this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2026
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[–] Tiresia@slrpnk.net 1 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Socialized medicine also vets the doctors they have on payroll. Extra bonus: their vetting process doesn't involve a willingness to fuck patients over for extra cash.

Also, regardless of who pays, always check the doctor's credentials and more importantly their online reviews - there are a lot of crappy doctors that are acting perfectly legally.

[–] smh@slrpnk.net 1 points 5 hours ago

That makes sense. I wasn't thinking American-style health insurance vs socialized medicine, I was thinking American-style health insurance vs self pay.

[–] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 hours ago

Extra bonus: their vetting process doesn't involve a willingness to fuck patients over for extra cash.

Funny when here in Belgium, the government put a couple decades ago a cap on the number of doctors who were allowed to graduate medical school (numerus clausus). The goal is to reduce the number of doctors to pay for (with the support of existing doctors who want less competition).

The predictable result of artificial scarcity? I live a major city and if I want an appointment with any specialist it's a 6+ months delay or a 1-2 months if you can justify a daytrip to Brussels. This is having real tangible impacts on quality of care.

Obviously I would not trade my healthcare system for the American one but let's not pretend that money and greed aren't factors.