Healthcare Thread

[SpaceCityRaven]

I need a place to vent for a second about healthcare.

TL;DR = I miss US healthcare

We moved to The Netherlands in July and part of that excitement was getting see firsthand all the great tings we have heard about the healthcare system here. Man, what a monumental dud that turned out to be.

My son broke his finger within two weeks of moving here so I got to learn the system via baptism by fire. His finger was basically pointing sideways but even still, I could not simply take him to an ER. I first had to register with their version of a GP. We had to wait two hours to get in since we were not scheduled. He took one look at his finger and exclaimed "yep its broken". Well no shit.

So now we were sent to the hospital with referral in hand. We get there and its another 2 hour wait just for triage, which begs the question if I had a referral for a broken finger, why am I even having to go through triage? But I digress ....

So 5 hours after he breaks his finger, we finally see a doctor and he's treated rather quickly from that point forward. We leave, go home for some well deserved spoiling with he favorite dinner and think that was that .... until the bill came. In the states, this endeavor would have been about $75.00 out of pocket. Here, it was 300 Euro. We paid more for less efficient "universal" care.

I am also going through some personal health issues that again would have had zero issues in the states yet here its one giant paper shuffle before someone of any substance will actually see you. Preventative care is also not a thing here. Things like yearly physicals and teeth cleanings are almost non-existent and I have to travel to an International clinic if I wish to have them done.

[Vlad the lad]

I need a place to vent for a second about healthcare.

TL;DR = I miss US healthcare

We moved to The Netherlands in July and part of that excitement was getting see firsthand all the great tings we have heard about the healthcare system here. Man, what a monumental dud that turned out to be.

My son broke his finger within two weeks of moving here so I got to learn the system via baptism by fire. His finger was basically pointing sideways but even still, I could not simply take him to an ER. I first had to register with their version of a GP. We had to wait two hours to get in since we were not scheduled. He took one look at his finger and exclaimed "yep its broken". Well no shit.

So now we were sent to the hospital with referral in hand. We get there and its another 2 hour wait just for triage, which begs the question if I had a referral for a broken finger, why am I even having to go through triage? But I digress ....

So 5 hours after he breaks his finger, we finally see a doctor and he's treated rather quickly from that point forward. We leave, go home for some well deserved spoiling with he favorite dinner and think that was that .... until the bill came. In the states, this endeavor would have been about $75.00 out of pocket. Here, it was 300 Euro. We paid more for less efficient "universal" care.

I am also going through some personal health issues that again would have had zero issues in the states yet here its one giant paper shuffle before someone of any substance will actually see you. Preventative care is also not a thing here. Things like yearly physicals and teeth cleanings are almost non-existent and I have to travel to an International clinic if I wish to have them done.

What about annual recommendations like mammograms and colonoscopies? Are they covered?

Ha no teeth cleanings. Explains why most Europeans have crooked yellow teeth

[SpaceCityRaven]

What about annual recommendations like mammograms and colonoscopies? Are they covered?

Same as the states for those.

[bossofataka]

I need a place to vent for a second about healthcare.

TL;DR = I miss US healthcare

We moved to The Netherlands in July and part of that excitement was getting see firsthand all the great tings we have heard about the healthcare system here. Man, what a monumental dud that turned out to be.

My son broke his finger within two weeks of moving here so I got to learn the system via baptism by fire. His finger was basically pointing sideways but even still, I could not simply take him to an ER. I first had to register with their version of a GP. We had to wait two hours to get in since we were not scheduled. He took one look at his finger and exclaimed "yep its broken". Well no shit.

So now we were sent to the hospital with referral in hand. We get there and its another 2 hour wait just for triage, which begs the question if I had a referral for a broken finger, why am I even having to go through triage? But I digress ....

So 5 hours after he breaks his finger, we finally see a doctor and he's treated rather quickly from that point forward. We leave, go home for some well deserved spoiling with he favorite dinner and think that was that .... until the bill came. In the states, this endeavor would have been about $75.00 out of pocket. Here, it was 300 Euro. We paid more for less efficient "universal" care.

I am also going through some personal health issues that again would have had zero issues in the states yet here its one giant paper shuffle before someone of any substance will actually see you. Preventative care is also not a thing here. Things like yearly physicals and teeth cleanings are almost non-existent and I have to travel to an International clinic if I wish to have them done.

You must be the first self proclaimed conservative libertarian to actually look forward to western european healthcare. Most only look for reasons to bash it.

Sounds extremely weird about that broken finger though, it had nothing to do with you not yet being "properly" registered or something, so that some admins didn´t really know what to do and just sent you to the next person hoping they would? But still, a finger pointing weirdly shouldn´t be too hard to have some rule no matter who´s seeking care.

Preventive care you´ll have to make an appointment no? Every european country I´ve been in (and I am swedish living in Sweden) has yearly, or monthly physicals if you want that.

Dental care in Holland isn´t universal, other than that the state will help with covering costs if it gets too expensive I think. I´m sure if you sign up with a clinic you´ll get called once or twice a year, that´s standard procedure there aswell. Especially since it´s private they rather have you come and pay one extra time than one less time you know.

[bossofataka]

Ha no teeth cleanings. Explains why most Europeans have crooked yellow teeth

Lol, you´ve done extensive research to come to that conclusion I imagine?

[Vlad the lad]

Lol, you´ve done extensive research to come to that conclusion I imagine?

My own personal knowledge from visits and living in Scotland

[darb72]

I need a place to vent for a second about healthcare.

TL;DR = I miss US healthcare

We moved to The Netherlands in July and part of that excitement was getting see firsthand all the great tings we have heard about the healthcare system here. Man, what a monumental dud that turned out to be.

My son broke his finger within two weeks of moving here so I got to learn the system via baptism by fire. His finger was basically pointing sideways but even still, I could not simply take him to an ER. I first had to register with their version of a GP. We had to wait two hours to get in since we were not scheduled. He took one look at his finger and exclaimed "yep its broken". Well no shit.

So now we were sent to the hospital with referral in hand. We get there and its another 2 hour wait just for triage, which begs the question if I had a referral for a broken finger, why am I even having to go through triage? But I digress ....

So 5 hours after he breaks his finger, we finally see a doctor and he's treated rather quickly from that point forward. We leave, go home for some well deserved spoiling with he favorite dinner and think that was that .... until the bill came. In the states, this endeavor would have been about $75.00 out of pocket. Here, it was 300 Euro. We paid more for less efficient "universal" care.

I am also going through some personal health issues that again would have had zero issues in the states yet here its one giant paper shuffle before someone of any substance will actually see you. Preventative care is also not a thing here. Things like yearly physicals and teeth cleanings are almost non-existent and I have to travel to an International clinic if I wish to have them done.

Getting the government involved in anything makes it exponentially worse.

[JAB1985]

5 hours in the ER to get treatment sadly doesnt sound that different from my experiences here, granted you had to go two places to do so.

[wickedsolo]

5 hours in the ER to get treatment sadly doesnt sound that different from my experiences here, granted you had to go two places to do so.

It depends on what the ailment/injury is here in the US. Or, at least that’s been my experience. You know, they’re not going to make someone with stroke symptoms wait 5hrs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SpaceCityRaven]

You must be the first self proclaimed conservative libertarian to actually look forward to western european healthcare. Most only look for reasons to bash it.

Sounds extremely weird about that broken finger though, it had nothing to do with you not yet being "properly" registered or something, so that some admins didn´t really know what to do and just sent you to the next person hoping they would? But still, a finger pointing weirdly shouldn´t be too hard to have some rule no matter who´s seeking care.

Preventive care you´ll have to make an appointment no? Every european country I´ve been in (and I am swedish living in Sweden) has yearly, or monthly physicals if you want that.

Dental care in Holland isn´t universal, other than that the state will help with covering costs if it gets too expensive I think. I´m sure if you sign up with a clinic you´ll get called once or twice a year, that´s standard procedure there aswell. Especially since it´s private they rather have you come and pay one extra time than one less time you know.

Well, its a temporary assignment so there's an expiration date. I am constantly putting to the test the things I've been told are wonderful here. I cannot say this is any better than US healthcare, just a different process basically.

[BPF2]

It depends on what the ailment/injury is here in the US. Or, at least that’s been my experience. You know, they’re not going to make someone with stroke symptoms wait 5hrs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup, depends on severity of your injury/illness and that of everyone else who comes in. You could have been there 5 hours and "next in line" but if a more severe patient comes in, they jump your spot. That's one reason you should only go to the ER if it's truly an emergency. A lot of hospitals are encouraging people to go to urgent care facilities for faster treatment and referral if necessary.

[JAB1985]

It depends on what the ailment/injury is here in the US. Or, at least that’s been my experience. You know, they’re not going to make someone with stroke symptoms wait 5hrs.

Yup, depends on severity of your injury/illness and that of everyone else who comes in. You could have been there 5 hours and "next in line" but if a more severe patient comes in, they jump your spot. That's one reason you should only go to the ER if it's truly an emergency. A lot of hospitals are encouraging people to go to urgent care facilities for faster treatment and referral if necessary.

I was just going off the same injury, or simlar non-life threatening. I understand if somebody is in a more dire condition they get bumped ahead, rightfully. Honestly I think simply having a high pain threshold is a disadvantage in those instances because they tend to bump you if youre not in severe pain.

To me a broken bone or dislocated joint is Emergency worthy. I know Ive been sent to the ER from my local urgent care already for something i felt seemed minor in comparison, so its hard to know what exactly constitutes Urgent vs emergency sometimes.