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Comment by footlose_3815 | Hacker News Reader

>Number one recommendation: spend $$$ on a concierge primary care doc.

Fuck the country I was born in if this is the solution I need to keep myself healthy in a place I pay more than my fair share of taxes and rent to scumbag landlords just to live. Fuck this world.

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Exactly this - life in the USA has felt like an unfamiliar board game, run by a rules lawyer who has a grudge against you (personally), my entire life. No wonder we have a shorter life expectancy than _Cuba_!

Cuba is definitely an outlier specifically for that among developing countries and therefore not a great comparison.

I hate the US healthcare experience and try to avoid it, but somehow after all the craziness you hear about half the country uninsured and $500k medical bills, the life expectancy numbers are actually not that terrible. I'm not sure why.

Anyone who has medical insurance regulated under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will not receive a $500k bill. The individual out-of-pocket maximum is only $9k.

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum-li...

what about the dodge where when you to an emergency room, there are multiple providers who bill separately (doc x was not on the emergency room bill, he's some other provider).

I suspect Cuba is an outlier because they have a reasonably functional healthcare system, but at the same time most people are too poor to overeat or indulge in substance abuse. They literally can't afford to sit around and get fat.

That’s not what you need to keep yourself healthy. Statistically, you need to not overeat, exercise, walk a lot, and not do too much risky shit (i.e., ride a motorcycle). Obviously there are exceptions, but in a system where people are actually taking care of themselves the resources are there for it. The sooner people realize they alone are responsible for most of their health, the better off we’ll be.

If you're in the category of paying more than your fair share of taxes you probably can afford to buy instead of rent. But if you want to keep renting, find a non-scumbag landlord. They exist, I've rented from them.

Don't blame the rest of the world for your own country's fuck-ups.

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