FIC: Uninsured

[dr_dredd]

Title: Uninsured
Author: dr_dredd
Genre: angst, hurt/comfort
Season: Three, right after "Misbegotten"
Spoilers: None really; maybe very very slight one for Misbegotten
Word count: ~3200
Rating: PG
Feedback: Yes, please. I'd like to know if this worked for you or not.

Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis, characters, concept, etc, aren’t mine. Please don't sue

Comments

[sunmyano]

I liked this story very much. It made me think again about the whole medical insurance concept my own country is slowly moving to as well right now. I found it really touching and think that it'll stick with me for quite awhile now. *hugs*

[dr_dredd]

You're in Germany, right? In a recent article comparing health care systems from Europe and the U.S., Germany actually came out the best. What is your country changing it to?

And thanks for reading! :-)

[sunmyano]

Well, we have private and standard patients already and though we're still much better off than in the States the quality of treatment and the way patients with standard insurance are treated doesn't get better and costs more money than it used to through a new fund system the government is planning. All in all it's said that a two-class system is promoted more and more in the medical sector right now.
Okay, but I won't really complain about it even though it can really nuke me at times. For example when I needed an urgent appointment at the octamologist's they made me wait over 4 months for it because I'm no private patient.

[dr_dredd]

A two-tiered system is a tricky issue. On the one hand, I do think that people should be allowed to buy extra if that's how they want to spend their money. On the other hand, by doing that, they're tying up doctors, resources, etc. that could otherwise be used to benefit the main "pool" of patients.

If a system is two-tiered, I think it at least needs to be sure that the "bottom" tier has comprehensive benefits. (And that doesn't mean 4 months for an appointment!)

[sunmyano]

Good that we share the same opinion about that, but buying extra isn't at all easy here. Almost everyone's insured somehow but to get private insurance you have to earn a certain ammount of money or be in an uninsured profession (like journalist, government official etc.) to be allowed to enroll with a private insurance. It all makes sense, but not always. *sighs*