I Survived The Swedish Death Panels: My Encounter With Socialized Medicine

I Survived The Swedish Death Panels: My Encounter With Socialized Medicine
by litigatormom
Mon Aug 31, 2009 at 12:53:10 PM PDT

On a recent trip to Scandanavia with my family, I found myself with a sprained ankle and excruciating dental pain within a 24 hour period. I was so miserable, and so upset about messing up my family's vacation, that I seriously considered getting on a plane back home to let my husband and daughters continue the vacation without me.

My husband insisted that we go to an emergency room for my ankle and find a local dentist who would see me and figure out why my teeth has suddenly become so sensitive to hot and cold. Anticipating an entire day or more spent attempting to be seen by someone, I continued to lobby for a plane ride home. Instead, my resourceful husband took matters into his own hands and asked the concierge at our Stockholm hotel what to do.

Within 20 minutes of his call to the concierge, we were in a cab en route to a modern, cheerful walk-in medical and dental clinic in the heart of downtown Stockholm. Within 15 minutes of my arrival, I was in a dentist's chair, being x-rayed and examined by a dentist who spoke perfect English. An hour later, he had finished the preparatory work for a root canal, and gave gave me an x-ray and memo written in English describing what he had done to my tooth so that I could give them to my dentist when I got home. A prescription was sent out via computer to every pharmacy in Stockholm, so that I could walk in to any pharmacy in the city and have it filled without bringing a piece of paper with me. Then my ankle was examined, I got a supportive bandage and a cane, and after a total of 90 minutes at the clinic, I paid the laughably meager $200 bill and hobbled out. The clinic was apologetic about having to charge me for the services, and gave me advice as to how to get my insurance company in the US to reimburse me.

I was able to get around Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen without further discomfort in my mouth, and with only minimal discomfort to my ankle. We also got to see the fjords (although there were no dead parrots).

The day after I got home, I went to my dentist, who examined the memo and x-rays and told me that the dentist had done a perfect job of prepping me for a root canal. He finished the root canal that day, charging me about $1000.

At no time while I was in Stockholm was I interviewed by Swedish bureaucrats for the purpose of determining whether I, a middle-aged non-Swedish woman with a long history of joint problems and significant dental problems, was entitled to the care I had sought from the clinic. No one suggested that I just go back to the hotel and take some pain killers. The only concern of the friendly English-speaking personnel who attended to me was that I be able to continue my vacation.

To summarize, I received prompt, efficient, effective and friendly care in a foreign country, and was then apologetically asked to pay a ridiculously low bill.

We can't let this sort of thing happen in America.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/31/774854/-I-Survived-The-Swedish-Death-Panels:-My-Encounter-With-Socialized-Medicine

K & R

,...several hours or more less than we did at an ER and weeks to months less for dental work.

You had to wait.

AND YOU HAD TO PAY,...a fifth or less than we do even WITH INSURANCE.

Sometimes, I suggest to my husband we move to France or Norway or England JUST for the health care we need to live longer, more fruitful lives. Seriously. Of course, right-wingin' profit-suckers would ask us to do so in spite of the fact that my husband and I contribute greatly to our community. Maybe, the suckers will get what they want; a land unto themselves, sucking off eachother,...miserable to the end.

Maybe, NOT!!!

after they're Raptured.

In the meanwhile, wouldn't it be nice to live in a country that valued the benefit of all citizens being healthy? :hi:

I agree....I am in the process of getting my Irish citizenship. I am eligible for what is referred to as Irish Citizenship through Descent. My grand parents were both born in Ireland & came to NYC as adults in 1895. BTW, I checked the national healthcare program in Ireland & discovered some absolutely astonishing facts: 31% can walk into their doctor's office (without an appointment) & be seen in less than an hour; 38% can call & get an appointment that same day; 29% will get an appointment the following day & 2% will wait only two days!!!!

If socialized medicine includes all these death panels & rationing, etc, etc. ----why does the USA rate 37th in life expectancy & all the so-called socialist healthcare nations have better life expectancies than the USA???? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm??? Maybe the death panels are all out on strike??? :shrug:

Some of them apparently to want to secede.

... so I assume there were some painkillers.

... and actually doing something about the problem as well as giving palliative care. It's possible the script was just for antibiotics though. We'll see what the OP says.

My experience with ankle injuries here in the States is awful, honestly. I fell down the stairs in college and tore two ligaments in my ankle. I had insurance under my mother's plan, so that wasn't a problem -- the problem was that despite the ankle swelling and discoloring rapidly, I guess it was hard to tell at that stage just how bad the injury really was. I was given crutches and a split, true, but told to take ibuprofen. It did not do much at all and I missed class more because of pain than because of mobility. When I was able to get into my GP two days later he was appalled, and referred me straight to an orthopedic surgeon -- which took two weeks to get scheduled with. At least my GP saw that ibuprofen was not the most appropriate pain relief measure, and I was able to hobble across campus without the vibration (forget pressure, no way could I put any weight on it) from every step making me want to scream, while waiting for surgery. I'm very happy the OP's injury wasn't as severe, but I suppose my presumption painkillers were given as well comes from my memory of just how bad that pain was. And me being a wimp. :)

For dental pain, though, I've had a sedative filling done while they scheduled me for a root canal, and I can tell you it was absolutely amazing. They wrote me a script of painkillers anyway, but when the numb wore off the chemical in the sedative filling (derived from clove oil in the version my dentist used) had tampered down the pain to a manageable level -- I didn't need them. The dentist had written another small script after the root canal, and I gave it back to him when I came in to get the permanent crown put on. I never needed to fill it once the root canal was done.

Pain is such an odd thing from person to person. I'm typing this after dislocating my thumb on Sunday not really painful maybe a 2 or 3 out of 10. I had a grade 3 a/c separation and finished watching the game (about an hour) before going to the hospital. Big tough guy until I had 2 teeth abcess over the last couple of years and if it weren't for Vicodin I may have killed myself waiting on the antibiotics to knock the infection down. I will say the abcesses were quite bad with huge amounts of pressure from the puss that had built up. Very strange.

Happened to me, although, here in the US, not in Sweden.

Amazing how Swedes speak perfect English. My family does and it never fails to impress me.

I worked in Ireland for a company that had an office in Stockholm, and I regularly spoke to a tech there. I would have bet real money that he was from New York, based on his command of English and his accent. I was floored when I finally met him on a project in Paris and he told me he was a native Swede and had never even been to the US. Very impressive.

the dentist had removed the nerve in the prep for the root canal, hence, she wouldn't have had any pain afterward since the nerve was removed. I take it lidocaine was probably used for the prep. I'm guessing her dentist at home only had to fill the root canal.

They know how to run a fucking country over there.

I was born in Germany and had enchepahalitis when I was 3 weeks old...I was in intensive care for 2 months and then a hospital ward for another 3 months after that..the bill? $11.57

great story too.

:sarcasm:

Similar good service, and the dentist was fluent in English as well. We got off cheaper that you, though--it was 100 guilders, which at the time was about $25 American. I had the same thing done a year later at home for $700.

Do the Swedish not have red necks to prevent this type of thing from happening?

and had a bad back a couple of years ago: The way it worked then was that one would pay 300 kr (then about 30 USD) for any visit to the Dr, and one would pay cumulatively up to a maximum total amount of, IIRC, 4000 kr per year. There was no additional charge beyond that. The total pot in the country's health system covered some, but not all the costs, for certain chiropractors and osteopaths, but their pot of money ran out fairly quickly, and they would then charge 350 kr per visit, until the begiining of the new year and they got their new allocation, which could be counted against the 4000 kr. For general health, I have an MD provided for me by the local health centre, but if I'm unhappy, I can simply switch to another MD. There are so many myths about European healthcare...however, dental care seems to be comparatively expensive...

I have to add that I've just finished a year in France. My son had a suspected twisted testicle, and the French medics did a marvellous job, operating and keeping him in hospital for 3 days, for a total cost of I think 100 Euros (actually , it might even have been less, but it certainly wasn't more). As we had a few additonal health things over the year we got a good look at their system and we were really impressed. A visit to the Dr cost 20 Euros - and we could have had those visits and the hospital stay reimbursed by our (Swedish house!) insurance, if we wished, the GP explainng it to us, and ensuring we had the correct forms.

I wonder if Sweden's health plan covers massages.

Bli sjuk inte i Sverige.

countries like Sweden make us look like a third world country. Here it is all about the greed and money.

Thanks for sharing that great story.

i mean, WTF. so primitive!

Poor woman, she had to subject herself to such an evil and hateful health care system.
And this is what those progressives want for America?

Hey, sounds good to me....Where do i sign up?!

can someone tell me again why we can't do this?

Because the politicians who run the government are bought and paid for by the US insurance and drug companies.

:silly:

silly me.

England. He was promptly and courteously treated at a clinic with no charge. He couldn't believe it, and had nothing but praise for the English health care system.

Just kidding of course.

Congratulations on your excellent vacation!

I lived in Sweden for 5 years and experienced excellent medical and dental care. I didn't have anything out of the ordinary other than kidney stones. I was treated in a clean, efficient clinic with great empathy and at a fraction of the cost that I would have paid for the same treatment here.

I didn't go before any bureaucratic board, no "pre-approvals" from the insurance company or any other degrading experiences.

Great (and not at all unusual) story.

If Americans had a clear picture of just how well the system works in these countries, there'd be no need for debate.

in Mexico. My daughter cut her hand while we were scuba diving a wreck dive. We informed the concierge and within 30 minutes, a doctor visited our room, gave my daughter a tetanus shot, and bandaged her hand. The cost? $15.00.
I've had several friends receive prompt and inexpensive medical attention while traveling in Europe.
Maybe if the rightwing would expand their boundaries a little bit and get out there in the world, they might learn what's possible.

:sarcasm:


There are so many stories like this...including a personal friend of mine who had a similar experience in France, for which he was charged nothing....I am appalled that it is only the "horror" stories that seem to be the ones that make it into the main stream media...and those are never verified for their veracity.

I lived in Amsterdam for 6 years....While showing my Dutch friends, what a great basketball player I was at 48 years, I messed up my hip. My friends took me to the closest hospital, for the exam,( that took 15 minutes) meds and three weeks of therapy.......the charge.....What amounted to $17 American dollars...And the doctor felt awful about charging me money.......BTW, I haven`t had any problems since. Also while visiting Brussels, I caught the flu....I went to NATO Headquarters, showed my V.A. medical card, was treated within 15 minute wait......by a Brit Naval doctor......my experience has been great with socialize health care...BTW, I was in Stockholm last week......with a side trip to Amsterdam to to get "medicated".

:shrug:

:sarcasm:

You know, I still think my Irish ancestors made the right choice getting on the boat but the Swedish ones, not so much.

I had a friend who was here for school - from Sweden.

He got into a car accident and hurt his neck, and he was so terrified of the American system that he asked me to go with him to the doctor.
I did, and it was an eye-opening experience for both of us.

The sheer volume of paperwork was the first thing that threw him.
Then the requisite asking for insurance information.
My friend didn't have health insurance, and he was under the assumption that the person who hit him would be paying for all of this... he's still working on that, six months later.

He'd already spent hours waiting at the emergency room, so the three-day wait to see a doctor didn't surprise him that much.
Then the prescriptions.
Then to a pharmacy, where they asked for his insurance information.
When he was told the price of the prescriptions without insurance, he went over and bought a huge bottle of aspirin instead.

But no, there's nothing wrong with our system...

:sarcasm:

if we turned it over to them.

All the horrors rethugs project onto others are the things they themselves are most guilty of.

sick twisted vicious pathetic stupid fucks

I hope you had a great time in Sweden. My family is from there and I hope to be able to visit someday.

:hi:
How do you and your family like living in West Virginia / USA?

My grandfather came over from Sweden when he was a boy
I love my country even though I think that when I was taught as a child that it is the greatest country in the world I was lied to.

Many of them have summer places around Lake Inari.