Comment by wat10000
15 days ago
It sounds like you’re talking about what you want, and I’m talking about how I think things are. I don’t see a wealthy country being able to do anything other than some form of universal care with heavy government involvement in the industry to make it happen. There’s nothing preventing it in terms of economics or technology, I just don’t think people will accept it.
Most of these systems do allow that sort of patient agency for those who can afford it, though. Maybe you had a weird specialist who didn’t want to see you earlier, but there are plenty of doctors who will go beyond your insurance coverage in exchange for cash.
We were both talking about how things ought to be. I was using an example of what I wanted in a specific situation to demonstrate the general lack of patient agency.
Also, it being possible to spend an outsized amount of effort obtaining healthcare outside the system isn't really relevant to discussing the failings of the current mainstream system. Every time I've tried to even get a straightforward price from a doctor in the US, I've been met with indignation like how could I even be asking such a thing.