw me over. The second just means I miss my flight.
Speaking from Canada, and I'm sure this applies to most of the world, we literally don't have a single concern about medical related expenses. This kind of worry doesn't exist. For us, it is impossible to wrap our heads around worrying about such a thing. I hope things change in the States. You should never lose sleep over medical expenses.
I'm Canadian I don't agree since (as I commented already) drugs, dental, medical issues while travelling within Canada are major issues with big costs. My Dad had a fatal lung disease and was lucky to be covered by his medial plan plus his doctor was able to convince a drug company to greatly discount the drug he needed. All together with Humira $1,200 per needle every two weeks. Esbriet for his lungs $40,000 per year there was no way he could cover that not including all his other meds. Dental is partially covered if you have a plan if not tough luck. Travel can covered but you have to buy travel insurance.
@@dg-hughes Yep, unfortunately most Canadians would rather not increase their taxes to pay for these things. Particularly conservatives.
Get out, whatever it takes, your way of life will be improved by 100 times, everything from time off, paid sick leave, paid holidays, relax, go for walks, no guns, soo much, good luck.
Why should they all get out? Why not try getting things improved in their own country. Everyone cannot "get out".
Greetings from 🇩🇪!
In most cases you pay something for the drug.
The co-payment is between 5 and 10€, depending on how expensive the drug is. For example:
Your blood pressure medication costs €37.50, then you pay €5. Between €50 and €100 you pay 10%. At €59.70 that would be €5.97.
As soon as your medicine is more expensive than 100€, you always pay 10€.
It doesn't matter whether the pack costs €120 or €4790.
Children do not pay until they are 18. And you can apply for an exemption from the health insurance company if you get a lot of medication or earn very little money.
I wish you both well and hope you can have the strength to move to another country. Your happiness will improve as well as your freedom. You both seem so sad in this video. Love from Australia
The lady always looks sad. Perhaps it's because she needs health insurance and then pays again at the doctor. Yesterday I had a blood test and a injection CT scan and today another blood test and next Tuesday, another blood test. I have not paid 1 cent for these or my regular doctor appointment. Also, all my meds are dirt cheap. Australia really knows how to look after its citizens. oh, I don't have insurance.🦘
@@davidarmstrong3564 I agree. As Australians we are blessed in many many ways, not least of all a great Heath System. Stay well.
@@dianen8962 Thank you Diane
I live in Japan, and I literally think about taking my kids to get a COVID test the moment they show some signs of a cold (runny nose, headaches.) One time, the doctor suggested testing for both COVID and influenza. Turns out it was negative, so he just dispensed meds for fever, colds and cough. About two weeks worth of three different types of meds. I only paid the equivalent of $2. Yeah, when someone in my family doesn’t feel well, our first thought is always, “should I go to the hospital?” It’s that automatic for everybody. I know people who go to the hospital just for fatigue and exhaustion. So diseases get diagnosed quickly, contributing to Japan having the longest life expectancy in the world.
I'm 73. Live in Scotland, have Never had to pay for any health care in my life, other than a small deduction from my pay. This covers my wife and kids also. No such thing as medical debt here. I really feel for you guys.
What's that small deduction from your pay?
NO offence intended, but a country that perpetually describes itself as the 'Greatest Country in the World' MUST be indulging in Irony, when one considers the degree of CARE that that country provides for its citizens. Even more so when many of its leaders and law-makers describe themselves as 'Christians' (are they _serious_ ?)
Your insights to these things are very interesting and valueable to me.
I second that, even that anti-abortion comment sounded plausible.
I have a coworker that has a rare genetic eye disease that can only be treated in a couple of countries for which he had to go to the US (recently they have been able to treat him in France as well) the insurance companies here (The Netherlands) cover 100% of the cost of the treatments, flights and stay the last three and a half years. Luxturna that costs somewhere around 375,000 Euro per injection.
While these are obviously extremely rare cases and one does need to meet certain criteria, it does show that these treatments are in reach for pretty much anyone here. (ie. monthly healthcare premiums are somewhere between 100 Euro and 200 Euro a month). The solidarity principle at work for people as it is supposed to.
Prescription charges here in the UK are £9.35 per item ($11.54} but now I'm over 60 years old I get all medicines for free. I could not imagine having to live with the knowledge that a serious illness or accident could possibly bankrupt me.
free in wales
You mean in England. Scotland, Wales and NI they are free.
Also if u have a long term condition like Diabetes your meds are free (in England u usually have to pay a nominal amount).
In England. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because the NHS in those countries allocate funding differently. In England prescription charges costs a lot to administer, so charging for prescriptions doesn’t actually make much sense.
In Germany, there are actually committees which fix prices for healthcare services and medicines. So the costs don't explode.
I live in the UK, I had Leukaemia, I had an isolation suite with 24hr TV to keep me sane as I couldn't have visitors unless they were healthy. I had access to the latest experimental drugs if required. I had both blood and serum transfusions. I had four rounds of chemo in the hospital all the attention from the nurses and specialists. And check ups 6 monthly for the next few years which then went to yearly til the tenth year when my case was handed over to my local doctors surgery for check ups which I'm now starting. I have worked and pay national insurance via my employer so I don't have to think about it. I have never paid for any of it up front.
In Poland we have electronic system where goverment calculates ur taxes - our emplyers need send "raports" to goverment so they can calculate, u login at special site (usually ur bank confirm it) and look at PIT (yearly finansial raport & taxes) and u need confirm and make sure if everything is ok, also analog-papier method still exist, but u can make mistake, but if it is mistake not a froud u dont have problem (u need fullfill some documends and staff to remake it). I never do it myself - I only use online method.
PS I also dont pay taxes bcs I still sudy and below 26yo - but when u paing it ur emloyer send money from ur pay every month so usually u got text refund or anything (depends if u have discounts or smth)
In England, you don't pay for the medicine in the prescription, but just a prescription fee. The fee is £9.35 (around $10) no matter how much the medicine actually costs.
Exactly, but only to add that when you reach retirement age, no charge is made on prescriptions. Also, there are various circumstances - unemployment, low income, disability, under 16, for example - which can negate paying anything. Robert, UK.
@@2eleven48 There is also a subscription fee thing that's a one off payment then all medications are free for a year (something like that anyway). Im Scottish so all NHS prescriptions are free of charge here.
EDIT: We also have a minor ailments service which allows anyone registered with a GP in Scotland, even as a temporary resident, a range of medications for free from a pharmacy without a prescription. Emollients, pain relief, anti-lice, anti-threadworm etc etc.
@@Paul-zk2tn ....Thanks for that info. To clarify, as it stands at the moment: The GP in England might provide a one-off prescription, but often prescriptions are on a monthly basis, and with either case the prescription charge is £9.35 (for one or more items). If it is a regular prescription, a PPC costs £30.25 for 3 months, £108.10 for 12 months (thus, some saving in doing so). As I said before, various factors may exempt someone from paying for prescriptions.
Yes, Scotland must be admired for this enlightened service. Robert, UK.
In scotland you pay a little extra tax and the prescriptions are free.
@@2eleven48 Wales and Northern Ireland also have 'free' prescriptions, it's only in England where there's a fee and that fee might cover multiple medicines, issued under the one certificate.
Thanks for an interesting conversation whilst I'm making dinner . As a pensioner in the UK. I have never left the house having to worry about guns . They aren't part of our culture and ownership is heavily restricted and some types are banned . Our Police officers are not armed with the exception of special units for terrorist situations .
On Health care , we have income tax and National Insurance deducted by employers ( PAYE.- Pay as you earn ) and only self employed have to submit tax returns . The NI pays towards health pensions and benefits . The basic tax rate is 20% with higher bands of 40 and 45% for higher earners .For that we get health care free at the point of use , prescriptions in England cost about £ 8 but many people qualify for free . Dental does have some charges and spectacles .
No political party can ever hope to be elected without having a good , or at least credible policy on running the NHS . It's not without its problems after the pandemic and now the cost of living has taken its toll on staff and waiting lists .Started after the war , the NHS.transformed the lives of the entire population and it has almost universal support among the British people .
We are truly blessed in the UK/Europe (also Australia and NZ).
We are truly blessed with the NHS. We take it for granted and if any party tries to privatise it (conservatives are trying) they would be voted out asap.
My father had a brain hemorrhage in 2011that almost killed him, the neurosurgeons saved his life and he spent 8 moths in hospital and rehab before he could go home. We have no idea what all that care cost because all public hospital care in New Zealand is free at the point of delivery.
About 30% of medical bills in the US, is just to administer the system because it is so complicated.
I had a heart problem when in London and had emergency treatment at a big London hospital. Further treatment continued at my local hospital, 200 miles away in Wales.
I have regular appointments to see a specialist, and they tell me when they want to see me for such as an echocardiogram, I pay nothing and there is no paperwork involved.
Taxes come pre-filled in Norway, you basically just log in, check the numbers, make corrections if necessary and then file. For the most part it takes just a few minutes to do.
Canadian here, I only know one person with medical debit, and it is my friend who lives in Florida. I have had several broken bones, PT, surgeries, ICU stays, CT scans, MRI's, a 5 week hospital stay, er visits for stitches or pneumonia....I have never paid a dime.
I am german, working all over the world, including the US. Our company pays a world wide extra insurance for any thing that can happen. For the US the enurance provides, if possible, flight back by with a privat jet with doctor lab equippment etc. Not because they think treatment would not be good in the US, no because its cheaper.
I reached my 60th birthday a few years ago and within days I got two letters/package from the NHS. One good, one not so good. The good letter was saying as someone over 60 I was entitled to free prescription medication from that date on, and is true. It works. The second package was a bowel cancer test kit, they included detailed instructions which I followed to take the sample and thankfully the tests were negative.
As others have said, The NHS is going through a difficult time at the moment, my mother (God rest her ) was an NHS nurse/sister from the age of 18 to 65.and it became her reason to live. Let us look forward to a better NHS that we can be proud of and will look after us all in the future.. 24:20
your post struck a chord with me as I was 60 at the very end of 2022 and the nhs sent me a bowel cancer screen test at the beginning of january. mine tested positive for blood so I got an appointment for pre colonoscopy pre-op on the 25th jan ,i had my colonoscopy on 5 days later which was all clear thankfully.but imagine having to worry about the cost on top of eveything else
You’re 60 and only now getting the bowel screening test? It starts when you are 50 in Scotland
@@Spiklething yes although there,s a programme in place to start screening earlier.to be honest I,m not sure if I got one a while ago but did,nt bother with it
@@Spiklething That's because some areas of Scotland have such a low life expectancy they need to get in early!
@@SpiklethingAnd in Wales too!
I am German and this year i had to go to the ER because of a sudden paralysis on my left face. It was thought that i had the shingles so they gave me a single bed room in the hosptial. I've got tests everyday like a MRT, ultrasonic, infusions, blood tests, speech therapy and daily visits of a doctor. They kept me for about 6 days. My final diagnosis was an temporal idiopathic face paralysis. All I had to pay was 60€, 10€ for every day in the hospital. And 10€ for 2 weeks of medication
Hi. I am from Sweden. Broke my leg. Surgery, medicines, return visit. 100 dollars. if you have reached that amount, the state pays everything for the rest of the year. 👍🏻
Greetings from Czech republic. There will not be any bill after using medical care in our country (except dentist, cosmetic surgery). We pay monthly mandatory insurance fee about 100USD. We do have also paid sick leave, maternal leave for 26 weeks, 4 weeks of mandatory vacation.
If anyone else from Norway has already written a comment here explaining how it is in Norway then ignore my comment :p
Here we pay around 30 dollars for a medical checkup no matter where you go (hospitals, doctor office etc) and as someone who goes extremely frequently to all kinds of medical places I haven't experienced paying anything more than that.
The travel to a hospital or institute can also be covered if it reaches a certain distance or cost of travel of getting there on your own.
Perscription medicine is very cheap, maybe around 10-20 dollars, if even.
Once you have reached a certain treshold of about 200 dollars total spent on anything relating to health in a year (medicine, hospital, therapy, doctors visit) you get something called Frikort (translated to Freecard) which makes everything for the rest of the year free. The process is also automatic so there is nothing to keep track of to make sure you save money. No insurance needed.
Dental health is not included however, but that has a different card that makes everything non-cosmetic free once it reaches a certain treshold as well.
Sorry if something I explained doesn't make much sense, English is not my first language :)
hailing from a country that one might call the a**hole of europe, just felt the need to say: access to medical services/attention is pretty much considered a human right, not a privilege. whereas, yes, we do have to "co-pay" for certain medication (and this is a relatively new thing so there is a lot of complaining about it going on), this does not amount to a crippling debt. also, if you cannot pay, it will be covered "socially". there is no conceivable way in which a person (a diabetic, for example) could be deprived of their therapy.
also, unlike the US: ambulance costs nothing, child-birth costs nothing, fixing a broken arm or a leg (all the way through, physical therapy included) costs nothing. antibiotics cost nothing, flu shots cost nothing, elementary dental care costs nothing, chemotherapy and radiation therapy cost nothing. if a ct scan is essential, it costs nothing. if it is recommended but not necessary, you will have to "co-pay" for it (in the amount of10ish euro tops). a visit to your gp (family doctor) costs nothing.
now, of course all these things are paid for; i am speaking of "on the spot", out of pocket payment. everywhere in the world, people pay taxes. a part of our taxes pays for these services. think about it this way: a part of your taxes pays for "defense". you could argue: well, we're not at war with anyone, why pay for the army? well, if you find yourselves having to go to war, is it not better to be ready? the same logic applies to having healthcare. being poor is not a crime and it does not make one less deserving of medical care. hell, even being a criminal does not make a person not worthy of health. in my humble opinion, health is not and ought not be viewed as a privilege.
Hello from Canada, like most other Europeans, medical debt is not a thing here. I had to have an emergency appendectomy and had complications which required a hospital stay of 5 days. Ambulance, surgery, medication, etc and my bill was $0. I can't imagine having an emergency in the US and ending up in medical debt. Like the gentleman said, that's freedom; freedom from stress, freedom from debt, freedom from mind numbing insurance plans. Sure, we pay a bit more in tax, but knowing I won't have to worry should I need medical help is worth it.
Here in Sweden we have a max amount medicine and medical costs. Each doctors visit costs around $25, but has a max of $200/year (hospital stay is included here). Medicine that is on a prescription has a max of $250/year, but non-prescription meds aren't covered under that max.
As an example, I was hit by a car out walking 10 years ago, had to spend 16 weeks in hospital, a lot of that time in the ICU. Left the hospital and had to pay $200 for entire stay. Medicine/Treatment and room and food was all included in that 200.
The government thinking behind the price regulation also comes down to strategies: "Reactive care or Preventive care"..
"Preventive care" is where you want your citizens to visit the Healthcare and do preventive diagnosis.. that leads to less costs for the Healthcare system.. you litterally can prevent the need for emergency care for some ailments, and your doctor, nurse etc can easily follow up on your health progress.. also this leads to that you are not afraid of seeking help when your ailment is starting to become bothersom..
While "Reactive care" is just rendering aid when one gets sick or ill, some of which ailments could have been prevented..
*edited for spelling
There is a vid on yt posted by a US woman living in Germany telling the medical history of her tumor and comparing in depth the costs of her therapy in Germany and what it would have been if she was still living in the USA. The channel is "Call me Armstrong" and the title is "America Vs Germany : Medical Costs, My Story, let's compare!".
Another video is made by Hayley Alexis : "HEALTHCARE IN GERMANY VS USA || what are the differences?" (She has tons of other interesting comparison vids.)
Maybe interesting for you to get more detailed information.
At the beginning of lockdown I was admitted with fever and severe pain. Turned out to be sepsis from gallstones. I was in hospital for 4 or 5 days. When I was discharged I had to wait for my prescription to come up from the pharmacy so missed the hospital transport. They ordered me a taxi to take me home cos I live 16 miles from the town. I didn't have to pay for anything, not even the taxi.xxx(I live in Scotland)
In Portugal the taxes are made automatically by the IRS. We only have to log in on their web page and confirm if everything is ok or change if you have more expenses 😃
Hi! I'm French and two reactions to your video:
- The tax declaration has to be made every year but it's already filled. You just confirm if the figures are food. You really have to make more efforts to fill it if you have a lot of money with a lot of different revenues.
- The universal healthcare is really important for everyone here. That’s a major reason for strikes or protestations when they decrease any coverage. We get insurance too for complementary coverage (like glasses, one-person hospital rooms, fake teeth…) We are covered everywhere in Europe and they recommend to take an extra insurance only if you go in some specific countries like USA (because you’ll be reimbursed based on French prices).
Even small (like
I want to add a little bit of balance to this topic. I am a European and very very happy that my country has the system it has and I think it is way better than the US one. Still, there are things that are better in the US and it contributes to the social hierarchy which makes it hard to change even if you ignore the politicians.
- High-end and experimental treatment is most likely better or more available in the US because the tiny minority that can pay for it is able to do so.
- Medical staff (doctors, nurses, ...) earn more in the US and it is possible up the chain (administration) to make massive bank. A lot of people (especially here in Europe) would consider the second part a bad thing, but in a society, as driven by individualism and money as the US removing that option would create a backlash
- For the same reason people who are already doing well, who have good health insurance through their employer, or young people who rarely need the healthcare system would maybe be against contributing more or at all to "other people's" healthcare. Could you imagine the Google engineer having the same healthcare as the Starbucks barrister?
- People in the US seem to already cry a lot about taxes and related things like gas prices, so they won't be happy seeing a massive chunk of "taxes" going out to healthcare and losing the "freedom" of spending hours up on hours looking for the cheapest plan or going without one entirely.
- The system is hard to change when 30% (millions of people) have no or worse insurance, 60% have it very similar and 10% have it better than a comparable European system. That means the majority is mostly fine.
- With that I think there is a very big cultural reason between the US and Europe. A lot of US Americans seem to believe a person deserves almost nothing, they should have to work for everything. They agree McDo paying horrible wages is bad, but their solution is to tell the people to get a better job. Europeans can see themselves in a bad situation in the future, while a lot of Americans see themselves as temporary embarrassed millionaires and everyone who is bellow that just hasn't worked hard enough.
Generally, I think the US healthcare system is just one symptom of a generally less compassionate system.
The last time I went to the doctor/GP I paid 1.5 euros for an examination / fully health insured, Bulgaria / which was an additional payment. 2 years ago I had an operation / inguinal hernia / I paid 150 euros extra for the canvas and 4 euros per day for the hospital stay, everything else was from the insurance - operation, medications, medical tests .... x-rays are completely free, health insurance fully covers them, all urgent tests are covered by insurance. For some diseases, medication is covered by insurance, more serious diseases, but for more need to pay, cancer treatment is completely free, for example .
Just subscribed. You do the best reaction vids I have ever seen. You talk about it to each other and to us during the video, whilst others only talk about whats in the video and not about their own life choices and how they dealt with such topics.
In Norway you have a small co-pay for appointments, medicines, etc. But if the total you spend on appointments/prescriptions/etc. goes above a certain amount (305 USD with current exchange rate) annually, then you get these things covered for the remainder of the year. There are exceptions, both things that are free regardless (like pregnancy-related medical appointments are always free) and things that are not covered in this way. For instance dental for regular adults with no special circumstances are mostly an out of pocket expense here (but we are talking costs in the 100s or 1000s USD, not the crazy amounts you guys get over there - my biggest dental bill was somewhere around 3000 USD and that included a few hours of general anestesia and a lot of dental work - and I knew the amount going in) - kids/teens however are covered, so are people with special needs (after I got diagnosed with severe dentophobia, I get part of my treatment covered since it requires me to do general anestesia).
You have a mandatory health insurance in Germany. They cover everything what is necessary. And you have to pay 5 € for prescription medicine yourself, the insurance pays the rest. Btw.: You can't buy insulin OTC. You must get a prescription.
In Australia we pay for prescription medicine, but it's never higher than $40.
We have co-pays sometimes depending on what treatment is being done. It's not much though and we won't fall into medical debt.
In England it's £9.35 for prescriptions, but there are lots of exemptions that get them free: children, being over 60 years old, pregnant or up to 12 months from child birth, low income (ie. qualify for certain tax credits), have a listed health issue (eg. diabetes, cancer, hypoparathyroidism, epilepsy etc).
Also you can pre-pay, it's a fixed amount, that saves you money if you have 3 or more items regularly.
I live in Norway and today i went and picked up my meds. 5 different kinds one last 2 months and the others 3 months. I payed 45 usd. We do pay a little for some meds, some other meds are free.
Here in Germany you are not financially ruined if you become seriously ill. I can't imagine leading a "normal life" with this fear and I would love to send you some of this secure attitude to life if I could. I really feel for you. I'm a COPD patient. The medication I use daily costs in the US $338.80, in Germany € 204.56, ( lasts 90 days) but since I, like all(!) Germans, have statutory health insurance, it only costs me an additional payment of € 10.-. I also need about one inhaler per month (Salbutanol), which doesn't cost me anything. I've had 14 surgeries in my life (various broken bones after sports and bicycle accidents. Surgery on the nose, sinuses and tonsils, 2x on the collarbone with metal in the shoulder, etc.) Everything I ever needed to pay out of my own pocket were: € 10.- for ambulances which I have needed several times, daily allowance (10€.-per day) during my stays in hospitals, an additional payment for physiotherapy that was so small that I don't even remember how much it was and an additional payment of 1200.-€ for Ceramic crowns that I wanted for aesthetic reasons after knocking out several teeth playing sports. Of course, my salary continued to be paid during the time I was ill (no one can be fired just because they become ill in Germany, so this fear is also completely eliminated). Even if I had lost my job while I was sick (e.g. because my contract expired during that time) I would not have lost my health insurance. On the contrary. My health insurance would have continued to pay me 70% of my last salary for up to 78 weeks so I could continue paying my rent and all other living expenses. I would not have to worry about ending up on the street, and could focus on my recovery instead.The cost of my health insurance depends on my income and I share it with my employer. They're automatically deducted from my salary, like a tax. If my salary would be lower, I could be exempted from all the co-payments mentioned, so that the above-mentioned € 10 co-payment/prescription fee for medication or similar would be completely eliminated. I think all of these things have a great influence on the whole attitude towards life and I am very grateful that it is regulated like this in Germany. I love your authenticity. You guys don't even try to smile (especially Lynda) when there's no reason to. You don`t sugercoat your feelings. Really refreshing. Unfortunately, I have to agree with Lynda: The food industry in the USA makes people sick in order to make as much profit as possible. Once people are sick, the entire healthcare system and the pharmaceutical industry make considerable profits from them. And to keep the system alive, catastrophic sex education and the restriction of elementary women's rights ensure a constant supply of human material. Really somber. I hope your channel can help bring about a shift in consciousness in the US. Warm greetings from Germany.❤
Australias free health system costs less per capita than the USA.
We have a thing called the PBS which means drugs are free or low cost.
Yep and the disparity is even greater if you include the billions their Veterans Administration spends on healthcare (because their wonderful healthcare system can't be trusted to look after their Veterans) which isn't usually included in comparative government healthcare spending.
In Sweden you pay up to 1200 Swedish kronor or about 115 us dollars for visiting a doctor then it's free up to a year for every doctors visit and that includes xray, lab etc and for medicine you pay 2600 Swedish kronor or 250 us dollars then it's free up to a year for all medicines besides insulin that is always free. And for ambulance we pay 150 Swedish kronor about 15 dollars for a ride to hospital. When it comes to doing taxes ours are premade and we just need too ok it, takes about 1 minutes every year.
I live in Norway. I do not pay for any health insurance, just my regular taxes. I have been to hospital about 20 times, 8 of which included ambulance rides and ER. 4 times I have been operated on. 3 times I spent over 3 weeks in hospital. I have never paid a single cent for it.
The only time I have paid at the hospital, was when I was sent there by my doctor to get an iron infusion. That cost me $20. A regular doctor's visit usually costs 8-25 dollars depending on how much examinations and tests need done when you're there. Medication is usually quite cheap as well. And there is a yearly limit of $300 in doctor's/medicine expenses before you get a "free card" that will cover all the costs for the rest of the calendar year for you. So no matter how much treatments, medications or doctor's visits you have to get in a year, it will never ever cost you more than $300 before the government steps in and covers the rest of the expenses for you until December 31st.
Even tourists will get free emergency treatment in Norway. If you need an ambulance and an ER visit, it will cost you nothing, and this includes necessary medicine.
To us, medical treatment is a human right, not a privilege. A homeless person, a poor person, or a millionaire, all will get the same treatment with no demands of payment afterwards. Because they have the right to get treatment. It's not dependent on how much taxes they pay, whether they have a job, or whether they have insurance or not. The only qualification they need, is to be a human. We pay a little more taxes here than in the US. That gives us free healthcare, free education, paid maternity leave, paternity leave, 4-5 weeks paid vacation, etc etc etc. It gives us the freedom to live our lives without being afraid we might get sick or injured, without worrying about how to pay for our kids education or how to pay back our own education fees. It gives us the freedom to take a proper vacation when we need it. It gives us the freedom to have children, without worrying that we'll loose our jobs if we don't get back to work within a few days. It gives the father a month's time to bond with his new baby without loosing his job. It gives us the freedom to have children without having to pay a fortune just to give birth.
To us, that is the real freedom.
I'm 34 and from the UK and I've never (nor majority of people I know) ever deal with taxes. Sometimes I get a cheque from if I've paid too much.
I believe accountants and tax preparation companies (or whatever the correct term is for them) in the US make so much money they are able to lobby and stop any changes to tax filing laws that could affect their profits, even though changing to a European style system could save their government billions.
Being employed in the UK I get a tax code annually (calculated as your allowance and what your employer has paid you etc), so when I've change employer halfway through a tax year they just adjusted my code for the next year.
Basically they're saying "oh you paid £120 too little tax. Don't worry we'll just add it to your code for the next tax year", so an extra £10 a month was taken across the next year.
I imagine you'd get some threatening letters from the IRS if you underpaid.
Hi from Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
I pay €110 a month and 385 € a year own risk.
I had a heavy stroke 7 years ago.I'm in a wheelchair now...sh.t happens.
Hospital for three and a half month.
I payed nothing.
Btw.you two...are adorable.
Excuses for the grammar..
That might need some explanation because "own risk" is a Dutch thing. In case anyone wonders, it is the maximum amount you might have to pay yourself in a year. Once you go above that, insurance will have to cover everything.
@@jbird4478
Dank u wel.
Here's another fact to make moving to the Netherlands appealing
Maternal Mortality Rate (Deaths per 100,000 live births 2020)
USA = 23.8
Netherlands = 1.2
It's worse when you realise the US figure has been increasing. In 2017 it was 19. (Iran was 16 by the way).
Is that really your surname?
@@arnoldarnold4944
yes.
The name came from Assmannshausen am Rhijn.
'They want your soul'. So right. And any penny they can squeeze out of you.
uk hays something called PAYE, pay as you earn, taxes is based on what you earn and then they work how much you need to pay in a year, then divide by 52 , and is taken from your wages bt employee so you jusy get monies after taxes are paid.Self employed people to have submit tax returns (on line) but employed people never.I have never filled out a tax return in my life ,and I am 75years old. good luck usa
Sweden here! About 11 years ago I was extremely obese and I was starting to really feel the effects. In consultation with doctors it was decided that for my well being, I was going to be given a gastric bypass. There were a bunch of consultations and meetings with doctors and even a surgeon before the big day, to make sure I knew what I was getting into.
I went in for surgery and it went extremely well, I didn't lose more than a deciliter of blood. Afterwards I was kept at the hospital for three days to make sure I was okay. I got medication and several follow ups afterwards to make sure I was okay. The operation alone would have cost me about $20,000 dollars here, I can't even imagine what it would have cost in the US. Cost to me was like $100 , the cap for hospital related stuff is $150 so I I would not have payed more in a year. Meds are capped at $200 a year for prescriptions.
It was a cost saving measure for them because sooner or later I would have gotten obesity related complications which would have been more expensive to treat, plus losing almost half my weight gave me a lot of years and a much better life.
In the Netherlands the government give you notice that your Tax-form is ready to be checked and if necessary you corrected or change the Tax-form. When you agree, you sign digitally and send it back.
It takes about 15 minutes
(They say: we can’t prettier but we can make easy 😊)
quite same here in Finland. . But we get everything in paper too. But yes tax things is usually made by internet, so easy.:)
In Germany most of the people would say, health care is free because you are not confronted with it in any means. Yeah it get's automatically paid from your salary but it is so normal that it is considered free. So you go to any doctor , any hospital no matter what it would cost or how long you have to stay and don't have to think about money. Also you will get your salary while being ill. This is how things should be.
I recommend you to watch the video "THE REALITY OF UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE IN GERMANY vs. American Private Healthcare" from the Black Forest Family if you havn't seen it yet. It is really well made and shows a lot about the differences.
No, it's not just extreme cases. Everyone over here in the rest of the world (the majority, let's not generlize) don't need to worry about medicl bills
In the UK unless you are self employed the tax is done for you in fact you never actually see the money as its deducted from your wages upfront. There's a really good video you could react to on Evan Edingers channel about the differences between taxes in the UK and the US
Indeed, also watch his video about how the US taxes its citizens who live overseas (US and Eritrea are the only 2 countries in the whole world who do).
I have written to you several times so you know I am real.
Right now, the maximum payment in Norway for everything to do with health is 304 dollars a year.
I have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol .
I have operated for cancer, I have operated on my knee twice and right now I am at home with "inflammation" in my hip. I have been at home since December 22nd and have my next doctor's appointment on February 13th to reassess whether I have to operate or not because I will have an MRI tomorrow.
I get 100% paid by the state for being at home and my job is not allowed to fire me. (if I were a horse I would have been shot)
I work as a lunch lady and have a low wage job 3200 dollars per month.
I know that I will go past my own share of the sum before the summer, which means that I will have a free card by May. I have no hospital debt.
I am also a single mother, my eldest has received two Bahlor degrees for free and my youngest has conative pronunciation problems and severe dyslexia.
My youngest gets all the programs and computer stuff he could want from school for free, he has one to one tutors 164 hours a year for free. All the books are online so he can listen while he reads himself.
Last year he broke his arm in two places after snowboarding . two hospital visits, two different casts and two pictures cost 7 dollars. Now you think that I pay a lot of tax, well 28% is probably cheaper than your tax plus insurance
As I know it here in Germany.
If I get a prescription from my doctor I have to pay up to 5 Euros myself.
There are some specific pills or cremes etc. that aren't supported by the health insurance but I had this once in my life and had to pay 20 Euros myself..
In England, we have to pay towards the admin side of a prescription. Think it’s £9. But the drug is free, no matter how much it is. No prescription charge for low income, children, over 65 or if you are in hospital. Prescriptions are free in Wales and I think in Scotland. No idea about Northern Ireland.
In Poland you can just log in to government tax account and get it done in like 2 clicks (of course only if you're a normal employee), because the workplace is supposed to send your previous year's income statement in anyway. The only thing you might have to click through are some tax deductions (like for blood donations, children, etc.) and filling in data for optional 1% of tax that you can choose to have forwarded to some charity instead of the government.
As all of the rest of the world says 'Breaking Bad would not exist if Walter White had gotten sick in another country
My employer tells the government how much I earn and taxes are taken out of my wages. Never done a tax return and never had to send any extra. A couple of times I've been sent a rebate
It was shocking to me when I found out friends in America worried about medical costs
Same in Bulgaria taxes are taken from wages .
Same in the Czech republic
Same in Spain, but some people has to do a tax return when... they earn above certain treshold, or have really big capital or shares, or have more than one employer... or the opposite, they got fired, earned less than expected and they might be entitled to some of that money to be returned... to them.
Europe has also unlimited sick days. ....after many months paying from the company...the goverment will pay. and if you dont have a job, the goverment pay from beginning.
as an europian with multiple mental health disorders i am glad i just have to focus on myself and not on costs of therapy and meds
Our employers do it...we have a tax code and it is taken from our wages monthly, or weekly however you are paid
European here(Croatia), the only time you have to do your own taxes is when you're self-employed, like owning a small company where you take care of the financials. Medical debt doesn't exist, the base insurance is free and it covers all major surgeries, common medication and ambulance rides. Additional insurance is available at around 10€ which covers basically everything else.
On a side note- you don't need to wait for reincarnation to live in Europe. While the national languages differ, the official language of the EU is English, and almost everyone knows it at least to some degree, certainly sufficient to provide you with basic services like shops, markets,pharmacies etc.
I'm Australian, last July I had a heart attack, I got an Ambulance to Hospital, the next day I had a stint done, I was in Hospital for 6 days. Then 2 months later I went in for day surgery, I had another stint done. The cost for me was zero.
UK citizen here. I had to get antibiotics the other day and it was less than ten pounds. Everyone pays a basic set rate for a prescription. You do pay unless you are on benefits but it is very affordable.
The NHS is in trouble and the doctors and nurses are striking at the momeent but I LOVE the NHS. It is probably the best thing about this country. If you need help you get help. No bills, not stupid prices. You pay via your taxes. No one is bankrupted. No one is denied care. It is fucking fantastic.
In the UK (I'm a brit) I became very ill in 2018, eight nights in intensive care, three weeks on a recovery ward, 2 MRI scans, consultant and his team...total cost to me £0.00. Here in Wales all prescribed medication is also free of any cost.
In New Zealand there is a standard prescription charge of NZ$5.00 per item (US$3.17c). Some supermarkets now have pharmacies and do not charge for prescriptions to attract customers.
There is a big fear among some Americans about the word 'socialism' which seems to be equated with 'communism'. This seems to be a common fear expressed about other healthcare systems ('socialised care;) In Europe, socialism is pretty standard in the sense that we expect to pay taxes to ensure everyone has equal access to health and social care.
In England, a certain number of people don't pay for prescriptions (children, elderly, unemployed, disabled, students, and so on). Everyone else pays £9.35 for a prescription and it is the same price no matter what the medication is (or how much the doctor prescribes each time).
I have never had to fill in a tax return as I have always been employed which means the tax office (Inland Revenue) applies the allowances and tax applicable to my situation and amount earned, and it is deducted before I get paid. I see the allowances and deductions on my pay slip but the pay I get each month goes into my bank and is all mine.
Lynda, Honey - don't wait to be REINCARNATED as a European. Bloody well start making plans to MOVE here (preferably, to the UK - where you'll be MORE than welcome). Your life will be SO much better, believe me!
Just a small example. In Denmark from the age of 50 you are offered a screening for colon cancer every two years. You are sent a sample form, which you then send back and if anything's wrong you'll be contacted for treatment. All for free of course.
In Norway we have to pay what you call a co-pay for seeing a doctor and getting prescription medicines up to a certain amount during a year. If you reach this amount (wich as of now is about 2600.- NOK) within a calendar year, every prescription medication and doctor visit is covered
Austrian here!
In his later years my father needed a cardiac pacemaker but as his arrhythmias were not a permanent issue he got an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator - a "just-in-case-device".
He went through a bunch of examinations, he had his surgery, had the defibrillator (equivalent value 50,000 Euro or so) implanted, stayed in the hospital for about one to two weeks and at a rehab center in the country for several weeks afterwards.
Guess what he had to pay in total:
0.00 Euro
Best regards from Vienna!
Hello from Bulgaria, we are the poorest country in the EU. Here, about 70-80% of illnesses and treatments are covered from the Health Insurance Fund, you only pay a fee to the hospital. The remaining 20-30% have some kind of partial payment. The monthly fee for health insurance is BGN 30, which is about $15 per month. My husband and I also have additional health insurance with a private insurer (free examinations and tests at private clinics, 2 pcs free MRIs, scans, coverage for hospital treatment and drugs, etc.), this costs us about $200 per year per person. Emergencies are free, births are free.
PS we also have fundraising campaigns, but with us it is for treatment in another country - treatments for rare diseases, experimental procedures or simply the clinic abroad gives better chances for the treatment.
We in the UK can call for an ambulance and be get taken into accident and emergency at a hospital and not worry once about cost. I’m now 60 and now I don’t have to worry about any prescription as they are free. We pay through our national insurance (tax). And if you are working for a company, then Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is done automatically through your payslip. We don’t have to fill in tax forms. If self employed then, yes your form has to be in by a certain time.
In the UK if you are employed then the government will give you a Tax Code. This tells your employer how much your tax free income will be. The employer then has to decide what your weekly tax bill be and deducts this from your wages. If you have tax free deductibles, for example charity donations the you have to complete a form the charity issues to you. The charity sends this to the HMRC, Her/His Majesty’s Revenue Customs, who will the tax relief to the charity direct. The last time I filled a tax form was 2002 when I returned to the UK after 5 years in the Netherlands, and that letter was only one. The only correspondence I get from the HMRC is an annual tax code letter.
In 12 years I went to emergency twice in an ambulance, and 5 more times self transported. To this day all my medical bills, including 12 hours immobilized in emergency care with multiple fractures and more than 10 different checks and scans, in total to this day I have given out of my pocket less than 200 euros.
I don't have private insurance, I'm not even a citizen of this country, I have the free Europe-wide insurance, which as it is implied I never paid directly for, it was just a card that was mailed to my residence out of the blue after registering as a resident.
Aussie here. We pay for prescriptions, but they are on a pharmaceutical benefits scheme, so do not cost very much and if you have a govt healthcare card they are even cheaper.
In Canada we get a record of our earnings for the year. We can go to a Tax agency to do it or we can do it ourself. If you do it yourself and it's wrong there is no penalty. You acted in good faith and they will go over your forms and send you a notice that shows any corrections.
So, I live in Scotland, medical bankruptcy doesn't exist here. I became type 1 diabetic at 14. Later in life I became disabled and now have to use a wheelchair.
I have NEVER paid for treatment, ambulances, hospital stays, after care, medication, eye appointments, dentist, nothing. I even have a brand new car every 3 years, that has all the modifications for my wheelchair, free. They also kitted out anything I need in my home, free.
I did work since I was 17 full time, so I know the taxes I paid helped pay for my treatments up until I had to stop working at 41, but I realise just how lucky I am to live where I live, with all my problems. My father had a great job back in the day with IBM. They offered him a job in Texas once, more money and a chance to live in the US. He turned it down because he knew once I became a working adult, not on his private health plan, that I would have to pay so much for medical and university, it would never work. University was also free for me, as it was for all the people in Scotland, in fact I got financial help to go. This was the same for everybody.
I prey your situation changes, the land of the free needs to update itself to modern thinking. More like "the land of just me, and the home of you pay."
Oh, and our taxes come off automatically from our wage slips if you are not self-employed. You can visit a local Tax office and speak to them if you have problems, as well as the usual email, phone etc.
Sorry to write a book here but I feel so bad for most Americans. Sending love from Scotland. 💙
being from the uk i pay may taxes towards the nhs... if i use them good for me with no end bill.... but who wants to use them... so if i dont im 100% happy with someone else using my contribution... im not that evil i wouldnt help another human in need of medical care...
iv heard a few americans say "why should i pay for someone elses medical?" ... why wouldnt you if we all just pay our fair share and get over it!
When it comes to prescription medicines in the UK it costs £9 for a months prescription but if you are under 18 years or over 65 or are disabled there is no pay