Health Care Experiences

So it happens that my immune system decided to take a little vacation, leaving me with the company of my old friend chicken pox. Unfortunately, like myself, chicken pox has grown up and is now shingles. And shingles, it happens, brought a friend: meningitis. Now I am in the hospital at Naval Air Station - Jacksonville, enjoying the benefits of being on government-run health care. I am scheduled to get out by next weekend (April 11th), which I hope is true because I don't want to be here so long that the government death panel decides I am too expensive to keep alive. I also don't want to be under the care of the disgruntled doctors here for too long. It's clear by their happy and approachable demeanor that they hate working under such tyrannical regulation and for such suppressed government wages, and I for one have no intention of subjecting myself to their dissatisfaction for any longer than necessary. And have I mentioned the conditions here? Government always screws things up and I am sure that a private, for-profit, hospital probably wouldn't be caught providing such a dreadful window-view room, with a private bathroom, excellent lighting, a flat-screen TV, movies on-demand, and linens changed every other day (or every day, if requested).

Well I do seem to recall that a couple of friends have had some of their own personal experiences with private insurances, private hospitals, and government health insurance with private hospitals, so perhaps it would be interesting to do a little comparing and contrasting. Of course, any such comparison would be very amateurish, since we are not going to be able to do much in the way of cost analysis. But it might still prove to be interesting. Does anyone know people who have experienced the Canadian or British health care systems? That could be a valuable addition too.

Ok, there you have your primer. I'll be sure to write something a little more comprehensive when I get out and my experience is complete.