Coleen Monroe is from the U.S. but has lived in Italy, South Korea, Chile and now England. Her blog is a chronicle of the adventures of a twentysomething in the 21st century. She just made her first visit to the doctor in England and has a great description of the experience.
She didn’t have to show a card or prove that she was still on her parents’ insurance policy. She didn’t have to pay $170 for a consultation or make the choice between groceries and healthcare. As she walked out, she felt like she had broken the law (of American healthcare, anyway).
They didn’t give me an itemised bill showing $50 for a urine test. They didn’t pressure me to book a follow-up appointment, or give me a quote for several hundred dollars for whatever is up next. They didn’t push branded medications on me, while writing their notes with a Big Pharma pen.
I feel like a healthcare criminal walking out of my first ever free appointment, stealing urine tests and blood pressure readings. But nothing is exploding, the fabric of society is not degrading, and no one is threatening grandmothers with death panels. The sun is shining and the clouds are loping by, just as they were before. For the first time in my life, I know what socialised medicine feels like.
