Have a look at some somewhat surprising facts below:
Germans can sign up for any of the nation's 200 private health insurance plans - a broader choice than any American has.
In Austria & Germany, if a doctor diagnoses a person as "stressed," medical insurance pays for weekends at a health spa.
In Japan, waiting times are so short that most patients don't bother to make an appointment.
U.S. health insurance companies have the highest administrative costs in the world; 20 c per $ for nonmedical costs.
Japanese go to the doctor 15 times a year, three times the U.S. rate. They have twice as many MRI scans and X-rays.
In the United States, an MRI scan of the neck costs about $1,500. In Japan, the identical scan costs $98.
"Foreign health insurance plans exist only to pay people's medical bills, not to make a profit."
700,000 Americans go into bankruptcy/year because of medical bills. Number of medical bankruptcies = zero in France, Britain, Japan, Germany.
Comments from Twitter:
vasculardoc @DrVes my uncle was an FP in austria and he told me he regularly prescribes a spa for stress relief.hoping he will write 1 for me 4 2 weeks!
mariawolters @DrVes Germany has both private and "public" insurers. You can only go private if you earn well. Good choice of insurers in both sectors.
mariawolters @DrVes public insurers also cover kids for free, spouses if they are unemployed.
mariawolters @DrVes rich public insurers help finance those with many high risk, poor clients.
Related:
U.S. Life Expectancy Shorter Than 41 Countries
Image source: Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.
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