I have to agree with you for the most part, as a Canadian, I know our healthcare system is flawed, deep systemic problems, problems I'm not even familiar with. However, we don't have to deal with any of these price lists or copays or pre-approvals or debt (inside the scope of hospitalisation)
I've even heard arguements that many of the pitfalls stem from privatised aspects.
I'm a fairly capitalist person, but there is something awfully and fundamentally wrong about a society that monetizes well-being and health.
> However, we don't have to deal with any of these price lists or copays or pre-approvals or debt (inside the scope of hospitalisation) I've even heard arguements that many of the pitfalls stem from privatised aspects
Many of the current US medical problems (bureaucratization of medicine) actually evolved out of massive government regulation with debatable value. EMRs, ICD/coding, the bureacracu that eats up 25% of your doctor's day? It is mainly for insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid.
> I'm a fairly capitalist person, but there is something awfully and fundamentally wrong about a society that monetizes well-being and health
All the medical providers (doctors/nurses/therapists/techs/PAs/etc) do not work for free, and there is a significant logistics and technology tail in providing medical services at huge scale.
If you really want to go after waste in medicine ask the following questions:
(1) How much are the nonclinical hospital mgmt & insurance executives paid?
(2) What is the ratio of clinical to non-clinical personnel?
(3) Why is the US subsidizing the vast majority of the medical research, and drug profits for the entire world?
These are serious questions because, as my nearby regional hospital group was firing hundreds of nurses during COVID, their CEO was collecting millions.
