Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Italy has the best health care system, but at least EVERYONE can get some kind of care for whatever ailment he suffers from.
In the early years of the Clinton presidency, the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton (probably, the best First Lady ever, if you, like me, would rather see people with a certain status do something with it, instead of just sitting there looking pretty -- yes Laura Bush, I'm talking about you -- memo: you're not trying hard enough,) tried to get legislation passed that would have put the US on its way to achieve the same goal of universal health care now offered in Canada and many European countries.
As history tells us, she failed, and today we still don't have health care for everyone in this country. Something like 40 million Americans don't have any health care coverage, which means that unless you're about to die, you can't get any kind of care, unless you have the cash to pay for it. Upfront. And even if you are about to die, and can't really make a decision about wanting to spend that kind of money or not, you'll still be held responsible for paying the hospital bill, which could easily run in the thousands of dollars.
Simply going to the ER, and I really mean simply stepping inside for a visit, not considering any actual medicine you might need, will cost you around $500. Imagine how long someone working minimum wage (which pays a little over $5 an hour) will have to work to pay for that visit. And those are the people most likely without any kind of coverage. And they are the most likely to suffer through the pain, unless it's unbearable, because they can't afford to get better, which causes them to get worse, and so on. But they still have to eat, and go to work, and feed their kids, etc..., so what else can they do??
Anyway, it probably will take years and years, if not decades, but I believe that someday this country will join the other developed countries. The health industry will definitely lobby against such a change, but I see it as inevitable.
This is a little bit of good news I just read on the topic:
Universal health care push being revived
A push for universal health coverage is being rekindled in some states by the soaring cost of health care and the lack of political support in Washington for federal changes. Advocates of a single-payer system – where the government would collect taxes and cover everyone, similar to programs in Canada and across Europe – have introduced bills in at least 18 state legislatures. Some are symbolic gestures, but heated debate is taking place in California and Vermont.
Associated Press, Columbus, Ohio, Newsday, July 10, 2005.
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