By far the vast majority of American conservatives almost religiously oppose universal healthcare, as if it were the most horrible thing that could ever happen. I don't really understand why. There seem to be as many explanations as there are conservatives.
However, there is one common thing, a misconception, that I have noticed with many of them: They seem to think that universal tax-paid healthcare is somehow mutually exclusive with private medical practice. They seem to think that if the country adopts universal healthcare, private doctors would go out of job and would not be available, and the quality of medicine would go down the drain.
I really can't understand where this notion is coming from. I'm not aware of any country where there is universal healthcare and private medical practice is banned. (Perhaps there might be some such country, especially among the semi-communist ones, but I'm not aware of a single one, especially among the traditional European-style welfare countries.)
Here in Finland private doctors are very abundant. If I wanted to go to such a doctor, there are like 4 or 5 options in this city alone. And I'm not talking about 4 or 5 doctors. I'm talking about 4 or 5 private medical centers (with at least a dozen doctors in each one). I could book a time with a private doctor and get a consultation today, if I wanted.
Of course it wouldn't be cheap. Most typically it costs about 80€ for a 20-minute consultation (every time). If there is any medical procedure that needs to be done, like a surgical operation, it will cost anywhere between 1000 and over 10000€, depending on the procedure (with the only exception that I have found being some dental procedures, which may cost in the ballpark of 100€ per tooth, or something like that, depending on what kind of procedure we are talking about exactly.)
Universal healthcare is in no way mutually exclusive with private practice. If you want high quality private medical practice, and you want it fast, you can get it. But it will cost you.
However, there is one common thing, a misconception, that I have noticed with many of them: They seem to think that universal tax-paid healthcare is somehow mutually exclusive with private medical practice. They seem to think that if the country adopts universal healthcare, private doctors would go out of job and would not be available, and the quality of medicine would go down the drain.
I really can't understand where this notion is coming from. I'm not aware of any country where there is universal healthcare and private medical practice is banned. (Perhaps there might be some such country, especially among the semi-communist ones, but I'm not aware of a single one, especially among the traditional European-style welfare countries.)
Here in Finland private doctors are very abundant. If I wanted to go to such a doctor, there are like 4 or 5 options in this city alone. And I'm not talking about 4 or 5 doctors. I'm talking about 4 or 5 private medical centers (with at least a dozen doctors in each one). I could book a time with a private doctor and get a consultation today, if I wanted.
Of course it wouldn't be cheap. Most typically it costs about 80€ for a 20-minute consultation (every time). If there is any medical procedure that needs to be done, like a surgical operation, it will cost anywhere between 1000 and over 10000€, depending on the procedure (with the only exception that I have found being some dental procedures, which may cost in the ballpark of 100€ per tooth, or something like that, depending on what kind of procedure we are talking about exactly.)
Universal healthcare is in no way mutually exclusive with private practice. If you want high quality private medical practice, and you want it fast, you can get it. But it will cost you.
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