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One of the main reasons that I am still in Sweden has to do with health insurance. I did not really plan to move here permanently when I began working at the Icehotel in November of 2000. But shortly after meeting Sanna, she was diagnosed with Lupus and began treatment here in Sweden. Sweden’s medical care is not only pretty damn good, but it is affordable. Every citizen and resident has the right to be seen and treated, and costs for prescriptions and care are minimal, if anything. (The taxes we pay make this possible, of course.)Trying to explain this amazing phenomenon to non-Americans is extremely difficult. They don’t really get the fact that just being a citizen does not mean that you will receive the medical attention that you need or deserve. I happened to watch the first episode of Scrubs last night and didn’t even laugh when Dr. Kelso said to J.D., “If they have insurance, treat them. If they don’t have insurance, send them away” or something like that. Americans don’t find that joke funny. It is simply the truth.
So I find it incredibly disturbing to see that once again George W and (who’s left of) his homeys, can’t seem to find the decency to pass a bill that would provide an additional 4 million American children with health insurance. Not dogs, not terrorists, not Iraqis … no. American children. This man is such an idiot that this decision doesn’t shock me, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt.
Bush has said that the measure is too expensive and would unnecessarily raise taxes for the American people. The dolt is too mathematically inept to realize that his back-asswards war in Iraq is costing taxpayers already and will continue to do for many years to come. Bush seems to be all too ready to spend taxpayer money on something that they don’t want, i.e., an unjustified grudge match of a war, and less than interested in using tax dollars to pay for something that they do want, i.e., health insurance.
When browsing Fred Thompson’s website the other day (don’t ask), I found a video of Thompson pontificating about Hillary Clinton’s proposed health care plan. Rubbing his chin and smirking as he does, eyes twinkling like the Grinch, he mentioned that the United States has the “best health care in the world.” That is sort of like saying that a Ferrari is the best car in the world. Hell, I don’t know, maybe a Ferrari is the best car in the world. But those who can’t afford the insurance to drive it off the lot will never know. Mr. Thompson can apparently afford to drive the Ferrari.
The ongoing Republican argument is that US health care needs to remain privatized, and that the government should stay as far away as possible. In a Utopian society, this is a great idea. But it doesn’t work in reality. As of a 2005 survey, there are roughly 47 million Americans without health care. That’s a lot o’ peeps. Like 15% of the population. But keep in mind that this doesn’t include the under-insured numbers. Going back to the Ferrari analogy, these numbers can of course be turned around to work in Bush’s favor. To be able to say that 85% of the American people have some sort of Ferrari in the garage is no doubt enough to make Bush and Thompson high five on their way to the clubhouse, despite the fact that the quality of each Ferrari differs dramatically from garage to garage.
The best health care I’ve ever had? A general practitioner in Thailand. Cost about 20 bucks for a full a visit AND the medications necessary to treat a nasty rash I had on my legs. The doctor was super friendly, spoke perfect English (educated in the States, of course) and was extremely knowledgeable and capable.
The worst health care I’ve ever experienced? A dentist in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Farrakhan (that is not his name and he in no way resembled any particular Farrakhan – I do not know why my colleagues and I called him that) had so many unnecessary gadgets in his posh BH office that I thought I had accidentally stumbled into a Sharper Image store. The first thing he decided to do with me was throw a camera in my mouth and take a close-up of each tooth. Each tooth. After many follow up visits (and I have never had a cavity in my life, so I don’t know what these return visits were all about) I finally got a bill from my insurance company for 32 images of my teeth. Turns out my PPO was the primer-sprayed, cracked-windshield model Ferrari. After negotiating the bill way down, I never went back to Dr. Farrakhan again.
Anyhow, it is irrational and irresponsible to say that the current privatized health care system in the US is working. Call me crazy. (Okay: Crazy.) Does that mean that the government needs to step in and do something about it? Yeah, that’s exactly what it means, Mr. Thompson… Mr. Bush. Does that mean that taxes need to be raised to cover the costs? Well, considering the payoff, I don’t think people would get too freaked out about it. People might be more interested in paying taxes that contribute to saving lives than paying taxes that contribute to taking them away. And since taxes will more than likely be going up over the next ten years to try to make up the deficit that the Bush administration has succeeded in ballooning, why not go head and tack on a little more for something worthwhile: the well-being of a few kids. Just sneak it in there, Congress. You can be sneaky – you’re politicians, after all.
I leave you with this last photo. A tiny bit off-topic, but oh well. It’s Monday.
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