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A comment on The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby. Parent comment

Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by bsbechtel on Saturday January 20, 2018 @06:24AM (#16192996)
If individuals aren't free to make these financial decisions for themselves, then insurance companies or the government will. My mom had a severe infection while on chemo because the insurance company didn't want to pay for an injection that would've boosted her immune system. Having these decisions made at the population level, instead of the individual is far worse.
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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by pjc50 on Saturday January 20, 2018 @06:57AM (#16193055)
> individuals aren't free to make these financial decisions for themselves

An individual can only be free to make this kind of decision if they've got a spare $1500.

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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by awinder on Saturday January 20, 2018 @09:00AM (#16193341)
If the state was paying and your mother wanted to pay out of pocket nothing would stop her. Elective course of action is not banned in any single payer system that I know of.
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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by phd514 on Saturday January 20, 2018 @12:16PM (#16194146)
Canada -- a Quebec ban on private health insurance was overturned in 2005, but there are still open court cases on whether that applies nationally and whether healthcare providers may charge privately for services.
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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by gambiting on Sunday January 21, 2018 @05:52AM (#16197582)
I don't know about Canada obviously but in Poland hospitals are not allowed to charge for anything that is refunded by the national health service, but they are free to charge for anything else. So if a patient says they want an extra injection that is not funded and they will pay out of their own pocket for it, they absolutely can.
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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by gambiting on Saturday January 20, 2018 @08:52AM (#16193311)
What do you mean individuals aren't free to make that decision? Even in a fully public healthcare system you can always opt to pay for treatment which is not covered(as rare as those are). How is that different than your insurer in US refusing to pay for treatment and you paying from your own pocket?
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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by Joeri on Saturday January 20, 2018 @12:06PM (#16194101)
That’s a red herring though. Few countries have a system that forbids paying extra for extra care. The point is that in the U.S. system you can’t get basic care without paying extra, which is not the case in other countries.
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Re:The US is the most expensive nation in which to have a baby by cryoshon on Saturday January 20, 2018 @09:17AM (#16193403)
why not do some research online, buy the meds for a penny on the dollar via the darknet, and give them to your mom's nurse with a $100 note to seal the deal?

is it absurd that i have plans for these exact situations already worked out?

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