Well... Here in Libya, the government-based healthcare institutions are available for Free for Libyan citizens, (no insurance is needed,) but you'll get dragged from a place to place and waste days if you're going that route. Many people can only afford those so it's always crowded and sometimes you have to take appointments weeks in advance.
A private healthcare institution costs money and some are more expensive than others, but you'll only wait a few hours at most.
I have to mention that even most expensive hospitals here are dirt cheap compared to USA from what I've hear online.
Thanks for sharing! So basically in your country this is an ongoing issue even before the pandemic? Although people are probably used to it, it sounds like a challenge. I remember being dragged from A to B to Z and back in Budapest and it was super stressful while in so much pain. I felt so helpless, lol.
In Budapest we could not afford private care as we had to pay for it for the full year at once and it was too much for us at once.
Compared to my home country Holland, Budapest private care was affordable though, so whenever I needed a doctor for my ear (recurring issue), I gladly paid him 45-50 euros to be back home within an hour instead of spending half the day in the public hospital.
I think all three countries, and yours are more affordable than the USA. We pay a lot for private, but with a few exclusions, public is needed in case we need a doctor for these things. The lesson learned today is that I should not wait until I REALLY need a doctor, lol. Best to book one in time.
Yeah, it's getting worse each year. (I didn't notice it when I was younger.) But it was like that since waaay before the Pandemic.
And yes, you should never wait until you really need the Doctor. I made that mistake a lot myself. Haha.
I think that's normal that you didn't notice it, kids are not really busy with that thing and the parents take care of that lol. I bet if I ask my daughter do you remember the hospital visits in Budapest where we waited half of the days or got sent from A to B and so on, she doesn't even remember it, while I get stressed even thinking back about it..
Better for the kids though, they should not worry about these things :)
I feel you on the mistake lol as I hate seeing doctors and therefore I prefer to wait it out and take loads of vitamins and over the counter meds first :)
Thanks again for sharing, this way I learn a bit more about other countries!