I know that health care reform has been a hot topic in the U.S. for a while. While I know that a lot of people are a bit terrified of the thought of social healthcare, as someone with a chronic illness I have to say that private insurance in the U.S. only works for people who are healthy. When it came time to find private insurance, there wasn't a single option open to me. Even plans that covered diabetics were unavailable because I have Type I diabetes. My options in the U.S. are to work for a company that provides health insurance or to go without health insurance.
Since March, I've been on the socialized health insurance in Austria. (Prior to that I had traveler's health insurance, which met the insurance requirement to get residency in Austria, but didn't really provide me with an benefits.) Since I'm considered self-employed, I have to opt-in by paying a (rather large, in my opinion) monthly fee. Here are the benefits I've taken advantage of since March:
- Visit to my endocrinologist (diabetes care doctor) = 100 euros. Oops, he's a private doctor, so he doesn't accept health insurance. However, he gave me the information for a clinic that he and a colleague run at the hospital were I should go in the future to receive the same care for free.
- Visit to the family doctor = free.
- Test strips used to test blood sugar = free.
- Supplies for insulin pump = free.
- Insulin = $10-$15 co-pay for a three-months supply
So far, I've been quite pleased with the system, but there is one thing it is lacking -- convenience. When I was paying for everything out-of-pocket, I only needed one prescription per year and I could pick up test strips and insulin at the pharmacy around the corner. But now I need a new prescription every 2 to 3 months when I need more supplies. Then I have to take the prescription for insulin to a regular pharmacy and the prescription for test strips to a special distribution center -- and there are only two in the city, both of which are only opened until noon most days. But I'll only have to do that 4 to 6 times a year, so hopefully it won't be too bad.
So, that's my experience thus far with social heath care. I'm very grateful for it because I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing if it weren't available.
4 comments:
Communist!!!
I personally love socialized healthcare. When we lived in England I didn't pay for a single thing except my medication (about 15 dollars for any perscription). But dental insurance was pitiful and with my teeth that was not good (luckily the only thing I needed done was a couple of cavities filled and a root canal).
Jason and I have definitely talked about the advantages to socialized medicine. There are a lot of perks to it! You need to watch the documentary "Sicko." We really enjoyed it and it paints socialized medicine in a good light. Maybe we are communists or something. :-)
Candace - I've heard that the dental care in Austria isn't so great either. I think I'm covered for basic care, but I've read that a lot of people in Vienna have dental work done in Hungary because it's cheaper and better quality. Hopefully I won't need more than cleaning or maybe a cavity filled.
Summer - I haven't seen Sicko, but maybe I'll check it out. And don't worry about Sharkdog -- he thinks everyone is a communist. :)
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