This is something I don't understand of the US and other "developed" countries health systems.

Here in Mexico, i can get to doctoralia and make an appointment with a high specialist , like a Vascular Neurosurgeon. All by myself. The first visit will to maybe $200 usd (and that's very high) and normally it's a week away at most. No waiting on the private health option.

Of course if you go with public health, it's a disaster and a shame.

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rootusrootus an hour ago | parent | next [-]

For most things, I can do the same in the US. It has a lot to do with your insurance provider. E.g. UnitedHealth is pretty well known for requiring pre-authorization for every little thing. But BCBS, which is who I have had most of my adult life, is far more relaxed about it.

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madrox 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

What other countries describe is the equivalent of your public health system. If you're willing to pay out of pocket, like you describe, you can have a similar experience in the US. However, that can get expensive quickly since you normally don't have just one appointment with a vascular neurosurgeon.

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prmph an hour ago | parent [-]

But the thing is that paying out of pocket would be very expensive in the "developed" countries.

The advantage of the less developed countries is that you can get pretty good private medical care for a reasonably price. The quality may not match the very best care available in the rich countries, but in many cases, it is adequate.

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teiferer an hour ago | parent [-]

> The advantage of the less developed countries is that you can get pretty good private medical care for a reasonably price.

What is a "reasonable price"? Relative to a rich country, the price may be low. But relative to the average income to common folks in that country it is likely just as expensive as a comparable private option is in a rich country. Apples vs. oranges.

Iow, you are describing the perspective of a rich person in a poor country. I don't think a rich person in the U.S. (top 0.1 percentile, let's say) minds the health case costs in the U.S. either.

	▲	prmph 34 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The average white collar or knowledge worker in my 3rd world country can usually pay for mid-tier private medical care, including specialists, without any problem. Of course the top tier private hospital and specialists can be pretty expensive, but is not that expensive to avoid the public/government health system.