I didn't really have definite views on socialized medicine until I moved to Israel, and saw how well it works when done right. 

A few caveats: 
1. Medical school is much cheaper here (US$3-4K/year for 7 years)
2. Doctors get paid much less, especially in the early years.
3. There are 4 competing "health funds" all of which are required to provide a certain level of service, and compete for customers by improving on that level of service. (plus each health fund offers supplemental insurance for fairly reasonable prices - $10-$20/month per person)
4. There is a thriving private medical sector, some of which is covered by supplemental insurance - meaning that when the wait for a "public" ophthalmologist was two months (and my son's condition's surgery success rate goes down drastically after the age of 3 months, so we didn't have the time to wait), I was able to get a private appointment within 10 days with the top guy, shell out US$200, and then get back US$150 of it later.  (the fact that the surgery determined that it was a hopeless case... well, that's another story).

I do, however, pay completely privately for my pain specialist, because he offers a treatment that nobody "in network" offers, and it's pretty much the only treatment that is safe long-term and actually works for me.

(Painkillers work, but you can't take 'em forever, and the other fibromyalgia 'on-label' treatments simply didn't work for me, though one of them made me gain 20 lbs very quickly... which would be great if I had started out underweight, I guess)

Not everything is better here, but in the past few weeks, I've been to a number of appointments where 3 or more top doctors consulted on my case at the same time, and I've paid NOTHING out of pocket. (last week, the head of ultrasound, the head of pediatric nephrology, and three other doctors were present for an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis for my baby - since the kidney condition presents in an extremely unusual way.)

I am also for socialized health insurance, works well enough here. The only problem is: people visit doctors too often, since they do not have to pay for each visit. Without socialized health, I would be paying for my last treatment in a  hospital for the rest of my life and would probably spend that rest brain damaged. It is kind of a blessing not to worry about the financial risk of getting medical aid.

We pay about 15% of our income for the insurance, people earning less than 840€ all spend about 150€ and if you earn more than 3400€ or so, you still pay as if you earn "only" 3400€. There is also coverage for the case when you need caring due to old age, etc. 15% sounds a lot, but when you know that they simply wont stop to treat you just because you run out of money, it gives you a perspective when you need one badly.

The American system unfortunately makes it so that people who can't pay frequently need to use emergency rooms instead of regular doctors, which ends up costing those who can pay lots more.

Here, for example, you pay relatively little to see a regular doctor in his office ($3-4 quarterly), $25 for an urgent-care visit (unless you've broken a bone or similar), and around $200 for an ER visit  (unless you have one of a list of recognized conditions, a referral from your doctor, or something serious enough to get you admitted.)

Basically, the fees involved make people use the minimal care first. 

 

And those legit American citizens should continue using the ER instead of proper primary care?

Why not put them to death as long as they are in the ER? Should be far cheaper, dead bodies could be sent home via simple cargo flights, can stack way more of them into one plane.

Thu Jun 26 2014 18:10:04 EDT from LoanShark @ Uncensored

1. Medical school is much cheaper here (US$3-4K/year for 7 years)

I don't get it. A chimp could pay his way through med school, but would he learn anything because that money doesn't support the school's budget. Without subsidies.

Yes - highly subsidized by government. And yes, Israel has excellent doctors graduating from their medical schools.

The thing is that it's cheaper to make medical school subsidized than it is to have to pay doctors enough to pay off absurd debts.

I was talking to a friend who literally couldn't accept a starting position at less than $60K because she has $250K of student loans, and even living as frugally as possible, couldn't even dent the interest with less. 

In Israel, the doctors graduate with no debt at all, and work for peanuts until they prove themselves.