[H8crilA]

~nobody pays those prices out of pocket

There's absolutely no way you can have a medical system without insurance (either govt underwritten or private corporation underwritten) beyond something trivial like a village herbalist.

The only question is who does the underwriting and even more importantly how are the premiums collected (taxes, that is proportional to income, or flat fees).

[the_svd_doctor]

That’s true, but everything also seems so much more expensive here, even after negotiations between private insurances and healthcare providers.

[mnouquet]

Well, of course, because in the US, you can get treatment. Here in Canada, you're either left on a stretcher in an over-crowded hospital, or being told "come back in 6 month to get your CT scan... [if you're still alive]". The current pandemic has even gotten worse, a close family member never got the luxury to get an appointment for a cancer appointment even though he was showing symptoms.

[caslon]

Canada is not the only country with a healthcare system that doesn't entirely copy the US.

[mnouquet]

We can talk about France if you want, where a family member was told to "suck it up" after an injury when he was able to go to a private hospital (he's got the money to consult specialists) and get his shoulder fixed there.

[caslon]

France is run by neoliberals, and ended up closer to the US than Canada. A better example of a properly-functioning healthcare system is Taiwan, or the Netherlands.

[mnouquet]

Did you live and experience first hand any of these two systems ?