Expand Quote
I always wonder why people don't just get health insurance in the US though - assuming you could afford to pay one of the premiums. It's not like health insurance is free, so to speak, in countries that have "free" health care. You could be paying as much as any full coverage plan in the US, it's just coming out in taxes and you don't have a choice to not have the full coverage plan basically. And that does come with different issues - like long wait times and doctors not giving a shit.
But, yeah, sort of a fucked medical system. I guess it's the freedom to... not have health insurance? But even so I don't know why the norm would basically be to just not have it. Because people don't want to willingly pay $500 per month for health insurance?
The Average American is taxed at the same rate as anywhere else with medical. Our taxes are high and we don’t get shit for it. It’s not like people don’t want health insurance, it’s that $500 is a lot of money per month and a lot of people just can’t afford it.
Definitely not true - if you make over 28k Germany you get taxed at 24%, over 50k at 42%. Portugal is about the same but salaries are much lower. So you're getting taxed that % and no matter what you make, the health insurance is automatically deducted. I think it's still expensive, you just don't have a choice to not have/pay for it. In NYC you don't hit the max of 8% until you make over 1 million. States like Texas don't even have an income tax.
California actually has a "decent" system set up for low income individuals/households. There's a bunch of free clinics, doctors who have pro-bono days, and if you go to a county hospital then they'll base your bill of your wage - so it can be free if you're unemployed. I had that happen to me when I was in between jobs living in LA and needed to go to the emergency room.
Anyway, I'm not trying to de-rail the topic and in no way am I saying the overall healthcare system in the US is good. It leaves way to much room - probably the majority of room - for you to get fucked by needing medical care.