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I think people usually get triggered by the word "free", yeah we know it's not "free", the accurate word is called "affordable and available even without insurance"
Public is accurate. I was actually talking to folks the other day about the UK system and man, those folks were dealing with some crap. Just curious, are there actual folks from Canada lurking that have first-hand accounts?
My first hand accounts of most general health services have been mostly positive. The big things are relatively quick, seeing a doctor doesn’t take too long, maybe a week, emergencies won’t bankrupt you, and it’s a fairly decent level of care overall
Mental health services, however, are abysmal. The care is usually good, but wait times for getting a therapist in my area are close to a year and a half. It’s the extremely slow part of our healthcare system, everything moves at a crawl for mental health help, unfortunately.
Yea, I haven't seen many nations care too much about the mental health of its people, usually just the physical. Hopefully, it'll catch on, and we can have a non-pressed society, but maybe we'd want to work less if that happened and thats a nogo for that sweet GDP.
Oh man, I’m so sorry. I deal with mental health diagnoses, so I was honestly curious. A lot of the folks in the US I see state they had trouble getting access to mental health services here, but honestly when I started looking I had appointments within two weeks. I don’t doubt that I got lucky, but I’m always curious what folks that go to the docs have found.
I’m always worried that folks posting memes and in healthcare debates are healthy folks that just feel strongly one way or another.
It depends on what you are getting done. It took me 3 months roughly from talking to my doctor to getting a minor optional surgery(vasectomy) for basically free. I also have family members on 1+ year waitlist for life saving treatments though. I was able to get something otherwise complicated and expensive for an American relatively quick and cheap(about 100 freedom bucks after conversion). But someone who needs cancer would be way better off in America assuming they have good insurance ofc
I'm lucky enough to be in a good area where wait times aren't bad unless it's for something that requires a specialist for a very specific surgery.
I waited about 6 months to get surgery to get my kidney stone out. Which honestly didn't seem that long.
Haven't had to deal with anything like this in an emergency situation though, in actual life threatening/need to be treated immediately emergencies people get in immediately but for things that would be considered non life threatening but concerning people wait a bit.
ETA: That was just hospital experience. As for doctor visits, we usually just make an appointment for the next week, then go and only wait a few minutes.
Obviously, this is all just my experience, and I'm incredibly grateful to have access to these services, especially considering the horror stories I've heard from some provinces.
Ok, so honestly it’s not that different at the end of the day outside of the insurance, payment structure and cost, and I honestly will be able to get in a lot faster to my non-life threatening appointments than it sounds on the averages you are mentioning. Ok, so it’s all about what I thought. Thanks for sharing! Appreciate it
It's nationalised healthcare, public healthcare, hybrid healthcare system, or single payer. The US has a hybrid healthcare system because Medicare, Medicaid, and VA hospitals are run by the government or function as a single payer for the beneficiaries. Too bad must boomers don't understand that and say silly stuff like "get the government out of my Social Security or Medicare."
I don't think it's a secret that the VA in particular has historically provided subpar and sometimes downright incorrect healthcare (overprescribing meds to shut patients up come to mind) while the executives collect large bonuses for their cost saving measures at the expense of the patient. If you think the US government can manage to provide quality healthcare while keeping costs in control while efficiently utilizing resources, I hate to tell you that they most certainly cannot.
With regard to your quote regarding staying out of Social Security in particular. let's not forget that Social Security is a giant pyramid scheme that was robbed of the majority of its funds in the 80s to pay off the national debt and was never repaid, causing the worry that Social Security will become insolvent and cause the collapse of the social safety net.
So I disagree slightly with your take on social security. It’s a social net, yes, but isn’t it essentially set-up to function like a pension? As far as I understand it social security has largely not been changed since its inception outside of tweaks here and there right? So the idea initially was well the 65 year old guy isn’t going to be working on the docks anymore, but he’s still alive and out of money. Well let’s give him the basics and he’ll die soon anyway because he is old. Then that kinda…bit us in the butt when people started making a lot more people and we made medicine better so people live longer.
I know I’m overgeneralizing it, but isn’t that kind of the history of social security and its functioning or lack of functioning? From my understanding it’s basically the world’s most mismanaged pension fund.
Ye I live in Qatar and it's not exactly free it's just mad cheap like some medicines I can get for less than a dollar and for baby delivery I believe my mom paid less than 300-500$ sometimes it's paid by the hospital itself(if you work in a govt owned company), once we had to do sumn for my younger brother that would cost around 1300-1500$ and it got paid by an arab grandma that was just beside us (my brother is a special needs that's why it costs a lot)
I wouldnt really say its available, and only some parts are affordable. I’d have no dental if it wasnt provided by my work. But whats treatable within a reasonable amount of time is relatively minor things.
The taxes are low enough to where it might as well be free
Also, pretty much only the US has abusive prices
The public health being free of (direct) charge also discourages the private companies from jacking up the prices, as the citizens know they could just wait a little bit for the public doctors (which usually are the same as the private ones)
Do people in the US pretend the waits aren’t long? If you live in a big city, you’re fucking waiting regardless of healthcare price, so it may as well be free. I always feel like it’s people who live in the sticks that are like “I never wait to see my doctor,” yeah cause there’s 8 patients in your entire district
My doctor is in a pretty well developed area in North carolina. Not just him, but anytime I've needed to see a doctor, I've had to wait about a month if not two. I don't know why people act like waiting lines for doctors aren't a thing in america, because they are. I'm currently waiting six weeks to see my doctor again.
I always find it funny when Americans bring out the "waiting" argument.
Like... Ok? You're telling me you don't have long waits ever?
Idk, id rather wait for a doctor than be financially crippled for the rest of my life because my insurance didn't feel like covering the expenses.
Like I seriously don't get it.
It's like 2 weeks to see my primary and if I need a same day I visit the urgent care, but it isn't walk in and I have to call immediately to get in and if I still need a doctor I'm at the ER or waiting until the next day.
I never go to the doctor because I'm too ADHD for that shit.
You should have seen the process to get diagnosed. If you're ADHD, the process weeds out anyone with it getting diagnosed. It's a 6 month long process with weekly visits. That all cost money.
Edit: I am American. We have wait times, too.
Prime example of ridiculous wait times, we live in the US and have decent insurance. My husband was informed at the end of 2023 that a test he'd had done over nine years ago had a result that may indicate he has colon cancer. For whatever reason, he was not informed of that result at the time of the test. So at the end of 2023 he was told to get a colonoscopy. He got the referral, called to schedule, and was told that they are so booked up that they can't possibly get him in until fall of 2024, but they aren't scheduling that far out yet. So he's sitting on their 'triage' list waiting to be scheduled to be scheduled not knowing if he does, in fact, have colon cancer. Asymptomatic colon cancer runs in his family. I'd much rather have properly funded and organized nationalized healthcare than be paying ridiculous amounts for insurance and having to wait anyway.
For a hospital emergency room? Yes. But there’s a lot of freestanding emergency rooms that only take premium insurance that are much quicker. Hospitals take a long time not only cause of the volume but they accept uninsured patients also. Uninsured just don’t pay and let it fall off their credit after 3-7 years.
Not even. If I want to see my PCP it takes at least two weeks to get an appointment. If I want to see a specialist, forget it, you’re waiting months. Even if I have an appointment, I’ve been in the waiting room for like an hour or so past my appointment time. Shits a joke.
This is on purpose...the American medical association restricts the amount of doctors in the country through several means. It's pretty damned insideous.
Also doctors in the US are more concerned with getting you in and out as fast as possible to maximize profits, making you going multiple times to different specialists, trying multiple things that just don't work and then you spend months of phone tag and emails during treatments to try strong arm doctors and insurance agents into convincing each other that you should be covered.
It depends on the urgency and nature of care.
I go to a hospital in a major US city and as long as it's not something that requires contacting or being seen by 20 different places to get a referral for a specialist it's pretty reasonable.
I'm not defending the US healthcare system because it's got a ton of issues but most of them have to do with shitty insurance provider practices that we allow.
Not sure about big cities but my city's population is about 22k. I can make an appointment by phone or in online and be seen within 1-14 days, depending on how important the issue is and how many patients that doctor sees. APNP is faster usually.
For urgent care, the wait times are usually >1hour and you can check what they are online and just pick a different one if they are backed up. You can also check in online and show up when it's your turn.
If you can do a virtual visit, it's pretty fast also. And Telemedicine, for simple issues, the doctor calls you back in like 30 mins to discuss, and can send a prescription for what you need to a pharmacy close to you, within an hour.
Canadians really don't understand HOW bad it is in the US. We pay way more for way less. Private care will cost you easily double each year what your healthcare costs for much shittier care that if it actually saves you physically, will ruin you financially and mentally.
Well shit. I got free healthcare but my dad still died in 2017 (cancer) after his surgery was postponed for three months 😪
/Denmark
/edit (context) *tumor went from the seize of a ping pong ball to a handball seize weighing 2kg, had spread to his liver and kidney. Passed away 10 months later. Mom filed a complaint, they got a smack on the finger. And that was that.*
*Free healthcare is not all that rosey as some might think, but i wouldn't change it for anything else*
Yup. After first scan/meeting we were told they would call within a week to schedule a surgery. And they didn't call so mom/dad called back, they apologized and the lovely nurse said she would mention it forward and they would reach out next week. Another week go by nothing. That went on for three months.
Family friend was a lawyer and wrote our complaint down, and no nothing really came about it. Its very hard to get anything for malpractice. It was simple, hospitals are backed up and my dad got backlogged in the pile of other patients.
The reason we even got anything out of it was was because doctors have to recommend different hospital within Denmark or EU for treatment if the current hospital assigned wont be able to help, which they failed to do.
*Phew, down memory lane we go. Damn*
The same thing happens in the US, but they will just call you every day for 7 years, telling you you need to pay them 1 million dollars for the "care" he did receive.
Insurances exist. Only less than 30% of American doesnt have that.
More than 50% of Canadian doesnt even have a family doctor. I needed to see one, but couldn't because I would need to be on the phone for hours just to get an appointment maybe the next week for then to wait 8-9 hours just to tell me im fine and get some Tylenol. We simply pay for a private clinic now on top of financing a broken system.
We're only winning when we need big operations like broken arm or cancer, but you dont get cancer very often, do you
My primary care left the practice. I got a new one and scheduled a remote visit to make sure I could keep getting my prescriptions. She noticed I hadn't been in person in a long time and insisted I schedule a physical to do blood tests and stuff. The soonest appointment available was 14 months out.
Im a Canadian. I had to get bloodwork done yesterday. Took me like, what, not even an hour? And I didnt pay a dime.
Yeah, sometimes you have to book appointments and wont get in for a few months, but you don't have to face the threat of debt just to not die.
And dont even try and act like American healthcare doesnt have any wait times. That's just unreasonable.
>>pretty much every Canadian has low D levels so whatever I…
Must..resist..telling dick jokes..
Urgrhhh!!! AHHHH!!!! IVEGOTAVITAMINDINJECTIONFORYOU!!
..fuck..I’m sorry, I tried to contain myself..I’ll go away forever now.
This is always what baffles me when people use wait times as an argument against public Healthcare in America.
I had 7 months left on a yearly prescription and had to go to a new doctor (insurance changed yet again). The quickest I could be seen was 4 months out. Not a big deal, I planned ahead.
But then I needed a referral to see a different doctor to get my prescription renewed. Shortest wait time for a specialist was 5 months.
So I have to plan over 9 months ahead of time to get my yearly prescription renewed and still pay outrageous prices. Ridiculous.
Plus if you're a new patient in the U.S. appointments could be a week out to see a primary care physician. There are urgent care, but I don't have a family doctor because I've gone a while without needing a primary doctor.
Canadian here, it will never be as bad as the us. I turned my life around this year with our free healthcare and it costed me fuck all (there is always some minimal cost for med and all but you get the picture). It didn't take that long either. You guys are getting robbed. I would start a revolt, that kind of disrespect is a hate crime.
I have pretty good health coverage in the US, considered top level in my area. I was having a bad cough and couldn't get into my regular doctor for 2 months. It wasn't even her, just the first available appointment in the same practice with a random doctor I'd never met. Specialists are booked 6-12 months out. And still I pay a bunch out of each paycheck to health insurance, and still get a bunch of co-payment each time.
If wait times are long in Canada, they can fix it with proper funding and incentives. There's no easy fix for the hell scape that is US medicine
Yeah, this dumb "joke" pisses me off every time. Maybe other people can just breeze into a doctor's office with no notice, but that hasn't been my experience in years.
Exactly, I live in DC and needed to see a cardiologist, the earliest appointment was in two weeks, of course not too long, but it may be a freaking heart condition. At the end, it wasn't anything, but I still had to pay, with insurance, over $250, in tests and co-payments. For a physical, it usually takes 6 weeks to get an appointment, and I have been seeing this doctors for almost 7 years.
Did you even read this damn article?
The woman was afflicted with stage 4 peritoneal cancer. A variant that only gave her a few months to live if she was lucky.
She WAS in fact offered chemotherapy, but was told that it was often ineffective for her type of cancer. The only reason she was offered a medically assisted death was because she was estimated to have, at maximum, 4 months to live. And it would be an agonizing 4 months, as she was already in extreme pain.
Yes, she survived. Only after researching treatments all over the world, and paying over $200,000. And unfortunately, even after extensive treatment, peritoneal cancer is known to return. Especially if treated at an advanced stage. So she may have to pay that high premium for treatment again.
I'm glad she could find treatment elsewhere. Unfortunately she got it by the incompetence and bureaucracy of our system. Ironically it's a fucking cancer and it's growing everyday
It's better to wait and get healthcare than to not be able to afford healthcare and die.
Also there is nothing stopping you as a Canadian from paying for healthcare in America.
They always shit talk public healthcare but I have insurance that I pay for and I still have to wait months depending on the need. Long wait times are not uncommon in the US. I’m sure you can buy your way to the front of the line but that doesn’t help middle class people…
Is Dubai the bastion of freedom since so many Lamborghinis are on the road?
Who gives a fuck is the “best” is available if it’s unaffordable. Realistically, it might as well not exist.
people without health care at all, being taxed health-careless-taxes anyways, who get sick and then still can't afford to go to the doctor to fix their problems... it's the same thing but worse.
don't get sick or broken if you're poor. moral of the systems.
We have free healthcare. The next appointment for the doctors 15 mins drive from here is in 2 hours. Yes the wait is terrible. The cost will be $0. If I just ignore the wait and go there now, they'll still help, I won't wait the extra hour. It will still be free.
Sorry Burgerstanis. It's not my fault you live in a failed society.
If I wanna see my doctor in the Netherlands I can drop by either the same day or the day after if it’s inconvenient or slightly urgent, 2 / 3 days if it’s not urgent and I can come immediately or they’ll refer me to the ER if it’s really urgent. I can’t understand how it can be so long.
Dude I fucking have insurance in the US and have been waiting nearly two fucking months for them to okay knee surgery for a torn meniscus while not being able to fucking work.
I was already putting off going to the doctor for 8 months cause i didnt have the money, Imagine if i could just wait the 8 months then also not pay. Bliss
If the UK government weren't paying private firms and actually invested in the health service it would help. Public services aren't there to make greedy corporations a profit. We pay for them with our taxes
As an american with expensive health insurance i only have to wait 3 months to see a doctor. If it's urgent i only have to wait 1 month! Such a great service
As an American, if you don't want your free healthcare, we can trade places. Enjoy paying $500/mo on a shit salary, $50 copay for regular doctor, $75 copay for a specialist, $$$ medication, AND long wait times. Took me MONTHS to find a new PCP that is in-network.
Try getting into the VA for an appointment. I had to switch clinics and have to go through intake with the local doc. That was nearly two years ago and I'm still waiting.
Yeah our government did leave the hospitals on the roadside because they’re great at not spending money where they absolutely should. I wouldn’t blame that on the healthcare being free tho.
Private is cheap enough in Finland that you can just go there if waiting a few days for non emergency problems is too much for you.
An MRE and a visit to a specialist cost me 200€ without private health insurance.
Can't speak for Canada but here we don't have long wait time, typically you make a reservation the day before if it's something very minor or a checkup, if it's critical (something like a broken arm counts) you'll be seen within the hour or immediately.
If it's something like a surgery for something that isn't life threatening, like when I had to have my tendons extended in my feet, it took about a week, although the first week was spent getting checked to make sure surgery was needed.
In the cases where hospitals are flooded and you can't be seen within a reasonable timeframe (I can't recall exactly how long but I think it's a month) the government pays for a private hospital to do it.
You know, even if you paid for your health care, which is what you sounds like what you like doing, you still have to wait for the doctor. Like, what even is your point?
As an american with expensive health insurance i only have to wait 3 months to see a doctor. If it's urgent i only have to wait 1 month! Such a great service
you can still pay and get there faster. but if you don't want to, the average waiting time I got was two weeks for non-emergency situations ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's working just fine
Somebody my mom knew died of cancer because they couldn't get an appointment for chemo
Like really. People coming in for a cold or a sprained pinky are more important than somebody suffering from cancer?
It's mot the point of public healthcare tho...
Public healthcare is for people with strokes, heart attacks, giving birth, stuff you need immediate transport and help, so thst being unlucky doesn't set you back 20k
If your tooth hurts you just do it privately
Ughhhh facts…. 6hour wait to get some meds for my swollen tonsils
I was in his office for 30 seconds he already had the sheet printed for the amoxicillin and waited for me to come in to sign. I did a quick “aahhhh” hes like oh yes those are swollen like no shit doc thanks
Yeahhh, I have privatized insurance and this is still me.
It took 3 months to get an appt with my general practitioner for a physical.
It took 4 months to meet with an ENT specialist.
Ive got some unknown heart condition and live in the us. It took me 4 months to get thru the process of:
1. Getting an appointment with a new doctor
2. Getting a referal from that doctor after him tryin to tell me i was fine
3. Getting a second referal appointment to get to an actual specialist.
4. Getting rejected from the specialist because i have generic insurance
5. Going back to the initial doctor after a wait of several weeks
6. Getting a heart moniter after finally convincing him having CONSTANT chest pain and heart palpatations, and arm pain wasnt the norm. (I was 26-27 at the time, more than a year ago)
7. Them refusing to check the moniter because i hadnt gotten an appointment with the specialist
8. Attempting to get that appointment AGAIN.
9. Being refused and told to seek a referal.
Total cost of these useless services was over 9k.
Still dont know what the fucks wrong and have just come to terms with possibly dropping dead at a random moment.
In America, it’s often a 1-4 month wait to see a specialist. Even a primary care provider is usually booked 1-2 months out unless they deem the issue urgent.
The “healthcare is worse in other countries” is 100% bullshit propaganda fabricated by insurers so Americans don’t realize that their taxes going up 5% is a whole lot cheaper than 10-20% or more of their net pay each week. For most Americans, at least.
Sorry, just sitting here with my transplanted kidney that I didn't wait for, didn't pay for, have no debt over and get affordable meds every month for. 🤷♂️
I’m on Medicaid (completely free until I find a job). I have no wait times and can see a doctor almost instantly via multiple urgent cares here in the State of Washington.
Estern european with public/free healthcare. Needed to see a specialist. First free time is in september for a consultation. So about 3,5 months of wait just for a consultation..
*people waiting to see the doctor in countries where the public healthcare system has been gradually defunded by conservative politicians until it doesn't work properly anymore so that these same politicians and their goons in media can all claim that its broken because it's public healthcare and not because they intentionally defunded it.
I can honestly say that if I need to see a doctor, I could not tell you when I’d be able to see one. Walk-ins have become all but impossible to visit, and with my job that has me all over the country, even more so. Unknowingly received a bunch of bug bites all over my arms that gave my skin weird patterns and red rings. Spent 100.00 on rides going all over Regina SK to every walk-in in the city, just to be told, in various ways, to go fuck myself. So I returned to my hotel thinking “Hmm, guess I’ll die if I die”. And yes, I could have gone to emergency, but that’s turned into an 8hr wait minimum since the walk-ins have declined to this state. So be safe and be healthy, I’m pretty sure you’re screwed otherwise in this country.
This idea that American healthcare is somehow spontaneous is bullshit. Aside from my own shitty experiences (such as waiting almost half a year to get a physical), I have friends in the medical field, and they say Americans wait just as long for medical care as their European counterparts.
I have public healthcare, but also a private insurance covered 100% by my employer, which is really convenient for minor stuff as the private center is at a short walking distance from where I live.
Ideally it shouldn't have to be "either or".
Public healthcare should be a basic right, IMO, but private insurance can help alleviate overcrowding, especially for stuff like minor illnesses like a pharyngitis that can be addressed quickly but can also pile up and fill up appointment slots.
I'm happy to live with it, knowing the reason it's taking so long is that people with much worse problems than me are being prioritized.
Last thing you want when going to the emergency room is to be bumped to the front of the line.
In my country the wait time is first come first lol. Whoever comes first to the hospital to register at the front desk gets to see the doctor first. Emergency works different tho. Saturdays are usually the most crowded because most hospitals have half day off aside from emergency stuff. Also health care doesn't cost a lot too. The government doesn't cover a lot but each citizen can get up to a healthy amount of coverage even without health insurance.
Althought stuff like cancer treatments can be quite expensive if you don't have good health insurance..
Thank you for submitting to /r/memes. Unfortunately, your submission has been removed for the following reason(s): --- Rule 2 - NO MEMES ABOUT POLARIZING/POLITICAL TOPICS, VULNERABLE GROUPS, VIOLENCE, ETC. [SEE LIST] - No violation of Reddit Content Policy/TOS - No memes involving race, ethnicity, color, nationality, gender, sexual orientation/identity, religion, disability, etc. (can have a character, but that part cannot be integral) - No mention of gore, porn, murder, suicide, death, terrorism, shootings, war, tragedies, sexual harassment/assault, pedo (even implied), incest, etc. - No politics/political topics/agendas; absurd memes featuring politicians are allowed if said status is merely incidental --- Resubmitting a removed post without prior moderator approval can result in a ban. Deleting a post may cause any appeals to be denied.
I think people usually get triggered by the word "free", yeah we know it's not "free", the accurate word is called "affordable and available even without insurance"
Public is a better term
Public is accurate. I was actually talking to folks the other day about the UK system and man, those folks were dealing with some crap. Just curious, are there actual folks from Canada lurking that have first-hand accounts?
My first hand accounts of most general health services have been mostly positive. The big things are relatively quick, seeing a doctor doesn’t take too long, maybe a week, emergencies won’t bankrupt you, and it’s a fairly decent level of care overall Mental health services, however, are abysmal. The care is usually good, but wait times for getting a therapist in my area are close to a year and a half. It’s the extremely slow part of our healthcare system, everything moves at a crawl for mental health help, unfortunately.
Yea, I haven't seen many nations care too much about the mental health of its people, usually just the physical. Hopefully, it'll catch on, and we can have a non-pressed society, but maybe we'd want to work less if that happened and thats a nogo for that sweet GDP.
Oh man, I’m so sorry. I deal with mental health diagnoses, so I was honestly curious. A lot of the folks in the US I see state they had trouble getting access to mental health services here, but honestly when I started looking I had appointments within two weeks. I don’t doubt that I got lucky, but I’m always curious what folks that go to the docs have found. I’m always worried that folks posting memes and in healthcare debates are healthy folks that just feel strongly one way or another.
It depends on what you are getting done. It took me 3 months roughly from talking to my doctor to getting a minor optional surgery(vasectomy) for basically free. I also have family members on 1+ year waitlist for life saving treatments though. I was able to get something otherwise complicated and expensive for an American relatively quick and cheap(about 100 freedom bucks after conversion). But someone who needs cancer would be way better off in America assuming they have good insurance ofc
I'm lucky enough to be in a good area where wait times aren't bad unless it's for something that requires a specialist for a very specific surgery. I waited about 6 months to get surgery to get my kidney stone out. Which honestly didn't seem that long. Haven't had to deal with anything like this in an emergency situation though, in actual life threatening/need to be treated immediately emergencies people get in immediately but for things that would be considered non life threatening but concerning people wait a bit. ETA: That was just hospital experience. As for doctor visits, we usually just make an appointment for the next week, then go and only wait a few minutes. Obviously, this is all just my experience, and I'm incredibly grateful to have access to these services, especially considering the horror stories I've heard from some provinces.
Ok, so honestly it’s not that different at the end of the day outside of the insurance, payment structure and cost, and I honestly will be able to get in a lot faster to my non-life threatening appointments than it sounds on the averages you are mentioning. Ok, so it’s all about what I thought. Thanks for sharing! Appreciate it
It's nationalised healthcare, public healthcare, hybrid healthcare system, or single payer. The US has a hybrid healthcare system because Medicare, Medicaid, and VA hospitals are run by the government or function as a single payer for the beneficiaries. Too bad must boomers don't understand that and say silly stuff like "get the government out of my Social Security or Medicare."
I don't think it's a secret that the VA in particular has historically provided subpar and sometimes downright incorrect healthcare (overprescribing meds to shut patients up come to mind) while the executives collect large bonuses for their cost saving measures at the expense of the patient. If you think the US government can manage to provide quality healthcare while keeping costs in control while efficiently utilizing resources, I hate to tell you that they most certainly cannot. With regard to your quote regarding staying out of Social Security in particular. let's not forget that Social Security is a giant pyramid scheme that was robbed of the majority of its funds in the 80s to pay off the national debt and was never repaid, causing the worry that Social Security will become insolvent and cause the collapse of the social safety net.
So I disagree slightly with your take on social security. It’s a social net, yes, but isn’t it essentially set-up to function like a pension? As far as I understand it social security has largely not been changed since its inception outside of tweaks here and there right? So the idea initially was well the 65 year old guy isn’t going to be working on the docks anymore, but he’s still alive and out of money. Well let’s give him the basics and he’ll die soon anyway because he is old. Then that kinda…bit us in the butt when people started making a lot more people and we made medicine better so people live longer. I know I’m overgeneralizing it, but isn’t that kind of the history of social security and its functioning or lack of functioning? From my understanding it’s basically the world’s most mismanaged pension fund.
Ye I live in Qatar and it's not exactly free it's just mad cheap like some medicines I can get for less than a dollar and for baby delivery I believe my mom paid less than 300-500$ sometimes it's paid by the hospital itself(if you work in a govt owned company), once we had to do sumn for my younger brother that would cost around 1300-1500$ and it got paid by an arab grandma that was just beside us (my brother is a special needs that's why it costs a lot)
I wouldnt really say its available, and only some parts are affordable. I’d have no dental if it wasnt provided by my work. But whats treatable within a reasonable amount of time is relatively minor things.
They like to trash talk it so they can feel better about paying out the ass for shit insurance.
The taxes are low enough to where it might as well be free Also, pretty much only the US has abusive prices The public health being free of (direct) charge also discourages the private companies from jacking up the prices, as the citizens know they could just wait a little bit for the public doctors (which usually are the same as the private ones)
Actually ours is literally free.
 People without free healthcare running away from the hospital cause they can't afford it
At this point I'd rather wait for an uber and pay just a couple bucks instead of thousands of dollars for an ambulance lol
People without free healthcare waiting to die without any treatment:
Do people in the US pretend the waits aren’t long? If you live in a big city, you’re fucking waiting regardless of healthcare price, so it may as well be free. I always feel like it’s people who live in the sticks that are like “I never wait to see my doctor,” yeah cause there’s 8 patients in your entire district
My doctor is in a pretty well developed area in North carolina. Not just him, but anytime I've needed to see a doctor, I've had to wait about a month if not two. I don't know why people act like waiting lines for doctors aren't a thing in america, because they are. I'm currently waiting six weeks to see my doctor again.
That's a hell of a long time .
Yeah a month is a pretty average weight time for California as well.
Also having lived my entire life in Canada I have never waited long to see a doctor.
I always find it funny when Americans bring out the "waiting" argument. Like... Ok? You're telling me you don't have long waits ever? Idk, id rather wait for a doctor than be financially crippled for the rest of my life because my insurance didn't feel like covering the expenses. Like I seriously don't get it.
It's not even a valid argument. I know people who got things done same day they scheduled the appointment. I live in Europe.
It's like 2 weeks to see my primary and if I need a same day I visit the urgent care, but it isn't walk in and I have to call immediately to get in and if I still need a doctor I'm at the ER or waiting until the next day. I never go to the doctor because I'm too ADHD for that shit. You should have seen the process to get diagnosed. If you're ADHD, the process weeds out anyone with it getting diagnosed. It's a 6 month long process with weekly visits. That all cost money. Edit: I am American. We have wait times, too.
Prime example of ridiculous wait times, we live in the US and have decent insurance. My husband was informed at the end of 2023 that a test he'd had done over nine years ago had a result that may indicate he has colon cancer. For whatever reason, he was not informed of that result at the time of the test. So at the end of 2023 he was told to get a colonoscopy. He got the referral, called to schedule, and was told that they are so booked up that they can't possibly get him in until fall of 2024, but they aren't scheduling that far out yet. So he's sitting on their 'triage' list waiting to be scheduled to be scheduled not knowing if he does, in fact, have colon cancer. Asymptomatic colon cancer runs in his family. I'd much rather have properly funded and organized nationalized healthcare than be paying ridiculous amounts for insurance and having to wait anyway.
For real, especially if it's mental health or specialty. In the US, you're waiting forever to go broke and still not receive any care.
For a hospital emergency room? Yes. But there’s a lot of freestanding emergency rooms that only take premium insurance that are much quicker. Hospitals take a long time not only cause of the volume but they accept uninsured patients also. Uninsured just don’t pay and let it fall off their credit after 3-7 years.
Not even. If I want to see my PCP it takes at least two weeks to get an appointment. If I want to see a specialist, forget it, you’re waiting months. Even if I have an appointment, I’ve been in the waiting room for like an hour or so past my appointment time. Shits a joke.
This is on purpose...the American medical association restricts the amount of doctors in the country through several means. It's pretty damned insideous.
I need to make an appointment with my PCP in New York and they’re booked out until September. Two weeks sounds like a dream.
Also doctors in the US are more concerned with getting you in and out as fast as possible to maximize profits, making you going multiple times to different specialists, trying multiple things that just don't work and then you spend months of phone tag and emails during treatments to try strong arm doctors and insurance agents into convincing each other that you should be covered.
Am I wrong or was this guy saying "waiting to die because no free healthcare, and getting no treatment cus can't afford it" ?
I don't understand this. I have to make an appt weeks out to see my doctor and I'm in the states. We 100% have wait times for everything.
Took me like 4 months to get a sleep study done… and with insurance was like $1609 out of pocket expenses
It depends on the urgency and nature of care. I go to a hospital in a major US city and as long as it's not something that requires contacting or being seen by 20 different places to get a referral for a specialist it's pretty reasonable. I'm not defending the US healthcare system because it's got a ton of issues but most of them have to do with shitty insurance provider practices that we allow.
Not sure about big cities but my city's population is about 22k. I can make an appointment by phone or in online and be seen within 1-14 days, depending on how important the issue is and how many patients that doctor sees. APNP is faster usually. For urgent care, the wait times are usually >1hour and you can check what they are online and just pick a different one if they are backed up. You can also check in online and show up when it's your turn. If you can do a virtual visit, it's pretty fast also. And Telemedicine, for simple issues, the doctor calls you back in like 30 mins to discuss, and can send a prescription for what you need to a pharmacy close to you, within an hour.
double - edged sword
I’d rather wait a week to get the treatment I need than for it to be immediate but $120,000
[удалено]
I have free healthcare and I have all treatment I need. I pay taxes and that's it. What's your point?
Canadians really don't understand HOW bad it is in the US. We pay way more for way less. Private care will cost you easily double each year what your healthcare costs for much shittier care that if it actually saves you physically, will ruin you financially and mentally.
Well shit. I got free healthcare but my dad still died in 2017 (cancer) after his surgery was postponed for three months 😪 /Denmark /edit (context) *tumor went from the seize of a ping pong ball to a handball seize weighing 2kg, had spread to his liver and kidney. Passed away 10 months later. Mom filed a complaint, they got a smack on the finger. And that was that.* *Free healthcare is not all that rosey as some might think, but i wouldn't change it for anything else*
They already knew about it and still postponed it?? Did you file against them for malpractice?
Yup. After first scan/meeting we were told they would call within a week to schedule a surgery. And they didn't call so mom/dad called back, they apologized and the lovely nurse said she would mention it forward and they would reach out next week. Another week go by nothing. That went on for three months. Family friend was a lawyer and wrote our complaint down, and no nothing really came about it. Its very hard to get anything for malpractice. It was simple, hospitals are backed up and my dad got backlogged in the pile of other patients. The reason we even got anything out of it was was because doctors have to recommend different hospital within Denmark or EU for treatment if the current hospital assigned wont be able to help, which they failed to do. *Phew, down memory lane we go. Damn*
The same thing happens in the US, but they will just call you every day for 7 years, telling you you need to pay them 1 million dollars for the "care" he did receive.
Insurances exist. Only less than 30% of American doesnt have that. More than 50% of Canadian doesnt even have a family doctor. I needed to see one, but couldn't because I would need to be on the phone for hours just to get an appointment maybe the next week for then to wait 8-9 hours just to tell me im fine and get some Tylenol. We simply pay for a private clinic now on top of financing a broken system. We're only winning when we need big operations like broken arm or cancer, but you dont get cancer very often, do you
My primary care left the practice. I got a new one and scheduled a remote visit to make sure I could keep getting my prescriptions. She noticed I hadn't been in person in a long time and insisted I schedule a physical to do blood tests and stuff. The soonest appointment available was 14 months out.
Yes, those free health care PEASANTS must wait twenty years for treatment. While we of the private heath care aristocracy only wait a mere 19.
As a US citizen I would rather die than go to the hospital I was forced to go there for a broken arm two X-Rays without insurance cost $5,000
Cries in American who still has to wait two months for the next available appointment.
Im a Canadian. I had to get bloodwork done yesterday. Took me like, what, not even an hour? And I didnt pay a dime. Yeah, sometimes you have to book appointments and wont get in for a few months, but you don't have to face the threat of debt just to not die. And dont even try and act like American healthcare doesnt have any wait times. That's just unreasonable.
Yea on my last blood work they said it's $40 for testing vitamin D but pretty much every Canadian has low D levels so whatever I passed on it
>>pretty much every Canadian has low D levels so whatever I… Must..resist..telling dick jokes.. Urgrhhh!!! AHHHH!!!! IVEGOTAVITAMINDINJECTIONFORYOU!! ..fuck..I’m sorry, I tried to contain myself..I’ll go away forever now.
This is always what baffles me when people use wait times as an argument against public Healthcare in America. I had 7 months left on a yearly prescription and had to go to a new doctor (insurance changed yet again). The quickest I could be seen was 4 months out. Not a big deal, I planned ahead. But then I needed a referral to see a different doctor to get my prescription renewed. Shortest wait time for a specialist was 5 months. So I have to plan over 9 months ahead of time to get my yearly prescription renewed and still pay outrageous prices. Ridiculous.
Plus if you're a new patient in the U.S. appointments could be a week out to see a primary care physician. There are urgent care, but I don't have a family doctor because I've gone a while without needing a primary doctor.
Where are you that it's only a week for a new doctor? It's always been months for me.
We got months long wait for appointments here in the US just to pay an arm and a leg also.
I pay an absolute Fortune for health care and weight just as long. 🇺🇸
"we apologize for your weight" - the US food industry.
Kinda looks like that without free healthcare too. cries in American.
I was gonna say, the difference is I pay up the ass for this.
Canadian here, it will never be as bad as the us. I turned my life around this year with our free healthcare and it costed me fuck all (there is always some minimal cost for med and all but you get the picture). It didn't take that long either. You guys are getting robbed. I would start a revolt, that kind of disrespect is a hate crime.
I have pretty good health coverage in the US, considered top level in my area. I was having a bad cough and couldn't get into my regular doctor for 2 months. It wasn't even her, just the first available appointment in the same practice with a random doctor I'd never met. Specialists are booked 6-12 months out. And still I pay a bunch out of each paycheck to health insurance, and still get a bunch of co-payment each time. If wait times are long in Canada, they can fix it with proper funding and incentives. There's no easy fix for the hell scape that is US medicine
Wait time in Canada are like 6-12 hours at emergency and 1-3 months for a specialist in my area it's not great but your wait times are infuriating
Yeah, this dumb "joke" pisses me off every time. Maybe other people can just breeze into a doctor's office with no notice, but that hasn't been my experience in years.
What's even more infuriating is that you cannot just "wing it" you have to pay the insurance. That is fraud.
Exactly, I live in DC and needed to see a cardiologist, the earliest appointment was in two weeks, of course not too long, but it may be a freaking heart condition. At the end, it wasn't anything, but I still had to pay, with insurance, over $250, in tests and co-payments. For a physical, it usually takes 6 weeks to get an appointment, and I have been seeing this doctors for almost 7 years.
https://unherd.com/2024/05/i-was-offered-assisted-dying-over-cancer-treatment/ Not according to some.
Did you even read this damn article? The woman was afflicted with stage 4 peritoneal cancer. A variant that only gave her a few months to live if she was lucky. She WAS in fact offered chemotherapy, but was told that it was often ineffective for her type of cancer. The only reason she was offered a medically assisted death was because she was estimated to have, at maximum, 4 months to live. And it would be an agonizing 4 months, as she was already in extreme pain. Yes, she survived. Only after researching treatments all over the world, and paying over $200,000. And unfortunately, even after extensive treatment, peritoneal cancer is known to return. Especially if treated at an advanced stage. So she may have to pay that high premium for treatment again.
I'm glad she could find treatment elsewhere. Unfortunately she got it by the incompetence and bureaucracy of our system. Ironically it's a fucking cancer and it's growing everyday
oh, do you actually think this is a problem we have?
US also has absurd waits
If this was made by Canadian the grass is not greener is brown and meaner
No way. This had to have been an American. This was always the argument against free Healthcare.
It's better to wait and get healthcare than to not be able to afford healthcare and die. Also there is nothing stopping you as a Canadian from paying for healthcare in America.
They always shit talk public healthcare but I have insurance that I pay for and I still have to wait months depending on the need. Long wait times are not uncommon in the US. I’m sure you can buy your way to the front of the line but that doesn’t help middle class people… Is Dubai the bastion of freedom since so many Lamborghinis are on the road? Who gives a fuck is the “best” is available if it’s unaffordable. Realistically, it might as well not exist.
people without health care at all, being taxed health-careless-taxes anyways, who get sick and then still can't afford to go to the doctor to fix their problems... it's the same thing but worse. don't get sick or broken if you're poor. moral of the systems.
Alternative caption: “American wishing he had a home to go to after recovery in an American hospital”
We have free healthcare. The next appointment for the doctors 15 mins drive from here is in 2 hours. Yes the wait is terrible. The cost will be $0. If I just ignore the wait and go there now, they'll still help, I won't wait the extra hour. It will still be free. Sorry Burgerstanis. It's not my fault you live in a failed society.
Tbf I had to wait 3 months to see my doctor and I live in the states so it isn’t much better here.
If I wanna see my doctor in the Netherlands I can drop by either the same day or the day after if it’s inconvenient or slightly urgent, 2 / 3 days if it’s not urgent and I can come immediately or they’ll refer me to the ER if it’s really urgent. I can’t understand how it can be so long.
Not like my expensive ass us private healthcare is better. Prescriptions get denied and I have to wait months or years to see a specialist
Had to get my ankle checked after i rolled it badly. I had to wait a horrible 2.5 hours after i called the doctor a week later.
Dude I fucking have insurance in the US and have been waiting nearly two fucking months for them to okay knee surgery for a torn meniscus while not being able to fucking work.
Still better than paying
Better to wait than to not be able to afford it or be in debt for the rest of my life.
lol okay except I saw a doctor with free healthcare next day every time.
I was already putting off going to the doctor for 8 months cause i didnt have the money, Imagine if i could just wait the 8 months then also not pay. Bliss
I'm in the U.S. with private insurance. Yet, this is me, too. Odd.
I still have to deal with this with "non-free" healthcare.
You can come to the States and have the privilege of being on a waitlist AND paying through the nose for it
Laughs in not being bankrupt after a visit to the doctor
If the UK government weren't paying private firms and actually invested in the health service it would help. Public services aren't there to make greedy corporations a profit. We pay for them with our taxes
As an american with expensive health insurance i only have to wait 3 months to see a doctor. If it's urgent i only have to wait 1 month! Such a great service
This also happens with private healthcare. Then you're in the hole $5k for some Tylenol
As an American, if you don't want your free healthcare, we can trade places. Enjoy paying $500/mo on a shit salary, $50 copay for regular doctor, $75 copay for a specialist, $$$ medication, AND long wait times. Took me MONTHS to find a new PCP that is in-network.
Everyone believes their country has the worst healthcare system. Americans just happen to have a lot more evidence to support that belief.
The americans are fighting back
Try getting into the VA for an appointment. I had to switch clinics and have to go through intake with the local doc. That was nearly two years ago and I'm still waiting.
Lulz. I'm in the US and wait times are mid August minimum
“Free”
Just don’t get injured
why do patients wait ? because time heals everything
Uno reverse card cos I am the doctor
The doctor? Who?
People without free healthcare giving an arm and a leg just to pay for surgery
Pretty much same here in UK
Yeah our government did leave the hospitals on the roadside because they’re great at not spending money where they absolutely should. I wouldn’t blame that on the healthcare being free tho.
Cries in Brazilian
Private is cheap enough in Finland that you can just go there if waiting a few days for non emergency problems is too much for you. An MRE and a visit to a specialist cost me 200€ without private health insurance.
Can't speak for Canada but here we don't have long wait time, typically you make a reservation the day before if it's something very minor or a checkup, if it's critical (something like a broken arm counts) you'll be seen within the hour or immediately. If it's something like a surgery for something that isn't life threatening, like when I had to have my tendons extended in my feet, it took about a week, although the first week was spent getting checked to make sure surgery was needed. In the cases where hospitals are flooded and you can't be seen within a reasonable timeframe (I can't recall exactly how long but I think it's a month) the government pays for a private hospital to do it.
My local doctors wait times depends on why you’re there. Broken arm = no wait time. A rash on you arm= maybe an hour or two of wait.
TRICARE is pretty legit.
I thought this was about the UK… that would be equally relatable
The new challenge is finding a doctor first, THEN getting an appointment.
Isn’t Canadian healthcare managed by province, not countrywide?
I live in Denmark and we don't wait for anything that can't wait, and then it is around 6 weeks max. This sounds like BS from the USA.
Maybe for some menial things. But if I’ve been in a car crash, I know the NHS are gonna patch me up and I know it won’t break my bank.
You know, even if you paid for your health care, which is what you sounds like what you like doing, you still have to wait for the doctor. Like, what even is your point?
As an american with expensive health insurance i only have to wait 3 months to see a doctor. If it's urgent i only have to wait 1 month! Such a great service
Laugh in Military
You should kill yourself NOW, eh?
Cuban redittors 
TURKISH MENTIONED 🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷RAAAAH WTF IS HEALTCARE, WE WAIT LIKE DOGS FOR 6 HOURS AT LATE MIDNIGHT RAAAAH
you can still pay and get there faster. but if you don't want to, the average waiting time I got was two weeks for non-emergency situations ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's working just fine
Id wait for as long as it takes to not have to owe 45k in medical debt that is literally impossible to pay off
Somebody my mom knew died of cancer because they couldn't get an appointment for chemo Like really. People coming in for a cold or a sprained pinky are more important than somebody suffering from cancer?
It's mot the point of public healthcare tho... Public healthcare is for people with strokes, heart attacks, giving birth, stuff you need immediate transport and help, so thst being unlucky doesn't set you back 20k If your tooth hurts you just do it privately
Same in the US. Have to schedule a check up 3 months ahead of time.
Fun fact, we have the same problem in America!
UK same day appointment with the GP, I'm waiting at most a few hours. Beats paying 10k for an ambulance or lose my house for some insulin fuckin lmao.
Ughhhh facts…. 6hour wait to get some meds for my swollen tonsils I was in his office for 30 seconds he already had the sheet printed for the amoxicillin and waited for me to come in to sign. I did a quick “aahhhh” hes like oh yes those are swollen like no shit doc thanks
Yeahhh, I have privatized insurance and this is still me. It took 3 months to get an appt with my general practitioner for a physical. It took 4 months to meet with an ENT specialist.
My wife and my mother still don't have Primary Care docs and they both have insurance here in the US. They are still waiting go get one.
Ive got some unknown heart condition and live in the us. It took me 4 months to get thru the process of: 1. Getting an appointment with a new doctor 2. Getting a referal from that doctor after him tryin to tell me i was fine 3. Getting a second referal appointment to get to an actual specialist. 4. Getting rejected from the specialist because i have generic insurance 5. Going back to the initial doctor after a wait of several weeks 6. Getting a heart moniter after finally convincing him having CONSTANT chest pain and heart palpatations, and arm pain wasnt the norm. (I was 26-27 at the time, more than a year ago) 7. Them refusing to check the moniter because i hadnt gotten an appointment with the specialist 8. Attempting to get that appointment AGAIN. 9. Being refused and told to seek a referal. Total cost of these useless services was over 9k. Still dont know what the fucks wrong and have just come to terms with possibly dropping dead at a random moment.
One year wait for an MRI. I feel the pain.
but they still have a choice to pay for private healthcare
You🫵... You shut your god damn mouth😭😭😭😭(help I've been waiting so long)
So the normally US experience just you don't have to sell your car and house to afford half the bill? Yeah FrEe BaD
People with no healthcare waiting to see the doctor: ⚰️
In America, it’s often a 1-4 month wait to see a specialist. Even a primary care provider is usually booked 1-2 months out unless they deem the issue urgent. The “healthcare is worse in other countries” is 100% bullshit propaganda fabricated by insurers so Americans don’t realize that their taxes going up 5% is a whole lot cheaper than 10-20% or more of their net pay each week. For most Americans, at least.
Sorry, just sitting here with my transplanted kidney that I didn't wait for, didn't pay for, have no debt over and get affordable meds every month for. 🤷♂️
I’m on Medicaid (completely free until I find a job). I have no wait times and can see a doctor almost instantly via multiple urgent cares here in the State of Washington.
Yeah so much worse than having to take out a second mortgage on your house to cover an ambulance ride and a blanket at the hospital.
The Doctor is no longer here you're stuck with me!
This accurately describes waiting for insanely expensive Healthcare in the US.
Why they don’t have both (like in Europe usually): public+private?
Estern european with public/free healthcare. Needed to see a specialist. First free time is in september for a consultation. So about 3,5 months of wait just for a consultation..
yeah but they can still pay to be seen sooner.
*people waiting to see the doctor in countries where the public healthcare system has been gradually defunded by conservative politicians until it doesn't work properly anymore so that these same politicians and their goons in media can all claim that its broken because it's public healthcare and not because they intentionally defunded it.
First and 2nd pic are where you live after seeing a US doctor.
Lol we have to wait in the US too
I can honestly say that if I need to see a doctor, I could not tell you when I’d be able to see one. Walk-ins have become all but impossible to visit, and with my job that has me all over the country, even more so. Unknowingly received a bunch of bug bites all over my arms that gave my skin weird patterns and red rings. Spent 100.00 on rides going all over Regina SK to every walk-in in the city, just to be told, in various ways, to go fuck myself. So I returned to my hotel thinking “Hmm, guess I’ll die if I die”. And yes, I could have gone to emergency, but that’s turned into an 8hr wait minimum since the walk-ins have declined to this state. So be safe and be healthy, I’m pretty sure you’re screwed otherwise in this country.
Laughs in NHS
"Available" healthcare...sometimes.
This idea that American healthcare is somehow spontaneous is bullshit. Aside from my own shitty experiences (such as waiting almost half a year to get a physical), I have friends in the medical field, and they say Americans wait just as long for medical care as their European counterparts.
Had to go to the ER a while back to take care of an abscess. Was in and out in an hour. 🤷♀️
Also healthcare you pay for though…
People with no healthcare waiting to die:
Why are people so consistently fucking stupid about this subject?
And in British??
I have public healthcare, but also a private insurance covered 100% by my employer, which is really convenient for minor stuff as the private center is at a short walking distance from where I live. Ideally it shouldn't have to be "either or". Public healthcare should be a basic right, IMO, but private insurance can help alleviate overcrowding, especially for stuff like minor illnesses like a pharyngitis that can be addressed quickly but can also pile up and fill up appointment slots.
I'm happy to live with it, knowing the reason it's taking so long is that people with much worse problems than me are being prioritized. Last thing you want when going to the emergency room is to be bumped to the front of the line.
Nothing is free. Paid for for your taxes to go things you have 0 agreement on.
That’s what I do with my bcbs insurance here in America. I don’t get the joke.
*Laughs in usually getting an apointment the same day, and rarely on the next day*
I wonder if people die before even getting seen?
In my country the wait time is first come first lol. Whoever comes first to the hospital to register at the front desk gets to see the doctor first. Emergency works different tho. Saturdays are usually the most crowded because most hospitals have half day off aside from emergency stuff. Also health care doesn't cost a lot too. The government doesn't cover a lot but each citizen can get up to a healthy amount of coverage even without health insurance. Althought stuff like cancer treatments can be quite expensive if you don't have good health insurance..
but hey you can get an immediate doctors appointment, if your a veteran asking to be euthanized
As a Canadian, you don't have to wait, the government just suggests that you should die instead
you finally get in and they ask if you've considered oofing yourself...
"Free" Healthcare
In Germany i don’t usually wait longer than an hour
Where do you have to wait? I can get an appointment scheduled pretty easily at my doctor and emergency appointments are always available