this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2025
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A Boring Dystopia
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The world we live in isn't just dystopic, it isn't just stupid, trying to describe all the ways it sucks just makes for a really boring story.
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Have you tried having health care for a change?
Living in the US, back when I was on a high deductible insurance plan, I would avoid doctor visits because it would cost over $100 for any single check-up. My employer put enough money in a health savings account to make up for the high costs, but I had the mentality of "If I didn't see the doctor, I could bank the $100 for a later emergency." I'm the type of video game player that will stockpile health potions, never use them, and then die cause I didn't want to use them. I realized this is a fucked up situation and so I switched to a more expensive low-deductable plan and will now visit the doctor when "I think I might need to" instead of when "I really need to."
But yeah, lots and lots of people on low-premium (low monthly payments) high deductible plans with that save money mentality. They only see the doctor when it gets severe.
Here in Australia I pay $125 for a phone consult with some doctor, or $150 to go see a doctor for the smallest thing. Probalwm is I need a recurring prescription, so I have to go :( 10mins ...
We are slowly sliding towards the USA healthcare system :(
Yeah the erosion of bulk billing will kill people
You have summed up exactly why I hate high deductible plans. Every year at open enrollment I have this debate. And every year I do some math and always convince myself that the high deductible is cheaper and that I should just go to the doctor when I feel like it. Even knowing that, there’s still this weird mental block.
It’s just so extra frustrating because everything involved in living here feels like some sort of dumb economic calculation. “Should we eat meat this week or save up for when it’s on sale?” Eating out for “fast food” if we’re in a hurry hurts because it’s cheaper to go to a real restaurant.
I dunno, it’s just all mentally tiring and it’s hard to get into a mode of just enjoying life. I just want to do the side quests and have fun but end up with Lydia in my house guarding my hoard of potions I never use
We all have to be health, security and financial experts or we "fail."
Best I can do is concentration camps
Also, perhaps not having such an egregiously unhealthy population in general so that constant professional healthcare is not mandatory to not die an early death.
The two things are intertwined, and the root problem is wealthy people doing everything they can to make the working class and poor miserable. That's why we can't have universal healthcare, or bike lanes, or public transportation, or anything that benefits most people except for a few rare excsptions.
They really need to figure out how to contend with hyperbole as well
Both have their benefits. But dying for preventable reasons that could have been taken care of if one saw a doctor when it started is a real issue in the US.
Never said it wasn't. That is absolutely a problem. My point is that a ton of Americans are quite unhealthy, and those preventable things which need prompt attention pop up way more frequently than they should due to this. Also makes people way more susceptible to outbreaks of infectious disease.