And Alfie Evans is in the news--a child many people say is the victim of Britain's "Utopian" socialized medical system.
I never had to see a doctor in England but I did in Germany. For the most part I had great doctors but my ex said there really are two classes, regardless of what people say. I went to a clinic for a follow-up appointment (their wish, not mine). It was like an ice cream parlour or a bakery where you take a number. I was dead last, even though I wasn't the last to take a number. When my turn finally came the doctor said cheerfully "last but not least." I was furious. I asked "why? I was here before a lot of these other ladies and none of them looked very sick." He glibly told me the other patients were "special cases"--for example some of them were there for ultrasounds, which are NOT brain surgery. Another was a very old lady who was there as an inpatient. Hell, she wasn't going anywhere anyway.
When I got home my ex told me the truth: the "special cases" were probably privately insured, either through their own or a family member's jobs. They paid out of pocket and got reimbursed so the clinic got its money right away--with my insurance they had to submit the paperwork to my carrier and wait for their money. Mystery solved.
It bothered me. When I fly I see people in first class get better seats towards the front of the plane--they get just about everything first, better etc. That's understandable--they're paying more so of course they should get more. But to pretend you have such a perfect social system and treat socially insured patients badly is hypocritical.
Note: most German doctors weren't this bad. One of my ex's friends went to a private clinic not far from where I lived. When I went there they explained they couldn't treat me without a referral but they recommended another doctor in the same neighbourhood. I ended up going to his partner instead. She was wonderful. The only reason I stopped going to her was I left the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment