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Comment by H8crilA | Hacker News Reader

~nobody pays those prices out of pocket

There's absolutely no way you can have a medical system without insurance (either govt underwritten or private corporation underwritten) beyond something trivial like a village herbalist.

The only question is who does the underwriting and even more importantly how are the premiums collected (taxes, that is proportional to income, or flat fees).

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That’s true, but everything also seems so much more expensive here, even after negotiations between private insurances and healthcare providers.

Well, of course, because in the US, you can get treatment. Here in Canada, you're either left on a stretcher in an over-crowded hospital, or being told "come back in 6 month to get your CT scan... [if you're still alive]". The current pandemic has even gotten worse, a close family member never got the luxury to get an appointment for a cancer appointment even though he was showing symptoms.

Canada is not the only country with a healthcare system that doesn't entirely copy the US.

We can talk about France if you want, where a family member was told to "suck it up" after an injury when he was able to go to a private hospital (he's got the money to consult specialists) and get his shoulder fixed there.

France is run by neoliberals, and ended up closer to the US than Canada. A better example of a properly-functioning healthcare system is Taiwan, or the Netherlands.

Did you live and experience first hand any of these two systems ?

I have, actually! Given that your cited example wasn't first-hand, I don't see how the question is relevant, though.

What I cited was 100% first hand experience, thanks for the condescension. I've experienced both systems.

I wouldn't wish either you or your partner to be told to pound sand upon experiencing an health related issue. To know that something can be treated, but to be told GTFO. I wished to have a discussion about the matter, but you are obviously not ready for this to happen.

No, it wasn't:

"where a family member was told"

That's second-hand. Accusing me of bad faith is a bit off-base.

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