Monday - August 17, 2009

Socialized Health Care: A Ex-Pat’s Russian Perspective

Our new Moscow correspondent JA gives his views on Obamacare. JA is a diabetic, living in Moscow and working as a teacher.

Just how in hell I ended up in Russia, I really do not know, maybe the pretty girls, maybe the good Russia beer (pivo), I think the biggest reason is that Russia is a country closed off to the outside world so long for so many people.  Maybe I think of Russia as a land of contradictions, a church built in the 1400s with a Hummer limo parked in from waiting for the newly weds to come out from the church.  I like to think maybe I’m helping Ronald Reagan put the final nail in the coffin of Russian communism by coming here and teaching business to adults and American history (not the white washed political correct history taught in US schools today) to school children.

Since I’m a legal resident of Russia and pay Russian taxes and qualify for the socialized Russian health care, so I can share my experience with it.  Its good in that Russian medical health care is big on preventive measures.  I can go to a hospital for two weeks, twice a year for free and have tests done, laser and ultra sound treatments to my legs, my blood cleaned of cholesterol by IV, but and this is what the democrats forget to tell people in the US, everything is free as long as there is a supply of medicines, if they run out that’s it.  If you want to continue treatments, you have to do to a drug store and buy the medicines and IVs yourself.  If you’re able to go to a drug store in Moscow or have family who can pick up the medicine to you, no problem.  If you’re too sick to leave and have nobody who can buy and bring the medicine to you, then your SOL.  Also expensive medicines are not provided free, you have to buy them, I’m fixing to start treatments on weak bones and have to buy an IV I need to take every year, this IV costs around $700 per pop.  If you can not afford it, you do without.

I can get free insulin and test strips, but no where close to what I need, only a little.  Now this can be because I’m not a Russian citizen, but it could apply to Russians also.  I have to get up at 4:00 am on the day they give out the free medicines so I can get in line before they run out.  To be honest, I have never heard of them running out before, but the lines stretch for a couple of city blocks, they start at a certain time and stop at a certain time, if your not waited on by closing, you come back another day.  Most public hospitals here are not very good, there are a few good public hospitals here, but not many.  I can buy medical insurance here for $15.00 per month verses $400 plus per month in the US.  My insurance allows me to go to a private clinic and private hospital if needed, but my contacts have fixed it where I can go to one of the better public hospitals here.  But the fact of the matter is that private health care is the best and there is no way the public socialized health care here can compare. Private hospitals, doctors and clinics are big business here now.  It will be the exact same thing in the US, Obama does not bother telling people that. 

But what I have against Obama’s so-called health care is that it will destroy the finest health care in the world.  No, I am not rich, was out of work awhile and did have to go to the doctor a few time back home.  I was never turned away or refused treatment, but Obama’s health care will ration health care because like here in Russia, Canada and the UK, there just is not enough to go around.  Instead of trying to place everybody under the same system, he should set it up where only those who can not afford medical coverage (I’m not talking about lazy people who sit on their tails waiting for more handouts), but people with chronic illnesses or serious illnesses that medical insurance companies would rather not cover, these people could be place under something like medicare or medicaid.  But you think about it, you think Obama, Howard Dean and the rest of teh big shot democrats and their families will have to go through Obama’s so-called health care, no way, they will have their highly paid specialists and only the best while everybody else gets nothing and they know it!

Posted by Drew458     on 08/17/2009 at 04:59 PM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
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