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Imagine going grocery shopping because you need food to live. You see the prices posted and you pay at the register. Then a few months later Trader Joes sends y

Imagine going grocery shopping because you need food to live. You see the prices posted and you pay at the register. Then a few months later Trader Joes sends you a bill for $200,000… The entire Health care system is absolutely insane.

midasuni 4y ago
There are 200+ healthcare systems in the world. Are there any nearly as insane as America’s?
- junofan 4y ago
  Vietnam’s is pretty nuts if you want to do some deep reading.
  - contingencies 4y ago
    I had to find a hospital in Haiphong once. Memories of limping in to an emergency ward at dawn begging for painkillers only to find the beds and floors covered in the blood of the last night's patients...
  - Hnrobert42 4y ago
    My experience with it has been decent, but I am an expat with Western money. For some stuff like a rabies shot or my girlfriend’s oral surgery, we used the public system. It was cheap and and reasonably efficient. For everything else, we used a private hospital. It was also cheap, and the quality was comparable to the US. E.g., under $500 total for an endoscopy, a sonogram, doctor’s visits, etc. to diagnose and treat a stomach ulcer. All of that was in the last 3 years in Ho Chi Minh City. Now, there certainly are some squalid hospitals, especially in the countryside. Further, $500 is a lot of money for most VN people. Having written all this, I guess I realize all I have are some anecdotes.
ketanmaheshwari 4y ago
These kind of overly simplified comparisons are tired and doesn't help anyone. Healthcare billing is insane yes but is not same as buying groceries.
- HFguy 4y ago
  But here's the thing...it could be made to be that simple.
- geoduck14 4y ago
  Let me give you a comparison from my personal experience. My wife was pregnant. The hospital she chose to give birth in specialized in giving birth. Our health plan was administered by a large company, and was used by over 10k employees at our company. During the pregnancy, I tried multiple times to determine how much the pregnancy would cost. Neither the hospital nor the insurance could tell me any estimate for the cost. I had no way to price shop or save or budget. I was completely at the whims of the hospital and insurance. Also. They over charged me for at least one procedure.
  - peter422 4y ago
    My wife gave birth at a hospital in our network, but our daughter needed ICU care (in their opinion). We were given no choice in the matter and our child was taken to the ICU. And surprise, surprise, the ICU doctor we had no choice in selecting was not in network, and a low 5-figure bill was racked up for care we didn't really want and our child almost certainly didn't need. Also a very difficult thing to fight when you've got a newborn.
    - spaetzleesser 4y ago
      "Also a very difficult thing to fight when you've got a newborn" Same for people with a serious disease like cancer. They don't have the energy to spend all their time on negotiating with hospitals ind insurance. They either pay up or go bankrupt.
    - Freak_NL 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
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ModernMech 4y ago
It is only insane if you think the purpose of the healthcare system is to provide healthcare. A lot of people make that mistake. The whole thing makes more sense when you realize the purpose of the healthcare system is to generate profits.
- paulgb 4y ago
  No, because the entire purpose of grocery stores is also to make profits, and yet they price competitively and transparently. The problem is that healthcare has senselessly been given a long leash to price opaquely in a way that doesn’t allow price discovery to emerge.
  - ModernMech 4y ago
    > The problem is that healthcare has senselessly been given a long leash to price opaquely in a way that doesn’t allow price discovery to emerge. Right. Put differently, the healthcare system has been smartly given a long leash to price opaquely in a way that maximizes profits.
  - spaetzleesser 4y ago
    The health care system has somehow figured how to get away with extremely predatory practices.
  - scollet 4y ago
    > the entire purpose of grocery stores is also to make profits This isn't true though. It's in the name.
deleted 4y ago
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midasuni 4y ago

There are 200+ healthcare systems in the world. Are there any nearly as insane as America’s?

junofan 4y ago
Vietnam’s is pretty nuts if you want to do some deep reading.
- contingencies 4y ago
  I had to find a hospital in Haiphong once. Memories of limping in to an emergency ward at dawn begging for painkillers only to find the beds and floors covered in the blood of the last night's patients...
- Hnrobert42 4y ago
  My experience with it has been decent, but I am an expat with Western money. For some stuff like a rabies shot or my girlfriend’s oral surgery, we used the public system. It was cheap and and reasonably efficient. For everything else, we used a private hospital. It was also cheap, and the quality was comparable to the US. E.g., under $500 total for an endoscopy, a sonogram, doctor’s visits, etc. to diagnose and treat a stomach ulcer. All of that was in the last 3 years in Ho Chi Minh City. Now, there certainly are some squalid hospitals, especially in the countryside. Further, $500 is a lot of money for most VN people. Having written all this, I guess I realize all I have are some anecdotes.

ketanmaheshwari 4y ago

These kind of overly simplified comparisons are tired and doesn't help anyone. Healthcare billing is insane yes but is not same as buying groceries.

HFguy 4y ago
But here's the thing...it could be made to be that simple.
geoduck14 4y ago
Let me give you a comparison from my personal experience. My wife was pregnant. The hospital she chose to give birth in specialized in giving birth. Our health plan was administered by a large company, and was used by over 10k employees at our company. During the pregnancy, I tried multiple times to determine how much the pregnancy would cost. Neither the hospital nor the insurance could tell me any estimate for the cost. I had no way to price shop or save or budget. I was completely at the whims of the hospital and insurance. Also. They over charged me for at least one procedure.
- peter422 4y ago
  My wife gave birth at a hospital in our network, but our daughter needed ICU care (in their opinion). We were given no choice in the matter and our child was taken to the ICU. And surprise, surprise, the ICU doctor we had no choice in selecting was not in network, and a low 5-figure bill was racked up for care we didn't really want and our child almost certainly didn't need. Also a very difficult thing to fight when you've got a newborn.
  - spaetzleesser 4y ago
    "Also a very difficult thing to fight when you've got a newborn" Same for people with a serious disease like cancer. They don't have the energy to spend all their time on negotiating with hospitals ind insurance. They either pay up or go bankrupt.
  - Freak_NL 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

ModernMech 4y ago

It is only insane if you think the purpose of the healthcare system is to provide healthcare. A lot of people make that mistake. The whole thing makes more sense when you realize the purpose of the healthcare system is to generate profits.

paulgb 4y ago
No, because the entire purpose of grocery stores is also to make profits, and yet they price competitively and transparently. The problem is that healthcare has senselessly been given a long leash to price opaquely in a way that doesn’t allow price discovery to emerge.
- ModernMech 4y ago
  > The problem is that healthcare has senselessly been given a long leash to price opaquely in a way that doesn’t allow price discovery to emerge. Right. Put differently, the healthcare system has been smartly given a long leash to price opaquely in a way that maximizes profits.
- spaetzleesser 4y ago
  The health care system has somehow figured how to get away with extremely predatory practices.
- scollet 4y ago
  > the entire purpose of grocery stores is also to make profits This isn't true though. It's in the name.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]