How does America compare?

October 22nd, 2008

A friend of mine commented today about the extremely high cost of health care we have here in America.  He said he was surprised to find a $200 medical bill from just a consultation from the doctor for a mere case of the flu virus.  And that didn’t even include medicine or treatment of any kind.  Where he comes from, you can just walk down the street to your neighborhood physician, get some “consultation”, get a shot of some antibiotics in your arm, and receive a week’s supply of flu medication, all for just $5.  Yes.  Five bucks.  And that’s in South Korea.  The cost of living there is somewhat comparable to that of the U.S., yet our healthcare costs are much higher.

Now don’t get me wrong.  We have the world’ best doctors and the best hospitals and medical technology in the United States, but does the service we get from our doctors really justify the outrageous cost?  Not that it should cost five bucks, but it should be something the average person can afford without breaking the bank.  Either that or the doctors should offer more than just advice for common illnesses.  I don’t know about all the politics of this, but isn’t it one of the big issues in this year’s election?

-Kwang Lee

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