Comments on: Getting the Most Out of My Austrian State-Funded Health Care http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/ Everything About Money You Were Too Polite To Ask Sat, 18 May 2013 19:47:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: cmcm http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14861 cmcm Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:10:36 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14861 I find it impossible not to comment when the topic of healthcare comes up. Because as an American living in the UK, this is seriously one of the biggest issues that prevents me from ever moving back. I cannot even imagine the mental struggle of deciding whether or not an ailment is worth going to the doctor for. Every once in awhile I get annoyed about the NHS. Yes, it took a few weeks to get an appointment, it took over 6 weeks to get a referral for physio. But you know what? If I lived in the States, I wouldn't be getting physio because I couldn't afford it. I might not have gotten that funky looking mole removed. I wouldn't be able to afford my prescriptions. The NHS is the best thing in the world. I find it impossible not to comment when the topic of healthcare comes up. Because as an American living in the UK, this is seriously one of the biggest issues that prevents me from ever moving back. I cannot even imagine the mental struggle of deciding whether or not an ailment is worth going to the doctor for.

Every once in awhile I get annoyed about the NHS. Yes, it took a few weeks to get an appointment, it took over 6 weeks to get a referral for physio. But you know what? If I lived in the States, I wouldn’t be getting physio because I couldn’t afford it. I might not have gotten that funky looking mole removed. I wouldn’t be able to afford my prescriptions. The NHS is the best thing in the world.

]]> By: pearl http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14843 pearl Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:52:18 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14843 A little late, but... I spent a year abroad in Berlin through my UC study abroad program and of course, it included health care. At some point, I ran out of the birth control I brought from home and decided to see a doctor about getting more. I called her, had an appointment within the week, and she did the whole shebang down there. I paid her €5 for her troubles, and she wrote me a prescription, the cost of which ended up being around the same price I paid in the US for my school health insurance-subsidized birth control. Then I was like, "my back hurts." So I went to another doctor and said, my back hurts. I think I might've paid €5 again, but maybe not if it was in the same 3-month period as the earlier visit. He referred me to a physical therapist... which cost something like €70 for 10 sessions. The best. Another friend of mine accidentally rode her bike in the rails of the tram and got knocked over really hard or something. A quick trip the hospital, where she was given a splint and MRI and was discharged later that same night. Again, only €5 on her part. And now I'm paying $221 a month for an individual Kaiser HMO (just for now until my work insurance comes through, but it isn't much more appealing) with a $50 copay and no prescription coverage. AMERICA A little late, but… I spent a year abroad in Berlin through my UC study abroad program and of course, it included health care. At some point, I ran out of the birth control I brought from home and decided to see a doctor about getting more. I called her, had an appointment within the week, and she did the whole shebang down there. I paid her €5 for her troubles, and she wrote me a prescription, the cost of which ended up being around the same price I paid in the US for my school health insurance-subsidized birth control.

Then I was like, “my back hurts.” So I went to another doctor and said, my back hurts. I think I might’ve paid €5 again, but maybe not if it was in the same 3-month period as the earlier visit. He referred me to a physical therapist… which cost something like €70 for 10 sessions. The best.

Another friend of mine accidentally rode her bike in the rails of the tram and got knocked over really hard or something. A quick trip the hospital, where she was given a splint and MRI and was discharged later that same night. Again, only €5 on her part.

And now I’m paying $221 a month for an individual Kaiser HMO (just for now until my work insurance comes through, but it isn’t much more appealing) with a $50 copay and no prescription coverage. AMERICA

]]> By: MilesofMountains http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14830 MilesofMountains Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:31:28 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14830 @Megano! I get a little anxious if I think about potentially moving to the States, and I have no health problems and never even bother going to the doctor when I do. I could not live there. I know people who won't even vacation to the States because they worry about getting in an accident there. I could never move there. @Megano! I get a little anxious if I think about potentially moving to the States, and I have no health problems and never even bother going to the doctor when I do. I could not live there. I know people who won’t even vacation to the States because they worry about getting in an accident there. I could never move there.

]]> By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14796 stuffisthings Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:23:39 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14796 I've never met anyone with experience in both kinds of systems who finds U.S. private health care preferable. I've encountered the health care systems of a number of different countries, but the best comparison I think is the time I got stitches in Kyrgyzstan versus the time I got stitches in Florida. In Kyrgyzstan I was treated at a free, state-run hospital after receiving two huge gashes under my eyes during a mugging. My service was fast, professional, clean, and efficient. The stitches, from arrival at the hospital to leaving, took maybe an hour. No payment, no paperwork. I was asked to come back in a week, which I did, and the stitches were promptly removed. Total turnaround maybe 15 minutes. At this point the doctor agreed to accept about $40 in compensation, probably due to my repeated requests about payment. He also gave me the name of an ointment to buy, which cost a couple of dollars. The gashes completely healed and are virtually invisible today. In Florida, I cut my pinkie finger on a soup can lid, and the cut was deep enough that I decided it needed stitches. Well, one stitch, which took about 7 hours in the ER and for which I was billed several hundred dollars. It would've cost several hundred dollars more to have the stitch removed, but the doctor was nice enough to give me the suture kit (which apparently they throw away?) so I could take it out myself at home. Which I did, and now I have a % scar on my finger. Just to be clear: Kyrgyzstan is a very, very poor country. They spend about $150 per capita on their health system, as compared to $8,000 in the U.S. Obviously you wouldn't want to get cancer treatment or complex heart surgery there, but it's still a telling comparison. I’ve never met anyone with experience in both kinds of systems who finds U.S. private health care preferable. I’ve encountered the health care systems of a number of different countries, but the best comparison I think is the time I got stitches in Kyrgyzstan versus the time I got stitches in Florida.

In Kyrgyzstan I was treated at a free, state-run hospital after receiving two huge gashes under my eyes during a mugging. My service was fast, professional, clean, and efficient. The stitches, from arrival at the hospital to leaving, took maybe an hour. No payment, no paperwork. I was asked to come back in a week, which I did, and the stitches were promptly removed. Total turnaround maybe 15 minutes. At this point the doctor agreed to accept about $40 in compensation, probably due to my repeated requests about payment. He also gave me the name of an ointment to buy, which cost a couple of dollars. The gashes completely healed and are virtually invisible today.

In Florida, I cut my pinkie finger on a soup can lid, and the cut was deep enough that I decided it needed stitches. Well, one stitch, which took about 7 hours in the ER and for which I was billed several hundred dollars. It would’ve cost several hundred dollars more to have the stitch removed, but the doctor was nice enough to give me the suture kit (which apparently they throw away?) so I could take it out myself at home. Which I did, and now I have a % scar on my finger.

Just to be clear: Kyrgyzstan is a very, very poor country. They spend about $150 per capita on their health system, as compared to $8,000 in the U.S. Obviously you wouldn’t want to get cancer treatment or complex heart surgery there, but it’s still a telling comparison.

]]> By: Megano! http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14774 Megano! Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:48:22 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14774 I can't even imagine American health care. Like, I basically could not move to the States unless I was going to be raking in the dough, because I have to get xrays and see specialists fairly regularly. I could never afford it if Canada didn't have OHIP. I can’t even imagine American health care. Like, I basically could not move to the States unless I was going to be raking in the dough, because I have to get xrays and see specialists fairly regularly. I could never afford it if Canada didn’t have OHIP.

]]> By: Lauren http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14773 Lauren Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:39:54 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14773 If going to the doctor were that easy and that free I WOULD DO IT ALL THE TIME. Like right now, when I am itching all my skin off for the third time in as many months, but the freakin' dermatologist charges me $150 that I don't have, even with insurance. If going to the doctor were that easy and that free I WOULD DO IT ALL THE TIME. Like right now, when I am itching all my skin off for the third time in as many months, but the freakin’ dermatologist charges me $150 that I don’t have, even with insurance.

]]> By: Robin http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14761 Robin Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:54:33 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14761 I sort of wish all Americans, especially opponents of socialized medicine, would have to spend some time living in a country where health care is a human right. And then get sick. But not so sick that they'd die. Just sick enough to see that maybe it actually is a good idea to take care of all your citizens, not just those with the wealth/foresight to get good private insurance. I sort of wish all Americans, especially opponents of socialized medicine, would have to spend some time living in a country where health care is a human right. And then get sick. But not so sick that they’d die. Just sick enough to see that maybe it actually is a good idea to take care of all your citizens, not just those with the wealth/foresight to get good private insurance.

]]> By: Poppy http://thebillfold.com/2012/08/getting-the-most-out-of-my-austrian-state-funded-health-care/#comment-14756 Poppy Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:45:54 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=10840#comment-14756 I love state-funded health care. I love it SO much. After having lived in two countries that have it (New Zealand and England) and one that doesn't (the U.S.) I can tell you that the level of care I have received in each country has been exactly the same - that is, good, and sometimes great. I want to stand on a roof and scream about it until the whole of the U.S. accepts that it is a GOOD THING. But I don't want the next thing that my health insurance pays for to be psychiatric care for me, so I won't. I love state-funded health care. I love it SO much. After having lived in two countries that have it (New Zealand and England) and one that doesn’t (the U.S.) I can tell you that the level of care I have received in each country has been exactly the same – that is, good, and sometimes great. I want to stand on a roof and scream about it until the whole of the U.S. accepts that it is a GOOD THING. But I don’t want the next thing that my health insurance pays for to be psychiatric care for me, so I won’t.

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