Re:The Writing on the Wall: Sci-Fi’s Empty Techno-Optimism
by SideburnsOfDoom on Thursday January 27, 2022 @07:53AM
(#30099936)
> or I can have it today in private clinic, where I copaid 40 EUR
it seems to me that this is how public healthcare keeps private healthcare honest, by existing.
i.e. you have, and I have also, paid a double-digit sum for the privilege of being seen _today_. But that is not the same as paying for the privilege of being seen _at all_.
The BATNA is very different for the patient. A private doctor can get away with charging a fee for the convenience only, but since it's not the only game in town, they cant gouge to extremes, and charge a huge fee when you need to be seen by a doctor at all costs.
it seems to me that this is how public healthcare keeps private healthcare honest, by existing.
i.e. you have, and I have also, paid a double-digit sum for the privilege of being seen _today_. But that is not the same as paying for the privilege of being seen _at all_.
The BATNA is very different for the patient. A private doctor can get away with charging a fee for the convenience only, but since it's not the only game in town, they cant gouge to extremes, and charge a huge fee when you need to be seen by a doctor at all costs.