Our Voice Now

As someone who has dealt with the Universal Health Care in both Australia and Scotland, allow me to say it is not close to the horror stories we hear over here.

Australia was the first. Before I left the US I had been bitten by two deer ticks with lyme disease. I didn’t notice any rash until I was in Australia and, as I was going to be there for nearly two months, decided to go to the local doctor to get the necessary antibiotics. Granted, I did know what I needed and the dosage and all. But I went figuring I’d have to wait at least three hours to see the dr. I was in and out with a full months supply of the antibiotic in twenty minutes. You know what else was nice? The pharmacy is attached to the dr. office! And how much did it cost me? About $8 US - for everything.

The second time was a few years ago in Scotland. I got food poisoning - very badly. They had to take me to the hospital by ambulance. I was admitted to the hospital, had 4 saline IV’s and so on. It was a public hospital and the care I received could not have been better!! They were attentive, listened to me, knew what to do and I ended up leaving in the afternoon of my own accord. I was, however, terrified about the bill I’d have from that. How much was it? Nothing! Trust me, you’d never receive that kind of care in an American hospital (anyone see that woman who died in the waiting room??).

Their are drawbacks to any kind of healthcare program. For example - HMO’s here don’t allow you to choose your own doctor if he’s not in their plan. You need referrals even to get an x-ray if you break your arm on a Saturday night. You can’t get name brand medication because odds are your prescription plan will only cover generic. And we pay a fortune each month for coverage and yet Aetna or Bluecross can still refuse to cover a necessary operation!

So this fear about a universal health plan is unfounded and, again, made up of myths and lies. People have said that those living in countries with a Universal Plan have horror story after horror story. Here’s a news flash - so do Americans.

One other thing about these countries - yes they have a free Nationwide Plan but they also offer a private plan that you pay to be part of that allows you to go to any hospital of your choosing - public or private. So if you so choose, you can keep your private coverage. That, I believe, is what Obama is talking about in regards to his health plan. The problem is that the idea of Universal Health Plan in America is so foreign to us that most don’t understand it. That and many Americans don’t bother taking the time to learn about the world outside of our borders.

So this myth about Universal Health Care being so horrible is yet another fear that has been shoved down our throats by the likes of Merck, Aetna and lobbyists and the politicians in the pockets of the likes - similar to if we buy our prescriptions in Canada we will all die because they aren’t regulated like ours are. Yep, I see Canadians are dropping like flies due to their prescriptions.

Before assuming that a Universal system is bad because we’ve been told so without reason for so many years why not look into it and let’s be an educated nation when it comes to our options.