That mirrors pretty much what it's like to be admitted to a university medical center here in my state, on indigent care. You'll be at the hospital most of the day, because there are too many people to be serviced.

On one hand, I appreciate that we have a system that allows low-income individuals to get treated free of charge at UMCs, but on the other, the quality of service is severely degraded because there is just too much demand for the supply.
My dad just got shoulder surgery at our local UMC free of charge, and he was just trying to get a refill on his pain meds, waited an entire day in the waiting room for them to turn him away because after all those hours, the verifying doctor had gone home for the day. So he had to spend a few days in excruciating pain because they wouldn't refill his script, and the same script would have costed him hundreds of dollars at a retail location.

There is no public option though. I'm not sure where you are getting that from.

Well, considering how little our population is, it's considered a lot. However in saying that, ambulances are run on donations and are not supported by the government completely.

I don't know about other places but our fire dept is actually mostly volunteer and the small budget they have is from our state budget or maybe our city budget. I'm not quite sure but I know they don't get much money. It is so bad in our area that we end up getting volunteers from near by towns as well to respond to our fires.

Oh okay sounds similar to our fire fighter dept in my area's situation.

I think we have different ideas about what public options are...
In my case, I'm referring to an option that is funded by taxpayer money in some significant part, IE subsidies. I'm aware we don't just have the option to get free healthcare, UNLESS you do so through indigent care and prove you're absolutely unable to afford health care otherwise, which is completely available through University Medical Centers. At least here in LA. My dad just got surgery for free. In a red state. But he did have to wait months for it to happen... because he's far from the only one that needs assistance.

Obviously, indigent care is based on an income threshold. If a person made enough money to be able to afford full on privatized health care, they would not qualify for indigent. Nor should they.
"Public option", in my opinion, isn't about just deciding you want something for free. It's about needing something because you could not afford it otherwise.

We don't have different ideas of what a public option is. Maybe I am just misinformed then. I thought that in certain states people don't have a public option and have to deal with private insurance companies raising their rates because they can and have no competition with companies that are getting subsidies.

Currently on a study permit in Canada and it's seemed to have met all my needs just fine, so far, but my health concerns are minimal.

I'm in Australia, where the healthcare system used to be fantastic and rivaled, if not topped, some of the best in the world. Sadly, it is going downhill as most hospitals and medical services become privatised and public services are turning to crap due to lack of funds. A lot of my family are in the medical field and are either a) losing their jobs at public hospitals due to everything being privatised or b) struggling because public hospitals are so understaffed and underfunded. Private services are booming but are sadly unaffordable to most.

The same thing is happening with our public education system here. Our government is almost trying to mimic the systems in countries like the US for some bizarre reason, but I don't see it working for us. We've gone from free healthcare of fantastic quality, available to everybody, to now decrepit public hospitals of low quality medical care OR you pay premium dollar for a private service (that most can't afford). Exactly the same with public schools vs. private schools. It's just not fair. Everybody is entitled to health and education services, regardless of income. In the past, Australia was ALL about fantastic public schools and public hospitals that every single member of the public could utilise, private services weren't even a part of it! Now they are taking over.

I am fortunate because of my job and income I can afford an industry private health insurance, so I am able to enjoy the benefits of the private medical services here. I just can't say the same for the rest of the general public.

Mine is meh to solid. For regular health concerns, we have urgent care, which is way cheaper than the ER for minor emergencies and illnesses, I.e. influenza, infections, and breaks/sprains. Insurance covers it nicely, they don't order unnecessary tests, and I've never waited longer than half an hour. We also have very affordable mental healthcare in my area, generally covered 100 percent by insurance, and if it isn't, it is on a very affordable sliding scale. If I lose my insurance, it is $14 a session. The counselors all have a masters degree at a minimum, although quite a few have PhDs...and there is a licensed psychiatrist (drug therapy as opposed to talk therapy, but that's why they have counselors) who is also $14 a session (once a month) if I lose my insurance.

The meh is because of the bill I got after my...uh...suicide attempt. I guess the tests were probably valid, but getting blood taken every 3-5 hours for 72 hours isn't exactly cheap.

I don't support big pharm so there is really 0 reason for me to have healthcare. YOLO ma****as.