AverySep 12, 2023
Meanwhile in Canada

Number of people who go bankrupt every year because of medical bills:

Canada - 0
UK - 0
France - 0
Spain - 0
Portugal- 0
Denmark - 0
Australia - 0
New Zealand - 0
Iceland - 0
Italy - 0
Israel - 0
Finland - 0
Ireland - 0
Germany - 0
Belgium - 0
Netherlands - 0
Sweden - 0
Japan - 0
Chile - 0
South Korea - 0

United States - 643,000

Sep 12, 2023 at 1:35amWeb
Show threadbkampliSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Meanwhile in India, people stake their life savings or don’t bother getting treatment due to the rising costs of modern medicine.
Show threadAriaflameSep 12, 2023
@bkampli @MeanwhileinCanada Very likely, but India is a developing country, different standards tend to apply.
Show threadDebbie DetmerSep 13, 2023
@bkampli @MeanwhileinCanada They do this in the good old USA
Show threadPxtlSep 12, 2023

@MeanwhileinCanada pay no attention to the disabled people turning to MAiD here in Canada because of our insane cost-of-living.

Our moral high-ground is crumbling under our feet.

Show threadShawnSep 12, 2023
What moral high ground? Whose? Yours?
Show threadArlneeSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada some of us have had more than one medical bankruptcy. I've had three over my lifetime, all to save a faulty reproductive system I didn't want to use but couldn't get rid of until they finally thought I was old enough to be really really REALLY sure I didn't want kids (at 37)
Show threadFlorrieSep 12, 2023
@Arlnee @MeanwhileinCanada that is incredibly irritating. Aggravating. Rage inducing. Why does the medical establishment question women's decisions regarding their own body? Oh, right, because a woman's sole value is in her ability to reproduce.
Show threadThe Cat HerderSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada that really helps my anxiety 😟
Show thread4AllIntentsAndPurposesSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Hmmm 🤔
Show threadEDVARDSSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada
In the United States, they won't let you file bankruptcy every year. Most cases require you to wait between two to eight years, depending on the type of bankruptcy.
Show threadFuck it, it's a meme acc nowSep 12, 2023

@MeanwhileinCanada American superiority, amirite? ​

Honestly, this is why I'm starting to hate this country. So many people have talked about how I had to serve it because it has served me, but realistically, did it?

Show threadRodneyPetersonTalentAgencySep 12, 2023

@poppyart @MeanwhileinCanada

Nope. By design.

“Ask not who the shithole countries are. Ask why your country is a shithole country.”

Show threadYami no senshiSep 12, 2023
@poppyart @MeanwhileinCanada i mean how hard it’s for Americans to become Canadians? I remember many celebrities said they move to Canada when Trump got elected
Show threadgavinisdie Sep 12, 2023
@poppyart @MeanwhileinCanada I feel like I'll probably stay in the US depending on the next election, but if it goes bad, I'm fleeing to Canada, I don't care if it will be illegally
Show threadjetmakerbritSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada citation needed. As others have commented, I’m not so sure that’s the case in Canada. Some drugs aren’t covered or available and dental and optical are mostly uncovered.
Show threadDevo  🪴🌮🥃🍣Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada I dunno. My parents nearly did in Canada because the cancer meds were not covered.
Show threadmapleSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Unless its dental, definitely left quite a hole in my pocket :(
Show threadIT-SuperHeroSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada
As far as I know:
Poland - 0
Show threadKabbawaySep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada I get that America’s #medical system sucks more than just about any other developed country, but the number isn’t zero here in #Australia. In recent decades, our #healthcare system has become more and more privatised. Waiting lists for public healthcare are so long, many of us can barely afford GP appointments let alone medication, rehab/therapy or surgery. I myself have had to pay $800 just for an ambulance on two separate occasions because I couldn’t afford PHI.
Show threadRavensrod 🫖 🍰Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada
Show threadJonathan D. Cope, Esq.Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada For years, I represented a lot of these people in bankruptcy. They were honorable, good, hard working people. Before they would come to me, they would often go through retirement savings or the equity in their home, trying to stave off the medical debt. Loss of employment went hand in hand with their medical crises. Plus, a medical bill was jointly owed by the spouse. So they both had to go into bankruptcy.
Show threadPhil Thane ✅Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada But Americans are taught to believe that state-funded healthcare is socialist and that paying twice as much out of your own pocket and going bankrupt in the process is a sign of how free you are.
Show threadBishop Greer GodseySep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada @metin Thanks to student loans and medical bills it would take $154,000 US dollars to pull my family out of debt. We are the average for most people.
Show threadMetin Seven 🎨Sep 12, 2023
@bishop @MeanwhileinCanada It's insane. Capitalism has fully exploded in the US, expressing the value of a human life in nothing more than dollars.
Show threadDirk SteinsSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada if you’re homeless in germany you can’t get health insurance because you need a fixed address for that. So they would have to pay their medical bills by itself - but ai assume there are some socia mechanisms in place to help them. But it could be possible for homeless people to go bankrupt over medical bills in Germany.
Show threadspilt infinitiveSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada definitely not zero in Australia. Just because the US is the worst doesn't mean other countries aren't real fucking bad
Show threadGeorgeSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Canada 🇨🇦 ♥ is always the best choice without regret 👌
Show threadBahman MovaqarSep 12, 2023

@MeanwhileinCanada Based on my *personal* experience:

I simply could never APPRECIATE,
how LIFE-CHANGING
a STRONG PUBLIC healthcare system can be,
until THE DAY came™ when
I BADLY needed one.

I was fortunate enough to have access to it (back in EU) and now in Canada.

Now I know!

Show threadAuntie MameSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada I’m currently in France researching how to get regular MRIs for my brain tumors because it’s 90% cheaper than back home in the US. I’m a medical tourist.
Show threadLadyPeedOffAgainSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada You can take the UK off that list at 0 soon. So many people are having to resort to private health care as they can't get seen by the NHS which has been chronically underfunded by the Tory government ove the last 13 years. In pain they are taking out loans or borrowing from family and friends to see private consultants and get operations done.
Show threaddiesUndDasMitTassen 🇺🇦Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Where did you get the information about Germany? There is a health insurance in Germany, but it often only covers a small part of the costs, especially "hard cases" face ruin. Those who are poor and / or lose their job because of a disease, often go bankrupt.
Show threadllanciawnSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada it's a backward country in many ways, America.
Show threadAral BalkanSep 12, 2023

@MeanwhileinCanada Some good research on that number (which mostly backs it up).

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/643000-bankruptcies-in-the-u-s-every-year-due-to-medical-bills/

Do 643,000 Bankruptcies Occur in the U.S. Every Year Due to Medical Bills?

A popular meme held that 643,000 personal bankruptcies occurred in the U.S. due to medical bills, but the underlying math was elusive.

Snopes
Show threadReay JespersenSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Yes, BUT, you’re overlooking that socialism for anything including health care is terrible and isn’t what Americans should vote for. 🙄
Show threadBelleSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Fascinating data
Show threadtehkrisusuSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada the US is unquestionably the worst among all high income countries but don't underestimate how many places are trending the same direction. Right wing governments are the world over love to push for austerity and privatizations whenever the opportunity arises.
Show threadTired and AngrySep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada
But without this situation we wouldn’t have had “Breaking Bad”.
So there’s that 👍😬
Show threadJudy GresselSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada shame on GOP
Show threadChristy Kelly-BissonSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada For Canada, I don’t this is entirely accurate. We don’t have socialized medicine like the NHS in the UK. We have a half-measure, single payer system which leaves loads of people out of pocket for all kinds of things: medicine, medical aids, dental, mental health care, lodging while undergoing care. I’m sure there are people who have gone bankrupt in Canada because of the private aspects of our health care system.
Show threadPhoenixSerenitySep 12, 2023
@GarlicBreath @MeanwhileinCanada My family was one of those families who went bankrupt from medical costs in BC, Canada. I doubt we're alone.
Show threadPhoenixSerenitySep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada I've had to clear out 2 family bank accounts & struggled for years with medical costs & related bills because many things aren't covered in Canada. It's not all free & it's not good to share misinformation about healthcare costs.
It's not as bad as US but it's far from $0 & our healthcare systems are in crisis here too.
Show threadBC Métis Man ✅ 🙉🙈🙊⚖Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Our system in Canada isn't perfect by any stretch, but I don't lose my home if I get sick.
Show threadStanley Q WoodvineSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Not sure it's that simple, in Canada at least, where universal health care leaves Canadians vunerable to potentially ruinous pharmaceutical and dental costs. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24684082/
Health issues and health care expenses in Canadian bankruptcies and insolvencies - PubMed

Illness can contribute to financial problems directly, through high medical bills, and indirectly, through lost income. No previous in-depth studies have documented the role of medical problems among Canadian bankruptcy filers. We obtained the bankruptcy filings from a random sample of 5,000 debtors …

PubMed
Show thread@juliknautSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada dafür gibt es viele Menschen die nicht zum arzt können da sie obdachlos sind oder von armut betroffen sind und sich keinen arzt leisten können.
Sei es weil sie die medizinische Hilfen nicht bezahlen können.
Show threadRubySep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada no worries, just like everything else we will be joining the USA in that regards as well as the publicly funded health infrastructure implodes due to underfunding and miss management
Show threadDoran WetzelSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada So many medical breakthroughs and yet we’ll all die from greed.
Show threadJerrDanselSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada i’m not defending the US healthcare system, but could you please cite your sources for these statistics? It’s not really helpful decide numbers like this without sources
Show threadClassyTSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada WOW, DATA SPEAKS VOLUMES
Show threadshadowslayer999Sep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada if i get ran over just leave on the street, hospital is expensive
Show threadBlamellorsSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada M4A
Show threadNIST Standard Reference BoySep 12, 2023

@MeanwhileinCanada I know people in the UK in medical debt and having to fundraise for medication/procedures.

And the NHS is much closer to "free at the point of access" than lots of other European health systems.

And so much of that is withheld from Immigrants etc

"Lives in a country with single-payer health care" is NOT the same as "guaranteed no medical debt."

This just feels smug and mean to USians. Many of whom know there's a better world out there. It's not their fault. Why share this?

Show threadʕ•ᴥ•ʔSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Land of the free!
Show threadDarrell BowlesSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada Yes, but the number of people who have to pay exceptionally high taxes in those countries? Probably all of them.
Show threadJerry van KootenSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada @vol4life8657 Nope. I moved from Holland (no universal healthcare but very expensive personal insurances) to Sweden (universal healthcare). I pay about the same amount of tax. And what is exceptionally? If the tax is the same everywhere then the US might be exceptionally low. And I don't think I pay too much, it's good.
Show threadJeromeSep 12, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada @vol4life8657 In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. (Benjamin Franklin)
Show threadDarrell BowlesSep 12, 2023
@dl2jml @MeanwhileinCanada Ain't that right.
Show threadCharles ☭ is now tooting from queer.partySep 12, 2023

@MeanwhileinCanada

Not all of those countries even have free healthcare.

Show threadAndres JalintonSep 17, 2023
@MeanwhileinCanada sadly Chile is not 0 since there is no public health.
Fonasa only covers some of the most common pathologies.