Microblog Memes

Hey I love Germany and its healthcare system but I don't think it works like that.

If you're a foreigner in Germany you still get charged. They have a mandatory but still opt-in health insurance system.

I am not going to defend the US Healthcare industry, but EMS is often? usually? a service of your local government in the US.

Here in Maryland, our ambulance are stored in the firehouses next to the fire engines and staffed by the firemen... Paid for by the county.

When I went to Austin for a bachelorette party, one of the girls passed out and hit her head and the ambulance that came to check her out was also free of charge paid for by the city. Now, their dismissive paternalism was also free of charge because it was Texas, but my point is: emergency services are frequently not part of the predatory American healthcare industry.

"just whatsapped me"

Lol, fuck off, he sent you a message, not all apps and websites need to become a fucking verb

I had a relative who once had a serious emergent heart problem (not a heart attack) in Italy. Ambulance to the ER, admitted to hospital for several days, ran a gazillion tests and procedures; huge workup. Was billed because no national insurance.

Grand total: €200. Not even worth trying to claim on American insurance.

I guess he had some form of Health Insurance as it's mandatory to carry in Germany for almost everyone.

Also there is a copay of 5-10€ with public health insurance, but the insurance will send a separate bill for it. You won't usually get charged at point of service

I would say this is normal in a society where people trust each other.

We could have entire battalions of paid public workers whose only job is to go out of their way to solve people's problems, but instead we get: excess profits (read: stolen value) that benefit virtually no one.

I showed up in Italy to work on a farm for a month.

Ate the wrong thing one night, and my airways started closing up. Despite my Americanism coming through "dont call the ambulance, I can feel the benadryl kicking in", my hosts called an ambulance.

After a 45 minute ambulance ride, a 5 hour hospital stay including chest x ray, monitoring, and fluids, I was trying to pay up. The doctor lady just laughed at me as a I flashed my debit card. They sent me on my way with some albuterol for $0.

We really do everything we can to enrich health execs here in America. Crazy to think about the mental benefits of knowing you live in a society that at least has the capacity to get you through a medical emergency without bankrupting you.