Thread: Socialized Medicine

Originally Posted by Dave_Sinkula

Continuing somewhat from a thread twist here, I am curious about how folks already in countries with socialized medicine feel about it.

Do you find it adequate? Exemplary? Sub-standard?

Do you get you money's worth?

Or is it that once it becomes available to everyone "for free" that the demand goes up, so...

• Then so does the cost, and so then goes the taxes?
• It eventually gets to a maximum point where the price has gone up via taxes, so then the quality suffers?

Disclaimer: I'll lay 50-50 odds on some hotly-argued bit about political systems breaks out. I'm not trying to provoke that, this thread is hoped to be about the opinions of folks living in countries that have socialized medicine already, and their opinions of it.

My employer is awesome when it comes to benefits. When I started I was only paying $16/month for health insurance and $5/month for dental. It's gone up some the 3 years I've been there; not quite sure how much. But it's pre-tax and still low enough for me not to really notice. Plus we have an Employee Health Clinic with free laboratory testing. Think ya may have AIDS? Well, just go down to the Health Clinic and have them check for ya. FOR FREE!

I don't know if that has anything to do with the question.