Healthcare reform not to be feared
To the editor:
While a college student, I was fortunate enough to participate in an overseas program. I was able to study and secure a work permit in England. The English government took a small amount out of funds out of my paycheck to enroll me in their national healthcare system. I unexpectedly became very ill and my schoolmates took me to the local hospital. The hospital was in excellent condition and there was only one other person in the waiting room. I was seen promptly, given a free prescription and advised to follow up at a clinic in my neighborhood. I received excellent and prompt care from the doctors I saw. I am glad that I was able to experience firsthand the national health care system in England.
If you talk with people who have experienced healthcare in other nations, such as England or Canada, you often hear positive feedback.
It concerns me when I see that a person in the United States has delayed seeing a doctor due to cost, or hasn’t visited a dentist in years. For some hardworking Americans, our health care system has caused them to go into heavy debt. Some families go without filling prescriptions or receiving treatment.
Currently, the U.S. is ranked at No. 50 in the world for life expectancy. Among 33 industrialized nations, we rank 13th for our healthcare. The U.S. currently ranks last among industrialized nations in the preventable death rankings; 47 million Americans have no health insurance.
We may not solve our healthcare problems overnight, but why not look at programs that are working in other nations and ask ourselves if we can implement programs that are working here as well? It doesn’t hurt to investigate and find out more about this issue.
The following is a list of countries that have national health care: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, The United Kingdom.
C. Hughes
Cape Coral