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Comment by ck2 | Hacker News Reader

This is actually great to hear. Now why doesn't the US, sigh.

US has reasonably good system IMHO just a little bit expensive.

A system that you can't afford to use is never very good for you. Healthcare systems should be judged on how they serve the overall population, not just those who can afford to use them.

There should be more properties by which system is valued. Free system can be inefficient, corrupt and slow like it is partially in my country. Still results surprisingly are quite similar to US looking at statistics.

A little bit?

There are many millions without insurance in the USA.

I was quoted $80 for an antibiotic I needed last week.

That's not fair. What antibiotic and how much of it? Not all antibiotics are equal.

You are right, the prices in our system are out of control but your example does not sufficiently demonstrate the problem.

Wow. That looks outrageous. Unless it is some new antibiotics. Still in my case if I get sick I get some free services but I usually should pay myself for my medicine.

So only good if you are not too poor. Sounds perfect to me...

You make assumption that free health systems in Europe are accessible to poor as well. I can't speak about Western Europe but in Eastern Europe free has cost as well. While it is not as expensive as USA. Unless you get some rare illness that only USA doctors know how to treat.

Been free (paid for though taxes of course) in both the UK and Spain. I hear Germany (and I think France) has a mixed model, but I am sure it is not as daft as the American system.

A little bit?! I had an accident a few years ago which ended with me falling into water and getting hypothermia, although I was fortunate not to have any injuries apart from a few scrapes and bruises. I was taken by ambulance to hospital and spnt 12 hours in the ICU. I got a bill for >25k, though I was able to negotiate this down to $15 and had the resources to pay it.

That's about $2000 per hour. I was seen by 6 different doctors, none of whom bothered to read each others' notes. I was charged $1000 to get (painfully) fitted with a catheter when I would have been fine with a bedpan. The discharge nurse released me with someone else's paperwork and prescriptions. The only part of it that was good value was the CAT scan.

There are no cost controls in American healthcare and it's wildly inefficient (not basing this solely on the experience above).

I was sarcastic about "a little bit" part. While it was expensive you got service and some attention. Still I agree that it is unreasonably expensive.

I choose to believe that you are a master of sarcasm.

Partially and I guess I have not managed to express that in English (as it is not my native language). Overall you could get better health services, just look at health related statistics in various parts of the world and while it is not perfect but it is not the worst. I'm from country that has more or less the same level as USA if we speak about general health related problems. I sometimes have to pay extra to get better service. What's worse than in USA? Overall knowledge level of doctors is lower than in USA and if I will get some rare illness most probably I will need to pay for doctors from USA if I can afford them.

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