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
I know a little about my homecountry in Eastern Europe, and a little about my adoptive country in Northern. So up here North there is a socialised healthcare, in the sense that going to the doctor is absolutely free, and most procedures are mostly free. Treatment at the doctors is also free. For some things you have to pay some amount, like some surgeries, and you have to buy your medication too, but that is usually subsidized for a considerable amount. The downside, is that, as everywhere, we have people that are trying to strangle the medical system, and that means that sometimes you have to wait for a long time for some procedures like some surgeries. And there are doctors that have the mentality of not giving too much to their patients. Another downside is that some types of healthcare is very difficult to get - i.e. if you want to go on HRT there is ONE center in the entire country and it operates under somewhat outdated protocols. Which means it will take anywhere between 1-2 years to get HRT and then it will likely be lower dosages.
Dental care is almost completely privatised. And costs A LOT. For the money I would pay for one crown I can go back to my home country, stay at a resort and have all of my teeth fixed.
Education, as an EU citizen is free. You can even get government subsidies to help pay the bills.
Back in Eastern Euope we used to have a fully socialized healthcare too. For a poor nation in the Warsaw pact it used to be pretty good. After 1990, it got mostly privatised, even though some form of government insurance remained. Over time most government hospitals grew dilapidated and services increased in costs, or simply became unavailable. The whole thing became absolutely gutted. Education up to university is free. Most children go to private kindergarten. Universities are two types - government, where you pay a nominal fee (like a 100 USD/year) and private ones go a little bit more expensive. My masters degree was about a 1000USD, my bachelor was something like 250 USD per semester. I think the prices now are a little higher.