>For example, it is really hard to get a doctor to put work into diagnosing any problems you have.
As opposed to the US where you'll pay substantially more money for it? In my experience doctors tend to check symptoms and form a matrix in their head of possible causes, applicable medication, removing medications that conflict with each other and just give you the whole remaining set. You'll be paying for all that medication, btw. If it works, they can't know for sure what it was or what fixed it. If it doesn't you enter round two, a subset of the previously excluded meds. Get out your wallet again.
>Also, room/board isn't free for students. They generally take loans.
Is this new? I used to hang out regularly with about 20 different Swedish students (an online game) and this is how they told it me worked. As far as I know none of them were working, just going to school.
It might be Denmark this year. It is/was a hard battle for the "top" position between them.
>>As opposed to the US
Hrm...
I did also write: "That said -- the US health care system seems worse than anywhere else in the western world."
Finding health problems is afaik internationally acknowledged as the problem with Swedish health care.
Edit: I might add that from what I've heard -- when they've finally find a serious problem, the system is thorough. Just hope it isn't too late if/when you get a diagnosis...
>>Is this new?
You seemed to say different in what I commented?
No. It isn't new. I studied there twice (in different decades).
Generally, students take loans to cover living expenses during studies. You get subsidies, but today most students have to work extra because the loans/subsidies don't cover living expenses.
Edit: If you're young and going to study, it might be worth the trouble to do it in Europe. There is some minor cost to study at Swedish universities for non-EU students (new this year), but imho -- avoid Scandinavia, it is probably too similar to Canada from your viewpoint. Go for Germany or something.
>>In my experience doctors tend to check symptoms and form a matrix in their head of possible causes, applicable medication, removing medications that conflict with each other and just give you the whole remaining set. You'll be paying for all that medication, btw.
(On consideration, I don't think I was clear enough on this point. Another attempt...)
For a Swede, that sounds like heaven.
The problem locally is that you can't get that done in Sweden for money. You go to doctor after doctor that don't care. They tell you something and kicks you out the door. If they don't know, they generally won't send you to a specialist.
I don't know the reason for this. Probably because the administrative burden of the centrally planned system takes up half the time of the doctors.
Right now I know two people with debilitating problems that are hard to find -- and they can't get doctors to try finding the real background.
There is a Swedish saying that you're in real trouble if you're too unhealthy to raise bloody Hell, because without a ruckus doctors aren't motivated to try to find the problem just to get rid of you.
The left wing parties are "married" to the system and makes a principle about it -- "It is wrong to earn money on people's health". They don't care if their principles work or destroy people's lives -- as long as they can sell the message to the Believers among the voters. (Or maybe they like people chronically ill, because those tend to vote to the left.)
I don't know what the rest of the incompetent f-ckups in the other political parties are doing with a perfect opportunity to sell a question to the voters.
There is imho a good lesson here about life and political systems.
Pretty sure that's actually Denmark.
>For example, it is really hard to get a doctor to put work into diagnosing any problems you have.
As opposed to the US where you'll pay substantially more money for it? In my experience doctors tend to check symptoms and form a matrix in their head of possible causes, applicable medication, removing medications that conflict with each other and just give you the whole remaining set. You'll be paying for all that medication, btw. If it works, they can't know for sure what it was or what fixed it. If it doesn't you enter round two, a subset of the previously excluded meds. Get out your wallet again.
>Also, room/board isn't free for students. They generally take loans.
Is this new? I used to hang out regularly with about 20 different Swedish students (an online game) and this is how they told it me worked. As far as I know none of them were working, just going to school.