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E-PrinceBreaking your nose on a rugby pitch in the United States begins a process. From a doctor at McCosh, you are referred to a specialist and booked into a hospital. There, you are knocked out, and your nose is knocked ...(back to the article)
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It's true: all those medical professionals you saw didn't smile at you because they liked you; they smiled because they knew that if they mistreated you, they might lose their jobs, or that you and your friends would go to another doctor/facility next time where you would receive better treatment. I'm guessing you noticed their smiles and how easy they made your life because you are used to surly and/or indifferent treatment in your nhs establishments, and for Americans that is not a trivial difference: whether it is smiles or the most thoughtful and aggressive treatment of a scary disease, we think that what is "free" is ultimately cheap, and is moreover dispensed as though the provider were doing us a favor. I have lived in countries with "universal" care, and the first thing I was asked when ringing for an appointment was whether I was publicly or privately insured. I have endured unbelievable waits in public hospitals for my "free" consultation, only to be treated with disdain when finally received. I have had to beg to get on schedules for procedures I needed. I have seen young people whose faces were ruined by gigantic port-wine stains they had to endure for their entire lives because someone in a ministry in London had decided it was frivolous to treat those lesions. In sum, the ideal system has not yet appeared on Earth and meanwhile there are some who prefer service, competition, accountability and individual responsibility to "free" care.
And ps: Whatever the arrangement with McCosh, the vast majority of Americans see ONE bill from their providers, if any, for the difference between their insurance coverage and the cost of their treatment. Should we encounter a bit of work to resolve a problem, we don't die of stress - we manage, because we have the habit of managing rather than sitting around and drinking tea.