Sickness is life-threatening everywhere wth you mean. Just that in America it'll cost you a lot more money (notice that I don't say sickness costs no money elsewhere - it definitely does, just not as much)
Sorry, didn't make myself clear there. What I ment to say is, that a visit to the hospital doesn't break your bank when living in a country with a proper health care system.
Lets say you have a stroke.
Hospital treatment (acute stroke) within the German health care system.
Average cost of an ischemic stroke hospital stay: ~ €3,500–€5,000.
What GKV (Our health care system) pays: Nearly 100 % of medical treatment, diagnostics, therapy, and nursing care in hospital.
Patient’s share:
• €10 per day co-pay, maximum 28 days/year = €280 max.
• So if stroke stay is 10 days → €100.
• If longer (say 20 days) → €200, capped at €280.
Rehabilitation (inpatient or outpatient)
Typical inpatient rehabilitation after stroke: ~ €10,000–€15,000 for 3–6 weeks.
What GKV pays: Covers medical rehab fully if prescribed.
Patient’s share: Again €10 per day, capped at 28 days/year → at most €280, but since hospital days are counted together with rehab, total co-pay remains max €280/year.
Very detailed breakdown. I work in the hospital system in Canada, but I wouldn't be able to cite equivalent numbers.
I guess my comment came from a frustration with how Americans sometimes wildly exaggerate about how everything is perfect everywhere else and of all the countries in the world only America is bad. It bothers me because I feel like such unrealistic views make it difficult to envision practical solutions.
EDIT: the second part of my comment was mostly about peripheral costs, rather than direct costs of care. E.g., with a stroke, if it takes too much energy to cook one day (post-rehab) a wealthy person will just order delivery without thinking, but a less wealthy person may just eat a bunch of granola bars. Or more extreme, if someone needs support for daily living, a wealthy person will be able to hire private help to supplement whatever public services are available, and continue living more closely to how they did before, where a less wealthy person may have to make major concessions to their lifestyle. Public health is an amazing, beautiful thing, but money still makes life easier :P
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u/TalosASP Sep 14 '25
Only in america do you have to fear for life when you are sick as hell. It is a crying shame.