Wafflings

Healthcare reform is a hot topic here right now. To be honest I’ve not had the inclination to really follow all the ins and outs of what people are suggesting here – so much of the talk seems crazy! It boggles my mind that some people think that nothing needs to be changed here…apparently around 70% of people are happy with their health care. Are they happy because they have healthcare, or are they happy because they’ve had to use their healthcare for something major and it’s taken care of them as much as they expected?  I think the later would be the more telling questions!

I’ve been in the fortunate position to have healthcare ever since moving here.  And obviously I had healthcare all the time while I lived in the UK as that’s seen as a basic human right available to everyone.  It’s been interesting having conversations one on one, with friends, with hairdressers and other people who realize you’re from the other side of the pond and want to get first hand an opinion of the NHS.

I’ve never had anything major happen to me that needed hospitalization…actually scrap that, I wouldn’t be HERE except for excellent work by doctors (of the NHS).  I was my Mum’s first child.  Born on my due date, despite complications at times during the pregnancy and from what I understand labour was pretty straight forward, at least to start with.  Then there were signs that I was distressed…which then led to an emergency c-section.  I presume my Mum and I were in hospital for longer due to this, but when we left, we were able to go home peacefully, with no major debt hanging over my parents head due to an emergency operation needed to save my life.

Most of my family have benefited at some time or another from the NHS, from stitches & broken arms, operations to remove tonsils right through to the continuing support my parents receive for my brother who has cerebral palsy.  He spent much of the first weeks (maybe months even?) of his life in the hospital in the intensive care unit, and then when he was 3 or 4 and got chickenpox he also spent a lot of time in a specialist hospital – taken in straight away.  Even now he has regular visits with a consultant.  Is it perfect?  No, but it hasn’t  bankrupted my parents, and they are his primary carers.  They’ve considered moving (the climate of Scotland does not agree with my Mum and she’s all for somewhere with more sun!) but their options are limited.  There are some communities over here in the States which may be great for my brother, but if he moved the cost of medications alone makes this unfeasible.

And experiences here?  Well I’ve not found a family doctor/general practitioner like the one I had in the UK (or like almost any of the ones I visited in the 8 doctor practice I went to in the UK).  Here I also had a doctor refer me for an endoscopy – my stomach issues had flared up again, worse than normal.  In the end I decided not to go through with it as the resulting medical bill (yup, insurance would have paid it’s part, but the balance would be down to me) was likely to cause more stress and strain our already tight budget…and stress was a known trigger of the stomach pain I experienced!  We also spent a good 6 months paying off the visit to the emergency room Matt had when he tore ligaments in his ankle…oh, yeah, he had insurance too that both he and his employer contributed to on a monthly basis.

Day to day, run of the mill stuff, may work ok here.  And maybe it’s good for me to associate a price with going to the doctor…maybe that helps me value it?  I’m certainly likely to think about whether I really need to see the doctor before I go.  But I’m also likely to put off seeing the doctor until it’s something more serious – and that may mean things don’t get caught so early, leading to more difficult treatments (with, of course, a higher cost).  On balance then, wouldn’t it be better to treat people earlier?  Wouldn’t it be responsible and most cost effective to make preventative medicine as important as procedures?

The NHS isn’t perfect, but in the UK my health records were electronic, I didn’t have to wait any longer for an appointment or a referral than I’ve had to here.  A system like that is certainly worth learning from and not writing off.

And then, just to give us a break from the “Healthcare Debate” (or screaming match from one side to another, with both at times guilty of using craziness) we have the headlines alerting us to the fact that President Obama is going to attempt to brainwash children!  Yup, we are attributing supernatural powers to our president, assuming that he, and only he, could so detrimentally damage the future generation by a speech directed at the youth of this country.  Help, someone get me out of here!!  Do parents really police so closely EVERYTHING kids are exposed to?   Do you know the views of all their teachers/peers/other adults they come into contact with?  If parents do, it’s probably because they talk to their kids.  And if you have these kind of discussions with your kids, what harm would this address from Obama cause?  Isn’t it then an opportunity for discussion? Or is there a fear that this discussion may show firmly held beliefs to not be so easily/rationally justifiable?

I guess it’s a welcome break from other craziness, but could we just have a break from crazy overall???