A Spork in the Road

Dear United Healthcare “Golden Rule” Bureaucrat:

My Canadian friends have begun expressing their compassion for my being American and insurance-less. Karina (a Toronto native) points out: “I’ve heard horror stories about the American health system, but it is always that much more real, more shocking, when such things happen to someone that you care about.”

Our country has its share of nationalists, as does every political region in the world. It does strike me as odd, however, that one of the things I hear nationalist Americans rail against is the health care in other Western nations. I mean really, you may not like the French, and the gods know they have their share of problems, but does an American really have a leg to stand on when it comes to criticizing French (or Canadian, or British, or…) health care? And if the American doesn’t have a leg to stand on, is it considered a pre-existing condition?

Sorry. Health care humor.

On a completely unrelated note, I’d like to thank you for daily practice spelling the word “bureaucrat.” I no longer stumble while ordering its vowels, which makes me much happier than it probably ought.

Sincerely,
Beth Adele Long