Medical stuff
My friend Will Shetterly has been after me to write again about some of the differences between medical care here in France and in the U.S. I've been meaning to do it, but time and the muse have kept me from it until now.
Clearly, things here in France are far from perfect. In fact, this last month saw a strike of obstetrician and surgeons in private clinics (as opposed to public hospitals) because they've seen the rates for their malpractice insurance skyrocket and they are finding it hard to make a living. Although certain practitioners are free to charge whatever they want, since Social Security (the main health insurance) and Mutuelles (complimentary policy to cover the part not paid by Social Security) only reimburse up to a certain level. That means that for many people, either they have to pay the difference out of pocket, or they don't go to those doctors.
This is one of those things we seem to have exported from the U.S., and which is really not all that appreciated by the general public. Many folks are greatly concerned about what that bodes for the future. Still, no one here is going to get left without medical care; and that is clearly a major difference with the U.S. system.
I'm thinking of our friend Jacques and his ongoing battle with leukemia. At no time has his medical team had to fight with his insurance company for him to get care approved. His medical battle may be the same, but at least his financial state won't take a hit. He and his wife don't have to worry about losing their home or business; his only concern is fighting for a cure.
On the other hand, my friend Kevin in Texas recently had a terrible scare. He, his wife and their two children all have ongoing medical problems. His health problems keep him from working full-time and his wife has a job that pays way below what they need to live.
To try to keep their finances under control, she gets her meds, the kids get theirs, but Kevin was going without; it was that or not eat and pay the rent. The upshot was that he wound up in the ER, seriously ill. He HAS to take his meds, but he also can't afford them.
It's a horrible dilemma and one that affects many, many people in the U.S. I don't think this could happen here in France.
Everyone in France is insured. They have to be. However, the payments are based on your income, so if you make very little money, you pay very little or even nothing, but you get the same level of care as everyone else.
Another France story: there is a family visiting the Possum Kingdom from Northern Ireland. Their 16-year-old daughter became very, very ill and they needed to take her to the hospital. There has been no question about her getting the care she needs. She did not lie in a corridor for three hours because someone had to verify her insurance coverage. They just started to treat her, even taking her by ambulance to another facility for her to get an MRI that couldn't be done at the first hospital.
Now, I have found some anomalies here. For example, there is a medication that I took in the States that has been approved for sale in Europe. It is available in the UK, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, but not in France or the rest of Southern Europe. I called the pharmaceutical company to ask when it might be on sale here. It won't be. The reimbursement rates are too low for them to want to bother distributing it in France. That means if I want to take it, I have to get a prescription from the U.S. or the UK, which would make it way too expensive for me to take.
Yet, I buy Xanax at the pharmacy to give Maggie during thunderstorms. Clearly, it's not reimbursed on Social Security. But, a box of 30 pills costs me around $2 for the generic; now I KNOW I wouldn't be paying so little in L.A.!
So, there are some of the differences, good an bad. For each of us to decide what is best for our individual needs. For JM and me, France has been the best choice.
Ciao for now.
Randy
Clearly, things here in France are far from perfect. In fact, this last month saw a strike of obstetrician and surgeons in private clinics (as opposed to public hospitals) because they've seen the rates for their malpractice insurance skyrocket and they are finding it hard to make a living. Although certain practitioners are free to charge whatever they want, since Social Security (the main health insurance) and Mutuelles (complimentary policy to cover the part not paid by Social Security) only reimburse up to a certain level. That means that for many people, either they have to pay the difference out of pocket, or they don't go to those doctors.
This is one of those things we seem to have exported from the U.S., and which is really not all that appreciated by the general public. Many folks are greatly concerned about what that bodes for the future. Still, no one here is going to get left without medical care; and that is clearly a major difference with the U.S. system.
I'm thinking of our friend Jacques and his ongoing battle with leukemia. At no time has his medical team had to fight with his insurance company for him to get care approved. His medical battle may be the same, but at least his financial state won't take a hit. He and his wife don't have to worry about losing their home or business; his only concern is fighting for a cure.
On the other hand, my friend Kevin in Texas recently had a terrible scare. He, his wife and their two children all have ongoing medical problems. His health problems keep him from working full-time and his wife has a job that pays way below what they need to live.
To try to keep their finances under control, she gets her meds, the kids get theirs, but Kevin was going without; it was that or not eat and pay the rent. The upshot was that he wound up in the ER, seriously ill. He HAS to take his meds, but he also can't afford them.
It's a horrible dilemma and one that affects many, many people in the U.S. I don't think this could happen here in France.
Everyone in France is insured. They have to be. However, the payments are based on your income, so if you make very little money, you pay very little or even nothing, but you get the same level of care as everyone else.
Another France story: there is a family visiting the Possum Kingdom from Northern Ireland. Their 16-year-old daughter became very, very ill and they needed to take her to the hospital. There has been no question about her getting the care she needs. She did not lie in a corridor for three hours because someone had to verify her insurance coverage. They just started to treat her, even taking her by ambulance to another facility for her to get an MRI that couldn't be done at the first hospital.
Now, I have found some anomalies here. For example, there is a medication that I took in the States that has been approved for sale in Europe. It is available in the UK, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, but not in France or the rest of Southern Europe. I called the pharmaceutical company to ask when it might be on sale here. It won't be. The reimbursement rates are too low for them to want to bother distributing it in France. That means if I want to take it, I have to get a prescription from the U.S. or the UK, which would make it way too expensive for me to take.
Yet, I buy Xanax at the pharmacy to give Maggie during thunderstorms. Clearly, it's not reimbursed on Social Security. But, a box of 30 pills costs me around $2 for the generic; now I KNOW I wouldn't be paying so little in L.A.!
So, there are some of the differences, good an bad. For each of us to decide what is best for our individual needs. For JM and me, France has been the best choice.
Ciao for now.
Randy
