A British couple came to New York City for a visit and were surprised when their child was born 11 weeks early.
Now, I know that some are going to criticize them for coming here that late in the pregnancy, and perhaps it is a point well taken.
Still, the couple got hit with over $200,000 in expenses, predominately medical expenses.
Welcome to America!
Sure, it sounds like a nightmare.
Unfortunately, it also happens to be true.
Especially when it comes to foreigners.
The one thing I believe most Americans feel strongly about, regardless of their political leanings, is how the nation is perceived by the rest of the world. And the truth is that most of the rest of the world does not "get" us, they do not understand Americans, and how things are done here. In particular, they take exception to the political thinking and practical realities here, and this is especially true when it comes to the one area where Americans absolutely stand out from the rest of the industrialized world: healthcare.
As I have mentioned quite a few times here before, we are the only industrialized nation that fails to provide it's own people with an adequate system of affordable, universal health coverage. You may hear some Americans boast that in the United States, the healthcare system is the best in the world.
This might not be entirely untrue. Some of the best doctors, facilities, and technology is here, after all.
But when people from those other nations look at healthcare in the United States, they do something that Americans fail to do, and that is judging it by the weakest link in the chain. What is that weakest link? It is that tens of millions of Americans cannot afford healthcare, and that the costs of medical care here, from prescription drugs to services rendered, tend to be far, far more costly than they are in the rest of the industrialized world. It is glaringly obvious to them, although it seems to elude Americans at large.
Why? Because Americans are so used to hearing how their nation is the "shining city on the hill" and the "leaders of the free world," that it never occurs to them that maybe the nation is not leading as much as it should in certain areas. Important areas, too. Areas like freedom and democracy, where not that long ago, we used to rate a lot higher than we have lately. Areas like alternative energy research and development, and the environment in general, where we have long trailed other nations. And, of course, areas like healthcare, where we have lagged far behind other industrialized nations as well.
Although conservative Americans tend to boast about seeing and judging things based on the weakest link in the chain, the fact of the matter is that they fail to actually see things in quite this way when it comes to their perceptions of themselves, and certain aspects of the country. Where people from other industrialized nations see the healthcare system as inadequate and unaffordable, Americans only see that doctors, technology, and facilities are supposed to be second to none, and they hear horror stories of waiting lists for medical procedures in other countries. They hear the words "socialized medicine" when referring to healthcare in those other countries, and terms that have been associated with them from fear mongering political commentators on the radio and television are conjured up. Why, that's socialism, a step away from communism! We can't have that here, in the land of the free, and the home of the brave!
People buy into it, too. Time and time and time again, they vote against their best interests. Even while standards of living have continued to decline here, and the rest of the world keeps catching up and, in some cases, surpassing us. Like they have in Scandinavia, in Canada, in Australia, in Switzerland, and probably elsewhere, as well. Countries like Germany seem to be doing much better than the United States right now. The economy is strong, strong enough at least to bail out entire nations where the economy hinged on this relief. In Germany and in Australia (and the rest of the industrialized world), they not only have affordable, universal healthcare, but they have affordable childcare, as well. Most of those nations have stronger education systems in place as well. Pretty much all of them have significantly more vacation time, too. Germany and Australia have six weeks apiece, and France has five weeks, as do many other countries. All of those countries have better environmental records than the United States, too, even though they have weaknesses and need to work on tougher environmental standards.
In other words, those countries all have things that Americans, if they were not so filled with assumptions of superiority and notions of grandeur, might actually be envious of. Envious enough, frankly, that they might begin to see that those systems work in those countries, and better than things tend to work here, often times.
For many, it begins with healthcare, and the fact that this British couple had the misfortune of having a premature baby while here in the United States is a case in point.
The baby is in a hospital that is holding him, and not permitting him to leave until he is medically cleared. The problem, of course, is that the British couple cannot afford the astronomical prices that these institutions are asking. Plus, they are stuck here, where they cannot return home and work and make money.
What to do?
Well, they began to share their horror story with newspapers, to try and gain publicity, and public support. Also, in hopes to raise some funds that might help them get through this. They need to have $200,000, and right now, they have no real money at their disposal. These are not rich people, after all.
And as we Americans know already, when you are not rich, you are pretty much screwed. That is especially true when you are talking about healthcare. If you do not have money, you are pretty much screwed, and that is all there is to it. That's the reality.
Is it pleasant? No, certainly not. But that does not mean that it is not reality.
And if we have any measure of real objectivity, and we rate our healthcare system against that of the rest of the industrialized world by the weakest link on the chain, then we would have to admit that, for the majority of Americans, our healthcare system fails the very people that it is supposed to serve, far more than the healthcare systems in other countries fails them, precisely because it is not affordable.
When stories like this British couple come out, it shows the rest of the world our American weaknesses, as well.
Read what Stephen D. Foster has to say about it in his article on this story:
"How are people supposed to take care of their kids if the hospital takes all of their money to pay for the birth? Furthermore, why should any resident of another nation risk traveling to the United States at all if they could easily become poor by having to stay in a hospital here? In the eyes of the world, our healthcare system is still pathetic despite the fact that ObamaCare has made it better for millions of Americans. But the fact is, compared to the rest of the world, we are far behind. We may have the best doctors and the best facilities in the world, but private ownership and greed has turned our healthcare system into a financial disaster for patients."
This is the kind of thing that more Americans need to read and hear. When foreigners do not understand the way Americans do things and see things, this is what they are talking about.
Healthcare may have issues in those countries, but the one thing that is never seriously discussed is whether or not to adapt the American model of healthcare.
But we are the "leaders of the free world," right? The "shining city on the hill!"
Why wouldn't they want what we've got?
Well, here's why: because a British couple that would have been far better off if that child had come while they were in their home country of Britain now have to deal with the consequences of having had their child here in the United States during the visit that was supposed to be brief, but has instead turned into a long nightmare. Having a premature child obviously complicates matters, because of the health concerns, and it is stressful enough. Having a premature child in a foreign country, and having the hospital not allow your child to be released would present financial strains, because the parents are not simply going to go back home and resume life as normal while their child remains in a hospital in a foreign country.
But having the misfortune of having a premature child here in the United States added far more stress and financial burdens, because they are being asked o pay $200,000, and that is obviously not the kind of money that most people can pay for medical expenses. In any other industrialized nation, where there are price controls, they would not be asked to pay that much in medical expenses.
Here is America, however, where de facto corporate supremacy is the order of the day, insurance companies rake in tons of money, and average people pay tons of money compared to other countries. There are no governmental price controls in this country of deregulation and - surprise, surprise! - this is being exploited by any and all who can profit from it.
What an absolute shocker! Who would ever have guessed it?
That is why in those countries, they simply do not ever seriously think about going to the American system of healthcare, because they know that, for the average people, the system is not kind, and does not work. There may be issues with healthcare in other industrialized nations, but regular people being asked to pay astronomical prices is not one of them, as it is here in America.
And here is yet another shocker: here in the United States, where we are repeatedly told that our healthcare system is the best in the world, the system comes under scrutiny, and is debated, time and time again. Fiercely debated. It is a major issue in almost every election.
Why? Because it does not work. Not, at least, for the people. It works for the insurance companies and for the big pharmaceuticals, who rake in the profits, literally off of people's pain. To me, that's the very definition of evil. But it is not about to change, so long as Americans are quick to suspend their own skepticism and objectivity as soon as someone calls on national pride and how great it is to be an American.
It does not have to be that way, of course.
But Americans always want to be exceptional. Collectively, they always seem to want others around the world to acknowledge that superiority, even when it is not there in any real sense.
No, it does not have to be that way. But when those that stand to benefit from the system as is throw out the fears that those countries are "socialist" countries, and that adapting a healthcare system more on the European model is a step towards dreaded "communism," even when that is clearly not true, it is enough to convince Americans. That is why this ridiculous and clearly inadequate way of life continues to get worse, year after year and, yes, now decade after decade, with no clear end in sight.
In the meantime, citizens from those other countries with "socialist" healthcare systems, nations well known to be on their way to evil "communism" such as Canada, Britain, and Australia, to name just a few, will continue to see horror stories like this and be thankful that they do not have to deal with the inadequacies, or perhaps even the criminality, of the American system.
They may even be thankful for what most Americans would be aghast to hear: they may be thankful not to be American. The very thing that Americans tend to want to feel is exceptional is the thing that others are starting to feel is America's biggest vulnerability in the first place.
The worst thing is they may be right. And until we get past our own desire to always be "exceptional" for everyone and everything, the more we will continue to be "exceptional" for all the wrong reasons.
For a long time, Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world, and maybe they had good reason to feel proud and, yes, exceptional. However, standards of living have been on the decline here for a long time, and there are reasons for that. It is no longer enough to simply be happy and proud to be American and leave it at that, with the assumption that things are, and always will be, better here than everywhere else. That simply is not true anymore, and if we want to collectively be able to take real pride in being American again, we need to get past ourselves, and start focusing on fixing some of the things that are broken here.
And we should probably star with two things, both of which are related to health: the environmental and stronger regulations for a healthier planet, and the healthcare system that has failed the people that it is supposed to serve.
Here is the link to this story:
British Couple Gets Hit With $200,000 Medical Bill Because Their Child Was Born During Their Vacation In NYC by Stephen D. Foster, January 2, 2015:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/01/02/british-couple-gets-hit-with-200000-medical-bill-because-their-child-was-born-during-their-vacation-in-nyc/
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