The big controversy among my US friends is concerning health care. As one who has enjoyed the benefits of socialized medicine for many years I sympathized with the problems. After all it is incredibly difficult to adjust the system – after years of private insurance, manifest corruption, malpractice fears, etc. When I was in the Long Island a few dozen years ago I complained to my doctor of a pain in my side. Since i no longer had an appendix it was strange. The doctor sent me first for an ultrasound, then the gynecologist sent me to a gastroenteroloist who sent me for a barium enema, and then finally to a colonoscopy. By then the pain had gone away, and the nasty lump in my pocket had been removed. And now that I think about it, I had never been examined. A few months later I found myself at the local chiropractor, who asked me to lie down on my stomach. “Sometimes I have problems with that, because i get a little pain in my side.” “Oh, that’s sciatica,” he answered, and twisted it away. He charged 25$, a miracle considering the thousands of dollars my insurance paid for my tests.
What is the answer? You can’t work with the same system. It’s too corrupt and unsupervised. And the very same lawyers who support the president are the ones who make money from this system. The Israelis I know in the US suggest a ‘chaltura’ solution, slowly moving down the age of medicare until it covers everyone.
But enough of America. I’m back in Israel and have to set up an appointment with my endocrinologist – whom i detest.
If you ARE American, though, and support the health plan, write your representative here . Why am I crazy for health care? Because here is a way to improve the quality of life. Period.
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