(If you have not done so, please read my Dutch healthcare overview post first)
I can't remember which country the woman was talking about (Hungary maybe?) but NOTHING is covered for one's eyes unless their prescription is -6 or higher. That's a pretty bad prescription, I oughta know cuz I'm close to that if not past it. And when I say NOTHING is covered I mean NOTHING. Not the eye exam, not the glasses, NADA.
Another person was complaining about Ireland's healthcare. At the time they were talking to me there was a 500 bed wait list in the hospitals there.
There was a story on the BBC about how women weren't getting their mammogram notifications in the mail and it seems some women died because of it. I didn't understand this story until I got a notification in our mail here in NL for me to get a Pap screen. Also, another American was talking about wanting to get her mammogram here in NL because she's had 2 relatives die from breast cancer. These things are not permitted unless the healthcare system sends you a letter stating you can go get it. I understand that in the US one's insurance may not cover the expense, and it might be possible to have the procedure done here in NL if one is willing to pay out-of-pocket, but it just seems off that the government gives you permission to have these things done. What's even more interesting is that for the Pap screen the letter stated that if it was getting difficult to make an appointment to have the procedure done I could get a do-it-yourself kit. Think about that for a minute... the national healthcare system recognizes that it can be too difficult to make an appointment with one's GP (i.e. there are no appointment slots available) and their solution is not to have more doctors but to have a do-it-yourself kit. Interesting.
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