Item — HN Reader

I live in NL. I pay 130 euros a month for my health insurance, and a max of 375 yearly on deductibles should I accrue some costs. The only reason I pay 130 is because I earn above a certain number, otherwise it's discounted and even free at a certain level (and I opted into the more expensive tier to also have dental coverage). In my case, my employer even pays for my insurance so in reality I don't even pay anything monthly (that's rare here though).

I recently did an in-depth sleep study, got a CPAP machine prescribed to me, free replacement filters and replacement tubes + mask for it whenever I need them. I also got xrays and CT scans because of a foot injury around the same time. I also got comprehensive blood tests done.

None of it cost me a penny other than the ~100 euros a month, the doctors and GPs are paid well, the quality of care I received was exceptional, and in the worst case scenario possible I would've only paid 375 euros max.

My mother in law has osteoporosis and a number of other chronic illnesses, so she has to see specialists quite often. The quality of care she receives is similarly excellent to the one I received, and due to her disability her healthcare is partially covered as well.

It's not perfect of course, but it sure does beat all the horror stories you often hear coming from across the pond of people ending up in lifelong medical debt should, God forbid, something happen to them that they realistically have no control over. So I'm sorry, but I don't buy that the for-profit fucked up system you guys have going on over there is the best of the lot, especially if you're an average Joe and not someone from SV earning obscene amounts.

1 comments

"Healthcare that isn't for profit" doesn't mean just a national health insurance. Just that as a random citizen you are shielded from seeing all the same issues underneath. The pharma companies, test providers, equipment makers and personnel are all making profits. I bet the total amount paid is higher that 130 euros a month. There's profit all through the system, so claims that healthcare should not be for profit are silly.

Now, what happens is that the profits have to be kept in check, either via price controls or sufficient competition. It's not hard to argue that the choices made in the US are quite suboptimal, but it's far more of a regulatory problem than purely a matter of people making money. If nobody makes money, there's no healthcare.

Not to mention EU pharma makes 50-70% [1] of their money from the US, an unregulated market. I'd challenge them to shut down that 800USD/shot revenue stream and still give subsidised insulin locally and remain profitable. Hint: they can't. Their shareholders would shut them down in a week. Good luck manufacturing the next new drug then.

[1] https://www.novonordisk.com/content/dam/nncorp/global/en/inv... https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/GSK-PLC-9590199/f...

Edit: I too agree the US healthcare system is flawed, I'm just saying you cannot compare it against EU's results without considering the above fact.

Profit is what's left after everyone is paid for their work. No profit doesn't mean nobody gets paid - it means nobody's trying to simultaneously maximize revenue and minimize costs just so they can pay themselves the difference.

Speaking of tax-funded healthcare, did you know that US residents pay more tax towards healthcare than residents of any other country? And in return for that, they don't get any healthcare so they have to pay a second time to buy their healthcare.