I Feeel Good, na na na na na na na...

One of the advantages of having a blog is that it gives one an excellent outlet to complain. If you've read my previous posts, you've seen that I've exploited that advantage to its fullest. You might have wondered why I bother to stay in Belgium. I'm going to go in a different direction now because I really like Belgium and I like living here. I really, really do.

The main subject of this week's integration course along with a recent viewing of Michael Moore's "Sicko" reminded me of one of the major major positives of life in Belgium: health care. The quality and accessibility are excellent. The up-front costs are reasonable as well (though not free, as Mr. Moore might have you think).

Allow me to make a comparison between Belgium and the US health care systems by providing personal examples.

A few years ago I suffered a pretty nasty snowboarding accident in Colorado (yes, I was doing something stupid. Let's stay on track here). My wife had to drive me, near death (well, that's how it felt), about 2 1/2 hours away so I could go to the emergency room at our in-network hospital. I then proceeded to wait in the emergency room for another couple hours. Finally, I got some attention. I was examined by a few different people, x-rays were taken, etc. This was all good, but not once did I see an actual doctor. Nurse practitioners, nurses and so on, but not one single doctor. I was told a doctor looked at my x-rays, but he didn't look at me. The only upside is that, since I was willing to put up with all the suffering and waiting, the direct cost to me was reasonable. $100, if I remember correctly (I could be wrong).

Now for Belgium. About a year ago, I had an unusual problem and went to see a doctor. He was within walking distance - only a few blocks away. The doctor called me in at my appointed time and proceeded to examine me. He took his time, asked and answered lots of questions and took tests. I was in his office for a good 30-40 minutes. He determined I needed to see a heart specialist. He recommended one and called and made an appointment with her for me. I was given the time of the appointment, but told that I should show up early, because she usually runs ahead of schedule. Sure enough, I was seen before the time of the appointment. Some unusual and expensive tests were administered, a treatment given, and a follow-up appointment was made. At the follow-up appointment, my experience was similar, except that I had to wait to see the doctor for maybe ten minutes. The cost was so negligible, I don't remember what it was.

So there you have it. I think you know which system I prefer. Chalk one up for Belgium.