Non US residents, what's your health care system like?

[DiscoBiscuit]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/7/661

http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=2524

Check those out.

In regards to paying for the average college student, hell no...I'd be pissed.hah I'm spending 8 more years in college than them.

Your average doctor is around 55 years old right now -- they are the ones with established practices that were founded in the golden years of medicine. They went to school in the 80s when tuition was $16,000 instead of $400k. They drive nice mercedes benz and BMWs with big homes. I'll be lucky if I match with a senior associate (one of those rich doctors) who pays me $80,000 working 90 hours a week. At that rate, I'll barely be able to live with my monthly tuition payments after 12 long years of training. I guess I'm just bitter, it's just hard coming to grips when you can barely make ends meet after this much work. I hope the system changes for the betterment of both patients and physicians, thats all.

Thanks for the info. One of the biggest differences in education a few decades ago was savings, grants, low interest college loans and scholarships for good grades. Mom and dad saved all their working lives to help put the kids through college, many times footing the entire bill. Just three decades ago, credit card reps visiting college campuses was unheard of. Those that choose to go to college on a credit card really need to consider their options, sometimes long before they go to school. I know a girl that just went back to complete her degree and got a credit card loan at 29% interest. That's probably THE single most expensive way to get an education.

 

[cashmunny]

I know a girl that just went back to complete her degree and got a credit card loan at 29% interest. That's probably THE single most expensive way to get an education.

Good lord, I'm all in favor of people at least having the option to get credit even if it is expensive, because after all no one is putting a gun to their head. But at some point you have to cry usury. That's really outrageous profiteering. Especially when it comes to a college student who may not be financially savvy. At what point do you say enough, you can't do that? 50%, 100%? Pretty soon they'll be sending a guy to cut off your finger when you don't pay your vig. But I guess the advantage of that type of college loan is that she can always declare bankruptcy and tell them to go fuck themselves. A regular student loan isn't eligible for dismissal.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Too many rackets in free market capitalism.

 

[cashmunny]

Too many rackets in free market capitalism.

I want to start a racket, dammit. And don't say "Take up tennis"

 

[Ganglere]

How come so many people think that capitalism is the answer to everyhting? No matter how good an idea is, there is bound to be limits to it's usefulness.
My old lady makes some sort of onion salad that's just the tastiest shit I know and it goes down well with pretty much any dish. But I don't use it when my car is low on gas, nor do I use it as a spermicide...

Is it totally impossible to employ different ideas and principles to different situations and fields of society?

Ignorant people often likens my country (Norway) with a Soviet-state, but the truth is that in most respects this country is as capitalistic as they come. Hell, idiot politicians frequently try to infiltrate it into healthcare, with varying succsess. And no matter the quality of service, our spoiled population won't stop complaining, thus fuelling those politicians campaigns.
I once spent a fortnight at hospital with an ass-boil, talk about pain in the butt... But I was admitted straight away, got excellent care, and no bill when I was released.


I realize that there's a lot of fear of the gouvernment across the pond. Rightly so in my opinion, based on what I see and read. However, as dubya proved, if they want your ass or your freedom they'll take it. End of story.

Free market capitalism has its good sides. But in nature it's perverted and just another side of Social Darwinism. Or the other way around.

All this makes me kinda glad I'm an anti-social, pot-smoking, good for nothing crimminal sex machine
And now it's time for a joint

 

[SuperHemp]

How come so many people think that capitalism is the answer to everyhting? No matter how good an idea is, there is bound to be limits to it's usefulness.
My old lady makes some sort of onion salad that's just the tastiest shit I know and it goes down well with pretty much any dish. But I don't use it when my car is low on gas, nor do I use it as a spermicide...

Is it totally impossible to employ different ideas and principles to different situations and fields of society?

Ignorant people often likens my country (Norway) with a Soviet-state, but the truth is that in most respects this country is as capitalistic as they come. Hell, idiot politicians frequently try to infiltrate it into healthcare, with varying succsess. And no matter the quality of service, our spoiled population won't stop complaining, thus fuelling those politicians campaigns.
I once spent a fortnight at hospital with an ass-boil, talk about pain in the butt... But I was admitted straight away, got excellent care, and no bill when I was released.


I realize that there's a lot of fear of the gouvernment across the pond. Rightly so in my opinion, based on what I see and read. However, as dubya proved, if they want your ass or your freedom they'll take it. End of story.

Free market capitalism has its good sides. But in nature it's perverted and just another side of Social Darwinism. Or the other way around.

All this makes me kinda glad I'm an anti-social, pot-smoking, good for nothing crimminal sex machine
And now it's time for a joint

You do realize your post is stepping on many American toes? The Norwegian right-wing parties ideas of the government buying privatized health care for their citizens might not be a bad idea at all. The private health care businesses will simply compete to provide the standards of Norwegian healthcare as established by the government, and it is no different from our current system with privatized physicians offices ("Fastlegeordningen"). Then again, our current system appears to function reasonably well, but it is expensive (although health expenses are only 8.9% GDP or so, Norway's GDP is artificially high due to the high number of natural resources divided by the scarce population).

 

[rootfingers]

That post didn't step on these American toes. If Norway can spend half of what we do on health care and cover folks with out billing them what's the problem? Maybe I don't understand. But I also don't understand why Americans would want to trust their health care to the profit motive. Denied care = greater profits for the insurance companies. HR 676 actually has a clause that would reform health insurance workers from preventing care to facilitating it.

 

[Ganglere]

You do realize your post is stepping on many American toes? The Norwegian right-wing parties ideas of the government buying privatized health care for their citizens might not be a bad idea at all. The private health care businesses will simply compete to provide the standards of Norwegian healthcare as established by the government, and it is no different from our current system with privatized physicians offices ("Fastlegeordningen"). Then again, our current system appears to function reasonably well, but it is expensive (although health expenses are only 8.9% GDP or so, Norway's GDP is artificially high due to the high number of natural resources divided by the scarce population).

I just don't automatically subscribe to the idea that greed is the best motivator, although I fear it might be...
With respect to the toes-part, well anybody can be insulted by anything if they want to, I just have faith in the intellectual capacities of the Icmag crowd

But I have a hard time seeing what is artificial about Norway's GDP, low population or not... But then again, I really can't claim a comprehensive understanding of the entire system.

To you nice Americans out there, just listen to this: If I feel a little under the weather, I just call my boss (or even send an sms) and tell him I'm staying home. This gives me three days with pay, and all I have to do is fill in a form when I get back. This form does not ask anything about the disease, it's just a statement that I was absent. This can be repeted three or four times within twelve months.
If my kids (if I had any...) were sick and home from school, same rules apply, only with even more days if I'm not mistaken.
If I'm sick for more than three days I'll need a doctor's statement, wich is in my experience only a formality. The first couple of weeks my employer will pay my salary, then the gouvernment pays for the rest of my sick days, with no monetary penalty for me.

There are limits to how long we get full payment, about a year I think, at least it was some years ago when they paid for my new education after an accident. The University is free to attend, and they gave me 'free' money so I didn't have to work a day for my degree, and that took five years...

Not everything works perfectly, as there is absolutely no divine intervention and only a human-run system. But when I fear disease and injury, it's the pains and the risks to my life I worry about, not having to bankrupt my entire family to survive. People complain about taxation, but visit any town or city here, and you'll see nice cars, houses that are palaces and really expensive clothes and shit. Of course some people struggle to make ends meet, but I think that's more to do with exploitation by employers than due to tax levels.

With our educational system where it's (more or less) free to get an education, social mobillity is greater here than 'over there'. I can't be bothered to document this claim, google it if it matters...

Norway is, despite constant bitching from right-wingers and left-wingers and centerists, a country where the American Dream is alive and kicking. It's just like in the military, it's when people stop complaining that the situation is critical.
Oh, yeah, and even if you're a crimminal bastard like me and hardly or not at all pay tax, you're still covered if shit hit the fan...

Of course, cops are cops the world over, but our cops don't even carry guns... And our chicks are really fine, if a little bit on the high maintenance side of things...