Best health care system in the world my fuckin ass!

[emsimon33]

82. As an American tourist in London, I had to go to the hospital for an emergency

I had watched my father almost die in the waiting room of the emergency at a hospital in Virginia Beach, VA. We finally got him admitted when I called doctor friends and the hospital finally called in another emergency doctor!

In London, not only did I wait for just minutes before the process of helping me was begun, but my "emergency" was not even life threatening. The care and the speed of the care was amazing and there was no charge for the same tests, etc. I had spent thousands in the US (my insurance is $500 a month and I had a $6000 deductible at the time so I wrote checks for everything until I reached the deductible and was well aware of the costs of each test).

I tried to pay but the hospital said there was no way for them to collect fees but since I had taken a taxi to the hospital, they could reimburse me for that (I declined.)

Most Americans have NO idea how poor our medical system is. Having been the primary care giver for first my mom and then my dad when they were dying of cancer, I know first hand. There should be no profit in medical care--and it is medical and not health care in the US.

All that being said, my heart goes out to your step mom. I hope that she is recovering rapidly now.