I spent a term in
France studying there and living there. It made me think about so many of the differences between the
USA and France (How could it not?) but one that I spent a lot of time thinking about was healthcare. I was
sick with the
flu and my 'mom' wanted me to see the doctor. See the
doctor?! I only have the flu. I'll
sleep and drink a lot of
water and be fine. It shocked me that they would consider a trip to the doctor...but after a conversation later about the topic, I realized why: Seeing a doctor is cheap because the cost is regulated and reimbursed by the state and it is also convieniant. Prescription
medicine is around $15.00. That's all! And reimbursed by the state. "So what happens when someone gets really sick and they don't have insurance and can't afford to pay their medical bills?" My French family asked. "They don't get help." "What if they die?" "shrug"
My sister worked for a
congressman and recieved incredibly good
government health insurance. So when she was diagnosed with
leukemia we were able to fight it, medically. Bone marrow transplants that were still considered 'experimental' and therefor not covered by normal insurance, were taken care of. However, she was not able to marry because she would have lost her insurance and we could not afford to pay the one million dollars that her six years of treatment totalled...So I guess there are reasons why I believe everyone should be able to benefit from health insurance. I just can't imagine being able to believe in
social Darwinism.