No TallDave, I do understand that. PRIVATE insurance companies invest the money we give them and they get interest from it. That is fine and dandy. The Austrian public health insurance does not do that and it is still mostly fine. As I said the highest problem is with the unnecessary treatments that are paid for. I have said that before and for some reason you keep ignoring it.
People aren't paying their own bills for routine maintenance of their bodies. They are letting insurance pay for medical treatment that they wouldn't bother getting at all if they had to pay for it themselves.
Again, this is bullshit. Spending money on routine checkups helps prevent much more expensive treatments later. Same goes with vaccinations.
As I said, children here learn that in primary school.
No offense, but you guys are poor compared to us
I still raise the bullshit card on that. You can ask my wife. Even poor people here have rather good lives. There are people in the US that have it a lot worse. We just have fewer superrich people here, than you have.
At least we still have a middle class.
My wife is an US citizen living here with me. She will happily confirm this to you.
The quality of medical care here is excellent. Again, you may ask my wife. She has had multiple routine checkups since she got here 4 years ago. She has not seen any qualitative difference to the US. According to her the wait times are the same, but the doctors here have more time for you and they dont shove you off.
In the US she went to the ER for a severe and sudden backpain once. She was basically shoved out, without much checkup or concern from the doctors. Had they done the same with me, I would not be talking to you right now.
Here vaginal ultra sounds are done at the gynecologist with every checkup. In the US it is only done if the doctor thinks that something is wrong (by which time it might be to late) at least at the clinic that she went to, which was affordable...
Here people are encouraged to get their vaccinations. It does not cost you more than the prescription fee. Just recounting a few things from the tops of our heads here.
I went back 15 pages and couldn't find that link. Maybe you could post it again.
Well here it is for a third time (yeah, I had already posted it twice):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 455_2.html