this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
456 points (96.9% liked)

Comic Strips

24150 readers
2136 users here now

Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.

Rules
  1. πŸ˜‡ Be Nice!

    • Treat others with respect and dignity. Friendly banter is okay, as long as it is mutual; keyword: friendly.
  2. 🏘️ Community Standards

    • Comics should be a full story, from start to finish, in one post.
    • Posts should be safe and enjoyable by the majority of community members, both here on lemmy.world and other instances.
    • Any comic that would qualify as raunchy, lewd, or otherwise draw unwanted attention by nosy coworkers, spouses, or family members should be tagged as NSFW.
    • Moderators have final say on what and what does not qualify as appropriate. Use common sense, and if need be, err on the side of caution.
  3. 🧬 Keep it Real

    • Comics should be made and posted by real human beans, not by automated means like bots or AI. This is not the community for that sort of thing.
  4. πŸ“½οΈ Credit Where Credit is Due

    • Comics should include the original attribution to the artist(s) involved, and be unmodified. Bonus points if you include a link back to their website. When in doubt, use a reverse image search to try to find the original version. Repeat offenders will have their posts removed, be temporarily banned from posting, or if all else fails, be permanently banned from posting.
    • Attributions include, but are not limited to, watermarks, links, or other text or imagery that artists add to their comics to use for identification purposes. If you find a comic without any such markings, it would be a good idea to see if you can find an original version. If one cannot be found, say so and ask the community for help!
  5. πŸ“‹ Post Formatting

    • Post an image, gallery, or link to a specific comic hosted on another site; e.g., the author's website.
    • Meta posts about the community should be tagged with [Meta] either at the beginning or the end of the post title.
    • When linking to a comic hosted on another site, ensure the link is to the comic itself and not just to the website; e.g.,
      βœ… Correct: https://xkcd.com/386/
      ❌ Incorrect: https://xkcd.com/
  6. πŸ“¬ Post Frequency/SPAM

    • Each user (regardless of instance) may post up to five (5 πŸ–) comics a day. This can be any combination of personal comics you have written yourself, or other author's comics. Any comics exceeding five (5 πŸ–) will be removed.
  7. πŸ΄β€β˜ οΈ Internationalization (i18n)

    • Non-English posts are welcome. Please tag the post title with the original language, and include an English translation in the body of the post; e.g.,
      SΓ­, por favor [Spanish/EspaΓ±ol]
  8. 🍿 Moderation

    • We are human, just like most everybody else on Lemmy. If you feel a moderation decision was made in error, you are welcome to reach out to anybody on the moderation team for clarification. Keep in mind that moderation decisions may be final.
    • When reporting posts and/or comments, quote which rule is being broken, and why you feel it broke the rules.
Banned Artists

The following artists are banned from the community.

  1. Jago
  2. Stonetoss

It should be noted that when you make reports, it is your responsibility to provide rational reasoning why something should be removed. Saying it simply breaks community rules is not always good enough.

Web Accessibility

Note: This is not a rule, but a helpful suggestion.

When posting images, you should strive to add alt-text for screen readers to use to describe the image you're posting:

Another helpful thing to do is to provide a transcription of the text in your images, as well as brief descriptions of what's going on. (example)

Web of Links

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

"Norwegian hospitals are free though. I was just surprised the first time I learned Norwegians pay at all to visit the doctor because I assumed we had the same system."

Sauce: https://satwcomic.com/everything-is-relative

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 68 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 40 points 1 month ago (3 children)

seems a bit steep, but I assume it's to keep it affordable but not used willy nilly

[–] Dojan@pawb.social 50 points 1 month ago (4 children)

We have a system like that in Sweden too. The patient fee differs from region to region and it’s generally quite small. You’re still required to pay it if you book a visit and don’t show up.

I think it is essentially to deter unnecessary visits.

Youth do not pay at all. There’s also a high cost protection so if you end up paying a certain sum, then you’re given a free card and any subsequent costs for that year are nulled. That includes most anything, including medication, but not dental care.

Currently that sum is 1450 crowns, about $150USD.

There is some push to have dental care fall under the same rules.

[–] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 32 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Just to complete the comic. I'm in the US. I spend about $90 on a regular yearly checkup. Spent $218 to get seen to get something prescribed for a three week cough I had that was getting worse (plus another $68 or so for the meds themselves).

Several of my friends are jealous of my health insurance because I've got the good one that covers more. Please shoot me.

[–] vrek@programming.dev 25 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I called 911 and went to hospital, unable to stand and uncontrollable vomiting black sludge with white specs in it, imagine over-used engine oil with seaseme seeds mixed in. Turns out my liver was leaking into my gi track. 43k bill from hospital, 1200 from ambulance to drive 1 mile, combined 3k from various doctors, 8k for all the tests they ran. Yes all separate bills. I was there for 3 days. That's about a total of 55k in bills for 3 days...

Even if the 25 dollar an hour minimum wage bill passed, and I worked full time for minimum wage with no other expenses(no food, no rent, no gas, no nothing) I still couldn't pay it in a year(yearly pay at 25 an hour is 52k a year).

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] thessnake03@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And how much a month is your health insurance?

[–] variablenine@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 14 points 1 month ago

I want to say $300? I haven't looked in forever since it gets auto deducted from my check. Not like I can reduce it much. That does also include my wife too at least.

[–] Dojan@pawb.social 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

We don’t do regular yearly checkups in Sweden.

At a certain point when you reach a particular age or if you are at risk for something, that may change, but the average person doesn’t do yearly checkups.

[–] Bilaketari@reddthat.com 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You should though. Most ages would benefit even if only from a quick opportunity to ask about anything that might have come up plus the chance for some bloodwork to verify nothing obvious is abnormal. Prevention is way better than getting to a problem when it's already serious, and preventative checks can spot a lot of things (liver issues, some cancers, metabolic problems, etc.).

[–] Dojan@pawb.social 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

As far as I understand, yearly general health checkups aren't that effective at catching things. That at least seems to be the basis for why we don't have them. One meta-analysis I found referenced was this one published in the BMJ.

That isn't to say that people don't get regular checkups here. Depending on your medical history, your age, and your potential for particular problems, there will be regular specific health checks. If a particular group of people are more likely to be affected with a particular condition, then said group will be called for checks.

You can absolutely do regular yearly health checkups, but that's generally done by private clinics, and you pay for that yourself.

--

I have very mixed feelings about our healthcare system. On one hand it works well for the most part, but there are obviously some horror stories making the rounds. There are also some really questionable practices, for example you can get a referral to a chiropractor. Everyone knows that's bunk science. At best chiropractors are con artists and at worst they're butchers.

[–] Bilaketari@reddthat.com 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah, we really need to remove chiropractors and osteopathic practitioners from public systems.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] VibeSurgeon@piefed.social 2 points 1 month ago

Preventative checks are used in Sweden where there's evidence for their efficacy - for example, mammograms for all women over 40, screening for colorectal cancer for everyone over 60, etc.

It's just that evidence for efficacy is the bar that each screening has to clear, and general yearly health checkups did not clear that bar.

Can we shoot those in charge of the absurd prices instead? All you did was luck out, but you’re still one of us.

[–] Drigo@sopuli.xyz 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)

As a Dane, I beg to differ. I think its essential that it's free to visit the doctor, to not deter necessary visits.

[–] Dojan@pawb.social 10 points 1 month ago

I concur. I grew up in poverty and even though the sum isn’t particularly large for me today, thinking of the economic situation I grew up in every little bit counts.

Sure kids don’t pay, but having a sick parent in poverty is not great.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] LwL@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

We tried something like that in germany for a while, then it was deemed ineffective and got reverted. Any flat fee also has the usual issue of disproportionately affecting poor people - 150€ a year (ik you used usd but close enough) isn't a lot for me, but for some people it can be more than they can afford.

[–] Zoot@reddthat.com 3 points 1 month ago

I hate it here so much

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 month ago

Japan could use that. Ambulances are free and so they sometimes get overused because old people call them at the drop of a hat. But I got a tooth filled for οΏ₯1700 (less than 20 USD) so they're doing something right.

[–] ji59@hilariouschaos.com 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We have free doctor visits and everyone I know still doesn't want to go there, unless the pain is getting really bad. I would say everyone hates doctor visits.

[–] Bilaketari@reddthat.com 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

No, I definitely know of some people that go often only to be told that it's just a cold or similar and that they just need to rest a few days. Not most people, but a few do overuse regular consultations, so it does make sense to have some system in place to reduce that problem (nominal charges are a valid approach here).

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That is about 3x what we pay in Belgium. So much!

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago

4 euro remgeld, life is good

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 63 points 1 month ago

Plot twist, the American didn't even hear the conversation. He just showed up violent and obnoxious.

[–] desiccated_event@piefed.blahaj.zone 44 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Health is a commodity. Think about that. Fucking Americans. I live in the US. We have commodified health.

[–] Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Everything has been commodified; housing, food. The line must go up.

Call me when that line is the number of 1%-ers being dragged into the streets and beaten.

[–] Skankhunt420@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

It was done long before me or you had any say in it.

Hut yeah its fucked up.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Melusine@tarte.nuage-libre.fr 33 points 1 month ago (1 children)

In France, we used to be at the top, now I need to wait 6 months to see a lung specialist because we lack of doctor (yeah teaching 3000 doctors per year in the 90's was a brilliant idea), we pay ~30€ and get 19€ refunded for a basic general consultation. If you want more, you need a fucking insurance. I remember spending a night in children ER waiting more than 4 hours to have an asthma attack handled because the hospital was empty. Privatization is the way to speed run turning anything into a fucking disaster.

[–] Griffus@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 month ago

Some parties want more privatised healthcare here in Norway as well, so that we could all enjoy more individual agony.

[–] cerement@slrpnk.net 29 points 1 month ago

β€œEuropeans pay for health care. Americans pay for health insurance.”

[–] Davel23@fedia.io 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

$17.14 USD at the time I checked.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

By American standards, I have extremely good health insurance through my wife's workplace. We still have to pay $25 per doctor visit on top of paying every month for the insurance.

[–] Griffus@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Ignorant Norwegian here, but that sounds extremely good for US standards, happy for you for that. Out of curiosity, how much is paid monthly for that? And what would a broken leg and an ambulance to the hospital cost?

[–] ProbablyBaysean@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Ambulance rides cost a minimum of 1k USD. If you are not admitted to the hospital then it is not covered. If you are admitted then all costs ambulance and care normally has a 500$ copay and then you pay 20% or less depending on the insurance.

A broken leg that requires immediate surgery is something to admit. Just a cast is urgent care only, so you probably are S.O.L.

This is based on my experience with multiple insurances, there are tonnes of options, so I'm sure someone else would say it is different for them.

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

For a family of 4 insurance is about 3k/month split between employer and employee. The amount that would cost is largely unknowable. My insurance has a $500 deductible, so I would definitely pay at least that much, probably more. After that insurance would cover 80-90% of the cost until an out of pocket maximum, which is 3k/person or 6k/family for me. A final cost around 1k would probably be a good deal, and up to 4-5k could happen depending on out of network fuckery.

[–] Twipped@l.twipped.social 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

For my family of four I was paying half of $2400 per month (my employer paid the other half) for a very good PPO plan (meaning I could choose my own doctors) that had a $25 copay for doctor visits and no copay for medications after I met the $500 per person pharmacy deductible. That was up until I was laid off, then I had to pay for all of it until my COBRA coverage ended.

[–] teegus@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That is more than I pay in taxes (in Norway). And I have a pretty decent income.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Nomorereddit@lemmy.today 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is ridiculous, usa kid wouldnt even acknowledge the other kids exist.

[–] trackball_fetish@lemmy.wtf 5 points 1 month ago

More like no usa kid at all due to drinking raw milk and skipping the measles vax

[–] k0e3@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The joke has been done to death, but I love the art style!

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 month ago

SATW is a classic, and excellent. https://satwcomic.com/

[–] trd@feddit.nu 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Do they not practice "free card" in Norway? if you spend more than 230 American zlotty, the rest is free?

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Is this the new pol balls?

[–] perry@lemy.lol 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

β‚Ή5 in Kerala. Although you have to pay for meds yourself

[–] Tja@programming.dev 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Doesn't processing 5 rupees cost more than the fee itself?

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

As an American, I think the Dane has a point. Beating us is a really low bar

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: next β€Ί