Literally this ^ anytime you mention universal hc people bring this up knowing full well they’re going to wait 3-6 months to get in with a PCP or 9-12 for women’s health. Specialists? Easily a year IF you can get a referral.
It’s not the only factor ofc, but it’s definitely a huge problem. Not waiting months/years for appts would improve life expectancy simply by catching and treating issues sooner—plus it would encourage more people to actually GO to a dr when they are sick.
This is not the case in most EU countries and certainly not where I lived. I never had to wait for care; I had a medical emergency in France and was seen in the ER and sent home within an hour. Exceptional care and FREE. The EU and parts of Asia are home to the best Healthcare systems in the world.
I do that now &I have a PPO. Can’t see PCP when I am sick, can’t get in to see my OBGYN when I have a problem, & specialists are 4 ever. ERs are 6-10 hour waits if they deem you are medically necessary to treat. Privatized for profit healthcare has all the same hurdles & also sometimes doesn’t pay!
The waiting list for a new PCP in my medical system is 1 year. This many patients (arms held wide) this many providers (thumb and forefinger half an inch apart). It's the same with subspecialty care. I'm employed by a regionally significant academic health system
I’m in MS so our healthcare options are already in shambles, but our gov is also letting rural hospitals close left and right, so it’s only getting worse 🙃
Letting. Half of our hospitals have closed or at risk of closing bc the imbeciles in office refuse to expand Medicaid without a work requirement and other limitations (bc they see it as welfare). Last article I read said we’re wasting the opportunity to bring in 1B a year if we expanded.
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Tbf, how could we compete with economic superpowers like… Greece…
(We’re 55 on their list, but there are some definitely not stereotypical “countries” listed)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/242e3c8c-en/1/3/2/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/242e3c8c-en&_csp_=e90031be7ce6b03025f09a0c506286b0&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book