PRIVATE OR SOCIAL?
Today I have seen an encore presentation of one of “Oprah” episodes. Its topic of the day was American health care system and Michael Moore’s latest documentary “Sicko”. I have seen the documentary and it is eye-opening, I must admit. Especially for someone like me.
Yes, I have lived in the US and therefore I have gotten a chance to experience some of the American realities. However, since I grew up in Europe in a system that pretty much takes care of the people, there are certain things about the American way of life I will never understand, much less agree with.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a health care system that is based on making money. It is human health and life we are talking about here, after all! How can anyone, even for a split second, consider whether a person is legible for a treatment or not? This whole idea seems outlandish to me and unfortunately, it happens every day in the US. And what’s more, it happens way too often, for anyone’s comfort.Isn’t the whole purpose of having an insurance to be taken care of when one actually gets sick and requires medical care? It does not seem to be that simple in this case. And the fact that a lot of people are denied treatments even though they have an insurance policy is beyond my grasp. One pays a lot of money monthly but still does not get a security that should come with it. Not to mention thousands of people living in the US that cannot afford any type of health insurance. What happens to them when they or their family members get sick? Hmm…
Michael Moore said one thing that sums up the whole argument about which system is better—American that allows private insurance companies to exist or European and Canadian that are based on social health insurance paid for by the taxes. He said that although these other systems may not be perfect but nobody in any of these countries has lost their homes because of enormous medical bills, as it happens much too often in the US. It is quite true, actually. Even though in most countries the wait to see a specialist may be quite long (anywhere from 3 to 8 months), it is all worth it because once one gets the help one needs, they don’t have to pay a dime. Ever! Even if they require a hospital stay, surgery or treatments. And that in itself gives people an enormous amount of security. Something most Americans won’t know, sad to say…