> Pre-existing conditions, which as far as I'm aware, is a US-only concept
Most of the world's population has no concept of socialised heath insurance. Pre-existing or novel. Someone in a wheelchair, or who is blind or mute, is much better accomodated in America than in most of Europe. (In part because the former is richer.)
>Someone in a wheelchair, or who is blind or mute, is much better accomodated in America than in most of Europe. (In part because the former is richer.)
I guess it just depends on who you talk to and their particular values.
I love my country, but to give a bit of a counter point : I am paralyzed due to a cervical spine injury.
Medicare will pay 80% of the cost of a new chair after payment of deductible once every 5 years. They do not cover maintenance and repair in most cases.
A decent mid-range power-chair with posture and repositioning aids costs between 15k-25k. The air cushion for this chair to prevent pressure sores costs 400-800usd.
So, essentially, that means that a permanently disabled person making the high SSDI income of 18k a year is going to be asked to pay 4.5k USD out of pocket every 5 years just in order to take advantage of the offers from Medicare -- and this isn't including repair, wear and replacement of items, or the short 1-2 year life span of most air cushions. By the time the chair hits the next replacement window it will have gone through 2-3 500-800usd cushions and numerous other repairs.
To contrast : My friends with similar injuries who are insured under the British NHS receive a voucher for a new chair every 3-5 years. They receive vouchers for repair at local shops. Cushion replacement is deemed necessary during the repair process and they are replaced w/ vouchers as needed, not on a schedule.
It's all grass-is-always-greener thinking. The NHS has huge problems, too. But as a wheelchair user I can't wholly agree with the take that we're better accommodated over in the U.S. in any absolute sense.
If we're comparing the United States against third-world countries and not against their peers, then this isn't really a discussion worth having.
> Someone in a wheelchair, or who is blind or mute, is much better accomodated in America than in most of Europe.
I find that hard to believe given the lack of public transport, lack of funding for widespread public facilities, lack of empathy from insurers, lack of governmental social safety nets for those who come under unexpected hard times.
As a European, I can confirm that wheelchair accessibility is traditionally better in the US than in Europe.
I suspect it's a combination of getting relevant laws earlier (don't know that, just guessing), having less old infrastructure (building new with accessibility is easier than upgrading existing buildings), and having more space (so adding a wheelchair ramp is less of a deal).
Europe is generally catching up, but I'd say it's still behind the US. At least the places I know.
But of course, that's not the whole story, as another commenter illustrates with some concrete examples for the cost of wheelchairs and wheelchair maintenance.
Most of the world's population has no concept of socialised heath insurance. Pre-existing or novel. Someone in a wheelchair, or who is blind or mute, is much better accomodated in America than in most of Europe. (In part because the former is richer.)