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Comment by venomsnake | Hacker News Reader

In US you have socialized the costs. Not the healthcare system. I think the only social type of medicine in US is the VA (they have the purse, their own hospitals and staff IIRC) and last time I read their costs of delivered product were much lower that the US average.

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The VA is not a good example of a working system though, it has been heavily in the news for denying timely treatment, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Health_Administration_...

Pre-Iraq/Afghanistan the VA was considered quite effective and people were very satisfied with their treatment there. A massive influx of injured/disabled soldiers from those wars (where death has largely been replaced by wounds thanks to good body armor) without a parallel ability to scale treatment up probably hurt them more than poor administration.

Bad press about a few VA clinics does not mean that the entire system is garbage. In fact, as recently as last year, veterans rated their satisfaction with VA care higher than the general public rates private care[1]. Also according the the Inspector General, while no one denies that delays in care happen at the VA (it should be noted that delays happen in the private sector as well), that the deaths at those hospitals can not be directly linked to the delay in care[2].

Finally, my anecdotal evidence: I am highly satisfied with the care that I receive at the VA. I have 20% disability due to a significant loss of peripheral vision in my right eye. I am scheduled yearly for an annual physical including urine and blood work, a field scan with my eyes to test regressions, and two general appointments with an optometrist. I also have free access to nutritionists and weight support groups since weight management can be an issue for veterans. Is it perfect, no, but I have never felt that I didn't get the care that I needed in a reasonable amount of time.

[1] http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2537

[2] http://online.wsj.com/articles/no-deaths-caused-by-delays-at...

edit: formatting

lets be honest, the VA is not a shining example of health care. Much lower costs are not worth it considering the stories coming out of the VA.

Socialized some of the costs.

Some systems in the US, especially Kaiser, are basically a socialized system supported by premiums, and seem to work pretty well.

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