Swedes buy insurance to skip long health queues

Well it looks like socialized health care in some countries is under scrutiny.

Apparently in Sweden, more than 500,000 have private insurance !!

It seems most private plan "buyers" are through employers.

Employers are using the thinking that the shorter the wait, the sooner the workers get back to the job.

Perhaps some logic is evident?

We have to wonder if the current changes in the U.S. will put people in longer lines and thus longer delays getting back to work? (assuming the person even has a job to begin with)

Swedes buy insurance to skip long health queues

More than half a million Swedes now have private health insurance, showed a new review from industry organization Swedish Insurance (Svensk Försäkring). In eight out of ten cases, the person's employer had offered them the private insurance deal.

"It's quicker to get a colleague back to work if you have an operation in two weeks' time rather than having to wait for a year," privately insured Anna Norlander told Sveriges Radio on Friday. "It's terrible that I, as a young person, don't feel I can trust the health care system to take care of me."

The insurance plan guarantees that she can see a specialist within four working days, and get a time for surgery, if needed, within 15.

I wonder how they can arrange quicker appointments and treatments?

I wonder how they can arrange quicker appointments and treatments?

Governments are quick to run up debts, yet slow to pay.
I imagine doctors get their money much quicker from private insurance companies, so those patients would be given priority.

I bet it takes a lot of years, and untold sums of money to fix this ACA fiasco. Gosh, that money could have been put to good use doing something that would benifit the people in our country!

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nugget1...
I bet it takes a lot of years, and untold sums of money to fix this ACA fiasco. Gosh, that money could have been put to good use doing something that would benifit the people in our country!

ACA is the straw that broke the system.
Nothing can fix it, short of tearing it apart and rebuilding it, starting with the first pebble.

nugget1

I wonder how they can arrange quicker appointments and treatments?

Governments are quick to run up debts, yet slow to pay.
I imagine doctors get their money much quicker from private insurance companies, so those patients would be given priority.

That sounds about right. Doctors have to eat and take care of themselves and their families. So this is probably what we're going to get a taste of in the US. The poor on medicaid and waiting for medical care and the wealthy or folks with employer provided insurance going to the head of the line.

Only in the US the insurance companies are going to make a killing on premiums and be "too big to fail." If they don't get their pound of flesh the government via taxpayer will bail them out.

Funny, cause the Swedes are complaining about wait times, but they still have better wait times than the US.

"The target for maximum wait in Sweden to see your primary care doctor (no more than seven days) is underachieved only by Portugal, where the corresponding figure is 15 days," the report stated.

Average wait time to see family doctor in US 20.3 days

www.merritthawkins.com...

US total averages: Specialist/Family Doctor:

Total Cumulative Average ..................... 102.6 ........................................................ 20.5

*

This is a bad comparison to the ACA. ACA is PRIVATE insurance for one. Only the Medicaid portion could be considered "socialized" although that is also run by private companies and only paid for by the Government. The closest thing we have to socialized medicine is non-profit "clinics" run by local and state governments and charities. They have nothing to do with the ACA. The ACA is in no shape or form socialized medicine.

if you all could get your facts straight you would realize the bad thing about the ACA it that it is high cost forced insurance. Rates went up tremendously outside of ACA as well. Unless you qualify for the tax credit, there is no reason for anyone to sign up for the ACA as it is simply more expensive than plans outside of the ACA. The ACA is simply an insurance company giveaway. Had they been fair it could have worked, but because of their greed it will not.

But please just stop pointing at any problems with socialized medicine in other countries and then pointing to the ACA. They are nothing alike and saying so hurts your cause because you will only get other idiots rallying on your points.

reply to post by xuenchen

The insurance plan guarantees that she can see a specialist within four working days, and get a time for surgery, if needed, within 15.

OMG that is so much better than what I go through. I have had to wait months nine for the last one all because the insurance, workers comp, and VA fight between themselves to pay out and approve surgeries and treatments even with having a lawyer it is so slow to approve things. I lost count on the surgeries at about number 15 it is probably 19 to 20 now. ^ years and counting one after another. It sucks.

Also, if you look at the top ranking healthcare systems in the world, you will notice a large majority of them are universal, or they at least have dual options, public + private.

There isn't any argument you can make which will deny this.

(For the record, I'm not saying ACA is good nor is it universal healthcare, just that universal and/or public with semi-private healthcare systems seem to work the best.)

reply to post by boncho

I have to question those wait times..... Is the number in your area even close to your experience? 24 days in NY sounds absurd. I have never waited more than one day in my life to see a doctor in NY or CT.... I hear people start complaining when they don't get in the next day soonest, and I don't really hear much complaining. At least not complaining about wait times, it's always cost I hear the complaining about.

TKDRL
reply to post by boncho

 

I have to question those wait times..... Is the number in your area even close to your experience? 24 days in NY sounds absurd. I have never waited more than one day in my life to see a doctor.... I hear people start complaining when they don't get in the next day soonest, and I don't really hear much complaining.

They are averaged. In some cases it's 1 day, in others it's 200. The whole thing about healthcare is that everyone needs it. And with better healthcare it actually reduces the amount of money that will be spent longterm. (Preventative medicine.)

In any case, the US is at the top of the list for per capita cost. In other words, "Ur doing it wrong."

reply to post by boncho


Cost I agree on. If I couldn't get into a doctor on a sunday, I would be losing a days pay for not working, and losing another days pay to pay the doctor. A week in the hospital cost pops about as much as it would cost to buy a brand new BMW. Costs are crazy.


I am still having a hard time seeing the wait times as accurate though. I know lots of people in NY and CT, both insured and uninsured, no one is waiting 6-61 days to see their regular doctor.

Just a thought I had. Most people I know in NY are not in the city, mostly places like putnam and westchester county, and farther north, maybe that has something to do with it. Although my doctor was in the Bronx, and I always got in the same day I called so I am not sure.

I take it you are not american or in america by the whole ur doing it wrong thing?

reply to post by TKDRL

I take it you are not american or in america by the whole ur doing it wrong thing?

I thought it's an internet meme…

knowyourmeme.com...

reply to post by TKDRL


Where I live it is very common to not be able to schedule an appointment for earlier than 6 days in advance. Especially so in the winter months and we have doctors everywhere. So once you start figuring in rural areas and Medicare patients I can easily see 20 day waits being the average for non emergency care.

reply to post by KeliOnyx


I guess rural NY is way luckier than rural OH then. Then I heard we were luckier than other rural areas in a lot of different areas. Such as internet, even way out in the sticks we had fiberoptic cable, and unlimited high speed internet for 40 bucks a month for example. We got it a few years later than the city areas, but it came eventually. The biggest culprit of not being able to see a doctor right away in the winter was being snowed in lol.

TKDRL
I am still having a hard time seeing the wait times as accurate though. I know lots of people in NY and CT, both insured and uninsured, no one is waiting 6-61 days to see their regular doctor.

Where I think the problem with the numbers lie is the time it takes to see a doctor in regards to a non-emergency case, such as scheduling a physical, or getting child's shots. For example, when I cut my thumb severe enough to need stitches, but not to the point that I needed to put it in my pocket and go to the ER my family doctor will got to me within 20 minutes of me walking in the door. (Weekday, early afternoonish)

When I called about getting my flu shot I think there was a 4-5 day wait. When I was scheduling my daughters well-check (you know the shots and make sure you're feeding them and not beating them too much), they put the appointment like 2 months out.


I think the receptionists are given a lot of freedom in regards to scheduling, based on the level of importance that the appointment is being made for. So I understand the 6-61 day wait in some cases.

reply to post by Lipton


Ah I see. Would make sense, only time I ever went to the doctor was when I was sick enough to miss work, which meant I was about a day away from croaking lol. Never really did the whole checkup thing, except when I was in school and it was required. Probably depends a lot on when you decide to go do the regular checkups as well. If you wait until late july or august even to call and schedual, probably longer wait due to all the procrastinators. I always got mine done in june.

reply to post by TKDRL


Exactly.

A great example I can give revolves around a pretty scary event I went through when I was 23. I used to be a big guy, not big as in eat to much, but big as in was at the gym 6-7 days a week.

So on Thursday I woke up and my pinky and ring finger felt sort of tingly, like I slept on them funny. After stretching my arm and flexing my hand for a bit it faded so I forgot about it the rest of the day.

Friday the tingly sensation was back and persisted for even longer. A couple times throughout the day it happened but I wasn't overly concerned. I thought I had overdone it at the gym so I figured I take a day or two off.

Saturday morning I couldn't move my arm. I pinky, ring and the posterior of my ring finger were numb to the point that I couldn't even feel pressure. From my elbow to those three fingers it felt like I was being stabbed with hot nails UNDER THE SKIN! i didn't know what was wrong, but I was terrified and thought I had a stroke or something. I was out the door,driving and shifting my Jeep to the hospital without noticing it was like 30* and all I had on was flip-flops (young peoples' version of house shoes), gym shorts and a cut off.

I walk in the to the ER, say 'I think I had a stroke, I can't move my arm!' and BAM! I'm in a wheelchair and being pushed down in to the bowels of the hospital for an all day adventure of tests.

I was waiting for service for ~1 minute from walking in the door.

I was in surgery the following Monday, for a crushed ulnar nerve that if left untreated for a few more days would of rendered my right arm useless for the rest of my life.


*From walking in to having a neurologist cutting me - less than 48 hours.


IMO, from my own personal experiences emergency responses of our health care system here in the States, in regards to real medical emergencies, it top notch. I could however see a GP making someone that wants their 10th refill of Oxycontin this month wait a few more days than the rest of his other clients

reply to post by Lipton


Yeah, in my experience wait was never an issue, it was always the just prohibitive costs. Aunt in PA found a brain tumor, she was in surgery the next day. Know people that have had heart surgery the next day. Know someone was hit by a car, had a surgery to repair all the blown out tendons 4 days later, and only waited that long to make sure there was no missed internal or brain damage before surgery. I guess the point is, most people I know are bluecollar, and don't ever visit the doctor/hospital unless it is needed. Never going to the doctor over BS like allergies, cold, mild flu etc. Can't afford to be like that, even the insured ones lol.

Also, I can see how those numbers could have easily been skewed either way, depending on what you wanted to show. If you wanted the numbers to be high waiting time, you could be calling to make appointments in a high demand time, like right before the school year started there. To show the other way, you could be making the call in a low demand time, such as spring break.

xuenchen
Well it looks like socialized health care in some countries is under scrutiny.

Still a damed sight better than health care in America

Link

Link US NOT EVEN RANKED!

link


So yeah the USA can keep its broken system EUROPE DOSNT WANT IT! GET THE MESSAGE! America dosnt always know whats best.

Bassago
The poor on medicaid and waiting for medical care and the wealthy or folks with employer provided insurance going to the head of the line.

Wasnt that always the case? Rich get priority Treatment Poor worse or no treatment?

Plus its not the doctors that take uo most the money. Infact doctors probably are the lowest cost. Its the managers that likley eat up all the money.