Reading articles like http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/us/05uninsured.html?pagewanted=all that talks about solid middle class in US who cannot afford health care, and scare shitless of getting sick, it reminds me of what my mother told me one time when I was a kid.
Hong Kong was (and to a large extent still is) a place where you can't afford to get sick. Sure, there is basic healthcare to everyone. But if you get really sick, you're pretty much on your own. One of my mother's long time friends died of ovarian cancer some years back. The doctor found the cancerous tumor when it's still in early stage. If she had had the operation and some chemo, she might still be alive today. But she couldn't afford to pay for private operation. So, she put her name in the public waiting list. And wait, she did. Some 5 years later, she died of the cancer, and she's still in the waiting list.
China is even worse.
One would think a developed country like US would be better. We all know now that the situations are not dissimilar. But then, for my mother's friend, there was universal healthcare. With that, at least you have some hope. You're on waiting list, and if it gets to your turn, you won't have to worry that you can't pay for it. But you just have to wait for your turn.
I suppose, at the end of the day, if one has the money to afford private healthcare, things will be alright (at least financially). It's all about the money, no matter where you are. That's the way things are.
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