I recieved some free socialist healthcare yesterday.

• Automatik

  

  So I split my head open on an overhang in the basement of the nightclub where I work. Got a nice 4" gash. I thought I had a concussion or needed stitches so I went to the emergency room.
  
  I got examined, everything was good. All I showed them was my passport and signed my name. The hospital was nice and people looked like they knew what they were doing, although I did have to wait around 90 min. After all the cons I've heard about government ran healthcare I thought it would be a nightmare. All was good.
  
  Just thought I would share. Props to the red!
  
  /10 pages
• Gobuckeyes1

  ...and you are still alive to tell the tale? It's a miracle!!!
• OneBuckeye

  

  If you get a transplant, have heart surgery or have a life threatening illness, or something that required a specialist I will be more interested then to see what your experience would be like. Not saying it wouldn't be good, just would be curious to see what people's experience with those problems would be like.
• majorspark

  

  Nothings free. Someone else paid for your medical care.
• OneBuckeye

  

  majorspark wrote: Nothings free. Someone else paid for your medical care.

  Good point.
  
  Automatik, what % is being taken out of your paycheck over there.
• OneBuckeye

  

  Looks like 40% of your money is going towards taxes. I guess you already paid for it.... or at least citizens have.
  
  
• cbus4life

  My family and I had nothing but wonderful experiences with government-run healthcare in the UK and Canada.
• CenterBHSFan

  

  Cbus,
  
  And that is their right to do so, those in the UK and Canada.
• Automatik

  

  I had a good convo with the doc during my visit. Emergency heathcare is free for all foreign visitors. If I needed an MRI, cat scan, etc. for example....it would be done.
  
  Also, I'm not getting "pay checks" if you get my drift. I work in a nightclub.
  
  Yes taxes are very high, but no one really complains about it. I made the post to share a little first hand experience. Its crazy to think of some of the comments that I've read and heard about "socialist" healthcare and then experiencing it myself.
• fan_from_texas

  Automatik wrote: Also, I'm not getting "pay checks" if you get my drift. I work in a nightclub.

  Just so I understand, you're telling us that because you get paid under the table and don't have taxes taken out, the "free" healthcare you received that is paid for by people who have taxes taken out seems like a good idea?
  
  In related news, drug dealers here support the sales tax. They find that it doesn't affect their profits, but the revenue raised certainly provides them with all sorts of "free" benefits paid for by law-abiding businesses.
• Strapping Young Lad

  

  you only had to wait 9o minutes?????
• Automatik

  

  I'm here visiting for a few months and I help out for extra money. I can't get work permit or a normal job.
  
  I've read so much about the "nightmares" of government provided healthcare....second rate care, endless waiting, etc. Thats why I made the post.
• Writerbuckeye

  

  Automatik wrote: I had a good convo with the doc during my visit. Emergency heathcare is free for all foreign visitors. If I needed an MRI, cat scan, etc. for example....it would be done.
  
  Also, I'm not getting "pay checks" if you get my drift. I work in a nightclub.
  
  Yes taxes are very high, but no one really complains about it. I made the post to share a little first hand experience. Its crazy to think of some of the comments that I've read and heard about "socialist" healthcare and then experiencing it myself.

  Sorry, but you didn't experience much of anything.
  
  You can hardly judge an entire health care system by one visit to an emergency room.
  
  Fact of the matter is almost all stories I've read about government-run health care systems is that immediate care (emergencies like yours) typically get high marks.
  
  It's when you get into long-term care situations, or the need to see specialists, or get an MRI or have surgery for a chronic/lingering problem, that the real warts of the system show up.
• Automatik

  

  I'm also judging it by actually living here and talking to Danes that use it everyday. I honestly have not heard one complaint. A good friend of mine has a disabled mother who gets home care daily.
  
  I know you can't judge the entire system from a minor emergency room visit. I just thought I'd share. DK is a well ran machine. Quality of life is high here and as a result so are the taxes. Its refreshing to see people not worried sick about healthcare. I worked for a debt collection firm last year....I know what its like.
• fan_from_texas

  I don't doubt your experience at all, but I'm not sure it's something that could be generalized to the US experience.
  
  As has been discussed elsewhere on here, Denmark is a fairly unique situation in that it's a small country that is one of the most homogenuous in the world. Virtually all of the citizens are of the same race, speak the same language, share the same cultural values, and have the same religion. There isn't as much class/race tension as you find in other countries (e.g., Belgium, France, US). Something that works well in Denmark might miserably fail in the US for a variety of reasons, as has been previously discussed.
• Automatik

  

  I agree 100%. Denmark's system works well for roughly 6 million. It would be disastrous in the US. Too many problems, too much poverty.
  
  Also there is a wide variety of races here in Copenhagen, but I'm not sure about DK as a whole. The class comment is right on. They basically provide you with opportunities to succeed.....and if you live in poverty its your choice. Before I got here several people I know were shocked that I would be going to a "socialist" country.
• iuhoosier11

  It's surprising that the care you received was free considering you aren't a citizen and don't pay taxes there. In '05 I broke my leg snowboarding in Canada and had to swipe my credit card before receiving treatment in the Canadian Emergency Room. $935.00 for an X-ray and cast. Of course my personal health insurance reimbursed me when I returned to the States.
• believer

  

  majorspark wrote: Nothings free. Someone else paid for your medical care.

  NAW....If the government pays for it it's free.
• LJ

  

  iuhoosier11 wrote: It's surprising that the care you received was free considering you aren't a citizen and don't pay taxes there. In '05 I broke my leg snowboarding in Canada and had to swipe my credit card before receiving treatment in the Canadian Emergency Room. $935.00 for an X-ray and cast. Of course my personal health insurance reimbursed me when I returned to the States.

  When I went to the UK I had to buy supplemental heath insurance that allowed me to basically "buy in" to their healthcare system for the 10 days I would be there.
• CenterBHSFan

  

  ^^^
  
  I'd like to hear more about that. Such as, I'm assuming you had to do this per their government?
  How far in advance did you have to do that, if you had to do it in advance at all.
  What kind of paperwork was involved?
  Stuff like that.
• LJ

  

  CenterBHSFan wrote: ^^^
  
  I'd like to hear more about that. Such as, I'm assuming you had to do this per their government?
  How far in advance did you have to do that, if you had to do it in advance at all.
  What kind of paperwork was involved?
  Stuff like that.

  My college took care of it as the trip was through them. It was like $50 for 10 days.
• dwccrew

  

  OneBuckeye wrote: Looks like 40% of your money is going towards taxes. I guess you already paid for it.... or at least citizens have.
  
  

  
  
  Actually, by looking at your chart, it looks like 40% is for corporate taxes. The green line above it represents personal taxes and that is under 30%.
  IMO, that is still too high. Limit the size of the government and they won't need to tax us so much.
• iuhoosier11

  dwccrew wrote:
  Actually, by looking at your chart, it looks like 40% is for corporate taxes. The green line above it represents personal taxes and that is under 30%.
  IMO, that is still too high. Limit the size of the government and they won't need to tax us so much.

  I believe OneBuck was refering to personal taxes in Denmark which are over 40%...
• OneBuckeye

  

  ^ Yes
• CharlieHog

  http://reason.tv/video/show/a-true-tale-of-canadian-health