CNN iReport

<![endif]><![if !mso]>

]]>

The politicians are engaged in a huge debate about health

care in America.  They should because it is the most expensive

in the world without providing the best care possible.

In Brazil

we have great medical coverage.  I am

personally with Unimed, one of the two largest insurers in Brasil.  Right now, we are paying about US $420 a

month for two people.  That is without

belonging to any group or from an employer.

For this we are totally covered for office visits, hospitalization,

tests, all meds given in the hospital, and no

co-payments.  Everything is covered except

prescription drugs.  Those are so

inexpensive here, it hardly matters.  The

co-pays alone in the USA

would cover the cost of my medications here.

In many cases, the government subsidizes the cost of some drugs such as

those for diabetes.  Citizens below a

minimum income level also receive essential care at reduced prices or at no

cost.

For example, for my blood pressure I take two different

meds, Lisinopril 20 mg, and Amlovasc 10 mg.

I also take one aspirin a day, too.

Six years ago in the USA,

this was costing me, with discounts, about $105 a month.  I just bought a 3-month supply here and it

came out to be about $30 USD a month.

The drug store delivers, too.  So we

just call it in and they bring it later that day.  If it's urgent, they will come right

away. 

Care here is of the highest quality, too.  In November 2005, I had a bulging disk that

was pressing on the sciatic nerve and had been causing me constant pain for

several months.  The treatment for this

is often a “slice and dice” procedure that is risky, painful, and requires an

extended recuperation period.  Here, I

had a neurologist that was trained in a procedure called nucleoplasty.  It was invented in São

Paulo and available only in Brazil

and England.  It involved inserting a needle into the disk

and using RF (radio frequency) energy to temporarily soften the disk material.  The excess material was extracted through the

needle until it no longer pressed on the sciatic nerve. 

I had this procedure done at ten

AM and was home in my own bed by ten

PM.  Not only was the

recovery (if you can call it that) measured in hours, I have had no trace of

pain since then.  The hospital care was

excellent.  Care was organized for the

convenience of the patient, not the staff.

There were no $25 charges for an aspirin or a band aid.  The food was far better than I have had in

any US

hospital.  Only the charges were

“substandard” by US

experience.  In any case, it was all

covered by my insurance.

Dental care is inexpensive here, too.  I have had two tooth implants done at about

$340 USD each.  Regular dental exams,

restorations, and cleaning are equally inexpensive.

It seems strange to me that a country as prosperous as the USA

should find it impossible to provide health care at the same level end costs as

Brazil.  Yes, it’s true that drug companies spend a

lot on developing new drugs and need to recover those costs.  But how long should they continue to recover

them?  For example, generic-brand drugs

in the USA,

even many years after being introduced upon the market, are more expensive than

similar drugs in Brazil.  Then there is the question of new procedures

such as my nucleoplasty.  Why are these

things so often pioneered in other countries and only slowly introduced into

the USA?  Is it excessive government regulation?  The constant malpractice suits?  The greed of the drug companies and the medical

industry?  Or is it a “combination of

ingredients”?  

Whatever the causes, there is no doubt the country could do

far better.