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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: UncleBigs who wrote (52382)	2/2/2006 2:30:57 PM
From: regli	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

"which countries did you think had the best health care?" From a health services consumer standpoint, I prefer the German and Swiss systems as they allow the patient to choose the physician and in some cases even the treatment facility. However, even discounting service levels, the biggest problem in the U.S. in contrast to most other places, is access to health care. When I left the security of corporate America in the early nineties, I also left the privileges of Blue Cross/Blue Shield for financial reasons. However, even as an independent, I wanted comprehensive coverage and therefore chose Kaiser as an HMO. A few years, we moved from Northern California to Nevada and tried to enroll in a Nevada based HMO because Kaiser has no services in Southern Nevada. However, due to preexisting conditions (non serious, age??) we were rejected. My wife and I now have to travel 3 hrs to the L.A. basin to get marginal but comprehensive healthcare. Now contrast this with Switzerland where it is mandatory that you enroll in the Swiss basic health plan if your stay exceeds 3 months irregardless if it is for pleasure or work related. In addition, this health plan is fully portable to other EU countries. Monthly contributions are equal to lower than my health plan at Kaiser in Switzerland and considerably lower if I were to stay in Greece. Just as an aside, I had several excellent experiences with the NHS, the first one as an unemployed foreign musician in the U.K., though those were a while ago. I also received free and excellent treatment whenever I needed it in Saudi Arabia and will always fondly remember the outstanding care provided by private Indian doctors.