US health care costs VS. Japan: One story.

[Bonobo]

In Japan, my son wound up needing some rapid treatment for whooping cough.
I believe he had contracted it in the US and it seemed to have cleared up, but then worsened many weeks later while in Japan.

It was a Sunday and he was really having problems, breathing poorly. So we took him to an emergency clinic.
They gave him an IV, blood tests (results came to us that day fully printed out with all details laid out), lots of medicine, xray, etc.
We were traveling, so had no insurance other than US and had to pay out of pocket.
The bill came to about $165 dollars.

When we got back to US, we had my daughter tested for the whooping cough. Just a test. Like a swab from inside the nose. That is all they did.
The bill was $365, after a $25 copay. She was negative. They did literally nothing besides the test.
My insurance, for which I pay $800/month paid about $40 dollars of that $365. I have a huge deductible that apparently everything seems to get thrown on.

Needless to say, for infectious diseases, it is in the entire nation's best interest to make sure that testing is cheap and available to all.

So, draw your own conclusions from this story. I just wanted to share my experience for those who wouldn't have the chance to compare in this way.

[Lasher]

1. I've read there are no wait times in Japan, even for nonemergency procedures.

Is that true?

[Bonobo]

2. Perhaps... It depends entirely on what you mean.

In Japan, people go to the "hospital" when they are sick -and no, it is not an emergency room type of situation. You go to the hospital and are seen, very quickly, by a doctor who is specifically there to treat people quickly. Most complaints dealt with in this way are the common ones. Burns, infections, cold, flus, etc. All that common stuff accounts for what? 95% of our needs?

As for other stuff, surgery and the like, I assume you have to wait, but I guess it depends on the procedure.

Generally, though, consumer service in Japan is exceptional and medicine is no exception. People really expect better service there, so they get it. It's just about expectations. Ours have dropped too much.

[Bonobo]

3. Another story: Dentist this time.

I was at the dentist (wife's cousin helped out for FREE!) and this old guy came up to pay his bill for the day's dental services.

The bill was $3 dollars and some-odd cents. Because he was old and had national insurance (like everyone else that isn't insured through employers)

Imagine! Healthy teeth your whole life with the gov't's assistance!

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one!

[goclark]

6. My Story ~ Dentist in Africa in the 70's

I was on a tour and on a Saturday we were headed for our stop for the weekend.

I had a tooth ache that would not end - the aspirin was not even touching the pain.

We got to the lovely hotel and I immediately asked was there a dentist in that town that could possibly help me.

In @ 20 minutes, the hotel directed me to his office.

When I arrived in the tiny but clean office, I was scared to death. I sat in the chair and started pointing to my tooth and saying in broken English -- " Tooth Hurt Here."

The Dentist looked at me and laughed, "Young lady,I was educated in England and I speak English."

While he carefully started working on my tooth, I started to worry about the cost - would my American Express Checks be enough -- how much would I have to borrow from my friends etc.

After the work was completed, I took out my wallet and was ready to give him all my precious Checks.

He laughed at me in a nice way and said, " There is no fee for my service, we have Socialized Medicine Here."

Not a dime did it cost and my tooth was great when I got to my Dentist at Home.

[Bonobo]

7. Goddamn Socialists!!!

Great story. What an exciting time, eh?

[goclark]

10. Yes and even more impressive ~ I was not a citizen

of their country.

[Bonobo]

11. And we don't even see the common humanity in our neighbors.

Even the good guys, like Chris Dodd for example, are forced to frame it in a way that appeals to people because it will "save them money" to get everyone insured.

Politicians here don't even bother to try to argue that everyone should have access to equal health care because it is the right thing to do. So few would agree.

[Obamanaut]

4. Japan can afford health care because the US spends billions for

their defense that they don't have to spend.

CLose the bases in Japan and the ones in the other 38 (not including the new ones in Bulgaria and Romania)countries and we would have lots of disposable income to spend on health care as well. (we being the US gov)

Just read on another DUer thread today about the Bulgaria and Romania bases - another $100 million down the tube.

[Bonobo]

5. Now THAT is true, but...

But we do it not out of a sense of altruism, but because of our own greed and desire for domination. OR, you could say it is because the military-industrail complex controls our foreign policy. Either way, it points out what is wrong with us, rather than pointing out what is wrong with Japan.

I bet Japan's expenditures for National Defense are on par with the rest of the world. It is the US that is off the chart compared with the rest of the world.

[hayu_lol]

8. Had your son not been immunized against Whooping Cough?...

I almost died from whooping cough...but that was before the immunizations were available. I think it is a combination shot: DPT: Diptheria, Pertussis(WC) and Typhoid.

How old was your son at the time?

[Bonobo]

9. Yes, he had been. But the booster comes at 12. He was 11.

The whooping cough vaccination "runs out" and is boosted again at 12.

The period before then is when many catch it. It is on the upswing in the US.