Health Care Reform

Here is a piece of information that you all may find interesting. I have a prescription for Flomax (as do many of us older men) and I'm living in Spain. With my US prescription coverage my copay for a one-month supply comes to $32. I can go around the corner to a local pharmacy here in Spain and get the same drug for 14 euros. That is the TOTAL cost, not just the copay! (That is less than $20 for those who don't want to do the math.)

Health care costs are totally out of hand in the US and if we don't do something about it, the insurance and drug industries will break us all. Now is the time for all American citizens to weigh in on health care reform. Rest assured, the insurance companies and drug industry have been weighing in heavily by their contributions to many of our elected officials.

Anyone who fears “socialized medicine,” which is a catchword promoted by the insurance and drug companies, should take a serious look at most of the other developed nations in the world where health care costs are a fraction of those in the US and they get good care. I see it all around me here in Spain and, while people gripe about any health care system, the costs of health care are higher in the US than anywhere else in the world and we don’t get better care on average.

If you want to do something about it write to your congressman or go to one of the web sites that are working for reform. A good one is:

http://www.democrats.com/single-payer-petition

but you can choose any one to your own liking. I know that “single payer” is off the table, but, at the very least, we must have a public plan option like that proposed by Obama when he was campaigning. He seems to have backed away from strong support in recent weeks and needs a reminder from those of us who voted for him.