[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by Deczor

We just had a new hospital built down the road to replace the old one. The old one was adequate, but a bit old. I'm not talking a small hospital either, it's the main one in the capital.

If people get sick or hurt, they go to the hospital. They get treated and leave. If they're too far gone, they die. Such is life... and death. When I had my appendix out they just did it. No question of money ever came up. A friend of mine had his finger broken quite badly. He was treated and didn't even have to give his name. He's getting physio now as well.

If I go to my GP around the corner I spend US$10 on the consultation. If I need drugs she gives me a prescription and I go to the chemist and get what I need. It costs $3, (about a buck fifty in US money) no matter how much of any kind of drug I require.

I'm not on any special health plan at work. I don't get any special subsides from the government. It's just how it is here.

You can get private health insurance. My parents are on that. They pay a couple of hundred bucks a month for some really extensive cover. Mum was bragging just the other week that she only had to wait two months (which is about the same as the public health wait time for non-urgent stuff), and that being treated in a private hospital would have cost $2500 without insurance, but she only has to pay $600.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that she's paid more than twice that in insurance cover in the last couple of years and they'd have done the same thing in the public system for free.

They believe in a user-pays system and buy into this whole 'socialised medicine' rubbish that gets spouted on TV (yes, US telly is very dominant, even here, where it's opinions are not relevant). Thanks to Fox and christian TV my parents are paying twice for the same service. Cool, eh?

It never ceases to amaze me how much influence television has on the choices people make. Staying away from the TV for the last couple of years (and listening to NPR) has made it much easier for me to cure my consumerism. Don't really want to give up my doctor though, but his practice has been bought out by corporate medicine. Hope they and my insurance company get along.

Regards,

D-Ray