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Comment by rs_rs_rs_rs_rs | Hacker News Reader

> How about we don't blame the people, especially with the state of certain countries' healthcare systems.

There was no blame put on them, it is very sad to see young people pass away. But since you bought the discussion in that direction:

As far as I know two of those people are from the country with the best healthcare system in the world and with enough money to afford it, they were not living on food stamps.

Even the perfect healthcare system won't fix your health issues if you don't take the necesary steps to find them in time, maybe even prevent them.

Take the advice given and don't make everything about politics.

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> As far as I know two of those people are from the country with the best healthcare system in the world

I guess the implication here is that they were living in the United States. A quick search for "best health care system in the world" (DDG) shows the US not even in the top 10 in any of the first 4-5 hits.

The US definitely doesn't have the best health care system in the world overall, but if you can afford it, you can get some of the best health care in the world.

As with many other things, the US is a great place to live if you're really rich.

Not really. I like the fact my kid doesn’t do active shooter drills in school.

Not sure what active shooter has to do with healthcare, but rich people can pay to send their kids to low risk schools.

Rich people don't send their kids to public schools.

> As far as I know two of those people are from the country with the best healthcare system in the world

Which country are you referring to here?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1290168/health-index-of-...

The US has state-of-the-art healthcare, and is probably the best place to get healthcare if you're rich.

For people working as restaurant servers, it's a terrible place for healthcare, but we're not talking about people like that here.

> The US has state-of-the-art healthcare... if you're rich.

> but we're not talking about people like restaurant servers

Indeed, we're talking about people who are neither restaurant servers nor multi-millionaires.

The question is, where exactly is the point where a US citizen can e.g. stop worrying about the possibility of medical bankruptcy. I think that it's substantially higher than "restaurant servers".

Forget bankruptcy. How about we just get to the point US citizens don't have to worry about calling an ambulance? When I was a kid (I'm late 40s now) it was $200-500. Now it's low to mid 5 figures. And if you don't call your insurance and get approval within the window they refuse to pay it. Guess what? When I am in need of an ambulance I'm probably indisposed to calling my insurance company (if I have one) and navigating their approval system for the hour it takes.

> How about we just get to the point US citizens don't have to worry about calling an ambulance? ... Now it's low to mid 5 figures

I think that this makes it clear that it is a problem for the professional middle-class, not just a " restaurant servers" problem

Here in Japan, ambulance rides are free. It's a difficult concept for American expats because they need it drummed into their heads that you just call for an ambulance if you have a problem that's serious enough for a hospital visit.

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