• BlueMagma@sh.itjust.works
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    10 days ago

    Yes of course,

    I replied to this post because it is one of many making bold claims about healthcare in other countries than the US, most of the times claims about European countries healthcare made by US users are false and/or misleading.

    Sure the US has a very bad system, I see it and recognize how bad it is, but it’s a tad annoying to see stuff like that, that falsely say we have “0” bankruptcy or that “everything” is covered by public healthcare, that our life expectancy is that much higher, etc… Most claims are unsourced and blatantly false or largely inflated for shock value.

    In France for example we have many issues with our public healthcare, not everything is covered (dental isn’t for example), we aren’t covered for the full amount unless we pay for private coverage on top (called “mutuelle”) which often are linked to your employer, we have to pay up front and then get reimbursed later, geographically there are areas with very few hospitals, the poorer often can’t afford to be sick because we aren’t always automatically paid for sick days at work, there’s a shortage of medical fields’ workers, and our current political leaders have been making it worse for decades…

    All that to say that from the perspective of a “European” citizen, these posts about the US system compared with ours feels like propaganda that “we should be happy with what we have” even though we really shouldn’t, using false information.

    • Victor@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Very good points. I haven’t seen many other posts regarding this, so I just saw it in this isolated context.

      But still, even with the flaws in our European systems, most of them are far superior to the US. The insane amounts you get charged for a simple accident can be hilarious. It’s like, breaking a leg costs the same as buying a car. It shouldn’t be that way. :-( Especially when the accident is caused by someone else.

      But, you’re not wrong. 👍 No system is perfect, definitely. Our healthcare system in my country is silently on the verge of collapse because the wages are so low. So employees are quitting left and right, because the stress and workload is not worth the pay. Yet there is a requirement to offer healthcare, so they hire fill-in workers that cost waaaaaay more, so the cost still goes up either way for the employers, yet the net number of workers is also fewer than before. So they are paying more money for less workers, instead of just paying proper salaries for the ones that are actually employed.

      It’s ridiculous. They’d rather spend 2x money than pay x money, for the principle. Just a big 🖕 to the workforce.