HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer

Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by FirmwareBurner on Saturday November 09, 2024 @12:55PM (#42095753)

>schedule says not to get the HPV vaccine if you’re over 45. That means that insurance won’t cover it

If it makes you feel any better I live in an EU country with one of the best healthcare systems, or so we keep hearing, and here the public health insurance only covers it for those under 30. What a joke.

And Europeans keep saying how much worse the American system is.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by jeroenhd on Saturday November 09, 2024 @02:48PM (#42096452)

I don't know about the quality of our local healthcare system, but I'm a little annoyed that I didn't qualify for the free HPV vaccination but people two years younger than me did. The government invited anyone born in an 8 year period and about 20% responded. I wish they'd given me the option to take part in the program even if I wasn't actively invited, it's not like there's a shortage because of high demand; even among kids the vaccination rates are only at 50% to 60% thanks to the rise of antivax parents and covid misinformation.

I'm not going to start a fight with the local healthcare call center to let me pay the 200-300 euros for a vaccination they think I shouldn't be getting according to every piece of information they publish about it. I know the government is trying to cut costs on healthcare and all, but the resistance the idea that someone without a cervix may benefit from a HPV vaccination annoys me to no end.

Out of all possible healthcare cost cutting measures, charging hundreds for vaccines against diseases that are widely present within the borders of the country must be the stupidest.

That said, I'd much rather take the annoying European healthcare system over the American one. I can get every vaccine out of pocket twice a year and still be cheaper off than with your average American health insurance.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by Tijdreiziger on Saturday November 09, 2024 @04:27PM (#42096997)

Your profile indicates you’re Dutch, so you can just ask your huisarts or local GGD for the vaccine, no fighting necessary. I did this myself a few years ago.

You’ll have to pay for it yourself, though.

Info: https://www.rivm.nl/hpv-humaan-papillomavirus/vaccinatie-hpv...

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by CalRobert on Sunday November 10, 2024 @03:03AM (#42099021)

Huh, every time I ask my huisarts for anything I get a dose of condescension and paracetamol.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by FirmwareBurner on Sunday November 10, 2024 @03:46PM (#42102513)

> 200-300 euro

That cheap? In Austria it's 600 Euros. We're being ripped the fuck off.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by formerly_proven on Saturday November 09, 2024 @01:15PM (#42095893)

Here it actually depends on which pseudo-private-public insurer you have. Most have age limits for coverage, the most common one being 25 or 26. The lowest seems to be 19 (what a joke, it's in the catalog for <=18), many don't cover it at all. Total cost (no discounts, since not covered) seems to be about 700-800 €.

> And Europeans keep saying how much worse the American system is.

There's a reason the comparison is always the average/median situation in the EU vs. the worst possible situation you could be in the US.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by vidarh on Sunday November 10, 2024 @06:38AM (#42099674)

You can almost certainly obtain it privately and still pay far less for healthcare than the Americans, given under the US system they pay more in taxes towards healthcare per capita than most of the rest of the world - including many European countries - and still need private insurance.

In most of Europe you can also still get increased private cover on top of the public cover if you choose and still end up paying a fraction of what the average American pays - you're just always guaranteed a baseline cover.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by FirmwareBurner on Sunday November 10, 2024 @03:44PM (#42102500)

Americans have their insurance paid by their employer.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by vidarh on Sunday November 10, 2024 @07:31PM (#42103625)

In 2022, the average employee contribution to "employer-sponsored" healthcare in the US was $6400/year.

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by 9x39 on Sunday November 10, 2024 @08:16PM (#42103799)

While that might be literally true depending how it’s measured, a majority of employees (especially professional types) don’t pay for their insurance unless they want to cover their family.

Like with anything in American healthcare, it’s complicated:

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/health-insurance/health-insur...

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Re:HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer by FirmwareBurner on Monday November 11, 2024 @12:20AM (#42104742)

How much more disposable income does the average American have VS the average European? Americans spend more but they also have a lot more to spend.

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