With respect to healthcare in the US, we really have very little choice. My employer offers one plan for me to choose from for medical care. Dental and Vision are separate and are more like discount coupons than insurance plans. With dental we have one "insurer" but can opt to pay more to get a few more benefits, but it is still not great other than for routine exams and a filling or two. Vision has just one available plan. I am luckier than most since my employer offers some of the best coverage. That said, I dread healthcare encounters, because you never know what things are going to cost or whether you will incur outrageous surprise bills. Today my family went for routine eye exams. With the insurance it cost us over $600 (over and above we already pay for the vision insurance). That does not include glasses or contacts--those are extra. American's like to say that Canadians come here, because the waits are too long in Canada, yet we have had to wait months just go get an initial appointment with a specialist--even though we live in Houston which is home to the biggest medical center in the world. Many people here simply go without care, or ration or forgo meds because they can't afford meds and living expenses. I have older relatives, long retired, who had to go back to work part time just to pay for diabetes medications. The US is really a rather inhumane country and under Trump things are just getting worse and worse.
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