> Even with sufficient health care, I try to avoid the doctor because of the cost.
If that is generally true then that is one really big difference between the US and northern Europe and Scandinavia. I never think of money when I or any of my family visit a doctor or hospital. Here in Norway I have to pay about USD30 to visit my GP, various fees for medical tests and so on, and I have to pay something towards any prescriptions but there is a cap on how much I will have to pay each year (about USD150 for drugs). Beyond that limit it is all free (except that of course it is paid for out of general taxation).
If that is generally true then that is one really big difference between the US and northern Europe and Scandinavia. I never think of money when I or any of my family visit a doctor or hospital. Here in Norway I have to pay about USD30 to visit my GP, various fees for medical tests and so on, and I have to pay something towards any prescriptions but there is a cap on how much I will have to pay each year (about USD150 for drugs). Beyond that limit it is all free (except that of course it is paid for out of general taxation).