Most people in the United States are accustomed to the sometimes frustrating and always expensive healthcare and insurance system. For many of us, it is all we have ever known.
For citizens and residents of other countries, the cost of American healthcare can seem astounding.
As it turns out, experiencing healthcare in other countries can seem just as strange to us as American healthcare is to them.
A lump
Mary Robinette Kowal, from Tennessee, was spending some time in Iceland as a puppeteer on the Lazytown children’s television show.
It was while she was in that country that she noticed a lump in her breast. While there was no history of breast cancer in her family, there was still a risk that the lump could be cancerous, especially with the high number of breast cancer cases in America as well as around the world.
She had found a previous lump while in the US, and while i proved to be nothing of concern, having to navigate the healthcare system to find out had left her dreading going through the process again.
But, knowing that there was the potential for the lump to be cancerous, she went forward with seeking out medical care as soon as possible, while she was still staying in Iceland.
The healthcare experience
She shared her experience on Twitter.
First, she went to find a general doctor to start the process, but she was informed by a local resident that she could skip that step. They told her to just go to the cancer center.
She asked about how she would get a referral to the center. They looked confused. They didn’t know why she would need one.
So, she called the cancer center to make an appointment.
They told her she didn’t need one. She could just come in whenever was convenient for her.
This time, she was the baffled one.
She showed up to the cancer center.
They signed her in and ask for a fee up front because she isn’t from the country. The fee is approximately three dollars.
Shortly after, she is led in to see a doctor. They confirm that there is a lump and send her across the hall immediately for a mammogram. No waiting. No booking another appointment.
The thing that impressed her the most was that the mammogram had warmers. I was almost a bearable experience.
The doctor confirmed that there was something there and brought her across the hall again, this time for an ultrasound of the area.
After a short wait while the ultrasound was being read, she had an answer. It was just a cyst.
Mary was astounded by how fast the process had been (45 minutes) and how affordable it was (three dollars).
She vented her frustrations about the American medical system on Twitter:
“In the US, a similar lump took two weeks and three different office visits.
I think about this every time I have to fight with medical insurance in the US.”
A lot of sympathy
We can understand her frustrations. So can many Americans.
Mirabai had this to say:
“It feels like it would be easier, cheaper and far less stressful to simply buy a ticket to Iceland if I need quality medical care. And I’d get to see Iceland.”
Shelly spoke about her own experience in the US:
”My experience in the US: one month, four appointments and $2,500 (with insurance)- thankfully the lump was benign.”
And Susam shared the downside of foreign medical systems:
“In US, a similar took two weeks and in UK it took two years. It was already too late and we lost our dearest one. Iceland is awesome.”
We do have to agree. Iceland sounds awesome.
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