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Comment by k__ | Hacker News Reader

Medical stories from the US always sound like from third world countries to me...

Yeah, most people don't tell the stories about how they go to luxuriously built hospitals that make most corporate offices and hotels seem cheap by comparison, with parking lots full of BMW's, Mercedes, and other 6-figure foreign cars, and are treated by teams of highly paid people using millions of dollars of the best equipment in the world ...

As long as you have money the US is great.

"As long as you have money the US is great" even if you have money you will still have to go to the local hospital for emergency and will have to wait for specialist appointment some stupid amount of time unless you actively spend time and money donating to the hospital some serious $ so you have direct numbers of people in charge etc.

It depends on where you live. The US tends to be highly segregated by income/wealth. In the high income places they have ERs advertising to get more business because they are underutilized.

I live in a third county by per capita income in US and #1 and #2 are right next to me.

"Best equipment in the world"? This is capitalism. They're going to use the cheapest "good enough" equipment they can get away with. And considering the domain experience a patient would need to tell a new MRI from an eight year old one... I'm sure they get away with lots.

I guarantee the hospital administration isn't going to pay the upcharges for the fanciest new MRI if they can spend it on themselves.

Health Care is not capitalistic or free market in the least and cutting costs is not how profits are maximized.

Doctors, Hospitals, Insurance companies and everyone else are working with what are essentially cost-plus contracts, so the more expensive everything is the more they make.

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