Socialized Medicine

Thoughts for the new year...
We had two surgeries this week. Benjamin had an arthroscopic repair of his torn meniscus and Sarah had all four of her wisdom teeth removed under general anesthesia at day clinic. They are both doing really well. Both spent about 5 hours in a shared room after the surgery. Both had surgeons and anesthesiolgists and were recovered in a pretty standard recovery room. Overall, the facilities and care were pretty comparable to what we would have expected in the US. There were a few differences, however.
1) Sarah's surgeon offered to take Dave and Sarah's coat when they came for the initial consultation. They wouldn't have been surprised if he had offered them a beverage.
2) Benjamin's surgery was postponed by a week due to a one day nursing strike at the Antwerp hospital. Stinks for him.
3) After taking her blood pressure post surgery, the nurses left Sarah alone...all day...until it was time to check out. She slept really well.
4) Not only did the surgeon call to check on Sarah the day after surgery, but he have us his private number and cell phone number in case we had any questions or complications.

Ready for the bottom line? Benjamin's surgery--Dr's fees plus hospital stay--2063 euros ($2,762) with an expected refund of 400-500 euro (+- $600).
Sarah's total cost for hospital care and stay--315 euros ($421). I am thinking that there has got to be more to that one. 315 euro???? Really????

I wish there had been more attention paid to the cost of health care in the US debate, not just who pays and how. We got great care in this "socialized" system for approximately one tenth of what we would have paid in the US. If we can get an MRI here for 157 euros including the radiologist's report, then why does it cost $1200+ in the US with an additional $250 for the radiologist? I don't think the machines cost that much more in the US. Doctors here have very small offices, with generally shabby furniture and minimal staff. Most serve as their own receptionists, nurses, book keepers, and probably even custodians. Our family doctor, the very aimiable Dr Deome, has holes in the seats of his two rattan consultation chairs, but guess what? I have his cell phone number and if one of my kids gets really sick, he will come to my house for the exam. And he will charge me 50 euros to do so--about $75. That is it.

Now I will freely admit that we have never faced serious, long term health issues in our family for which I am profoundly grateful. Maybe my perspective would be different if we had. But I think the word "Socialized" has come to represent for Americans a scary psudo-communist European welfare state intrusion into the freedoms we value. Maybe this kind of healthcare system just wouldn't work for us in the US. But I just wanted to let you know that for me, it seems to work pretty well and I kind of like it. Thanks for listening.