I was telling my dad that in most of the world you don't have to pay for healthcare OR school and in some cases pension and my older brother immediately runs out (American Nationalist has entered the chat) and starts bleating about how none of that is true
This directly contradicts my experience with people I've known from the EU who paid fuck all for braces, healthcare, school, etc but he will always say "I know people from there" (which I'm assuming is a bunch of right wing shitheels from 4chan with a boner for the USA and unironic Ukrainians) but I get the feeling he is full of shit
he always tells me "mental health is cheap/free in the USA" when he bludgeons me with that and this also directly contradicts my experience of being told that my dads insurance only covers 4 sessions of therapy and that the copay will be $225 dollars an hour when I was 12
what the hell is the truth lmao
In Australia we pay a certain percentage of our taxes to Medicare. We also have a private health system.
The Public System covers GP visits, public hospital stays, essential operations and just all the "Serious" healthcare you'll need. You might be put in a 4 person ward with 1 TV, but you'll not pay for it. There's also heavy subsidies for drugs and income assistance for disabilities via the NDIS. All citizens are also entitled to 10 or more free psych visits per year.
What the public system doesn't cover, the complete cost of medicine (though for very expensive drugs this is a fairly token cost), Fancy accommodations, semi-medical things like glasses.
Most seriously it does not cover dentistry, though public clinics exist they generally have at least an 18-month waiting list. Due to the link between dental and heart health outcomes becoming clearer there's now a push to cover it too.
Ambulances are, technically, not covered, but I've never seen them follow up on someone who couldn't pay the 100-200AUD
The Private System is kind of dodgy but fills in the gaps. Nicer hospitals, free Ambulance, glasses, quicker doctors visits in rural areas, private specialists. Not really worth it tbh
The costs you do pay, however, are much, much cheaper than the US system. I went to the dentist without private insurance and it cost $3k (2K USD) for very (very) extensive work that looking at US prices would have been at least 20K USD uninsured.
Still a lot, enough to break poorer people, but you can at least try to dig yourself out of a few K of debt, especially as we have a stricter lending system and medical providers are required to allow for financial hardship.
It's not perfect, there's shitty holes that are horribly inhumane, and even if it's all free our unemployment system is so cruel taking 3 months off for chemo can be financially crippling. Remote regions are severely lacking at times, even with services like the Flying Doctors.
But for all that in general I know when I really need care I can walk into a doctor or hospital and I will be treated as soon as possible, and there will likely be no bill, and if there is it will be a hundred bucks or so.
deleted by creator