Healthcare- the first encounter

 Sean's had a nasty cough the last 4 weeks and finally agreed to see a doctor i.e our first foray into subsidized healthcare. Note this is a man who has had two major surgeries in the last three years so we are well versed in doctor interaction. 

Step 1: Sign up for the Queenstown Medical Center and get approved. This takes 1 day.

Step 2: Schedule an appointment. It was the weekend so we decided on Monday. This was also pretty effortless- this was on Sunday. 

Step 3: Go to appointment. It was slated for 15 minutes but that's all it took to get Sean diagnosed as probably bronchitis and get some meds. Since we have my company's additional insurance (comparably priced to American insurance) it was free but otherwise it would've been $65. 

Step 4: Get antibiotics. This was completely free and you pick them up at a grocery store like you do in the USA. 

If Sean's not better by Thursday he can shoot the doctor an email to get a chest x-ray, no ping-ponging back and forth from insurance to doctor to med tech. 

 I feel like everyone arguing towards subsidized or free healthcare is like "omg the lines are so long and the care's not as good." I'm sure there are truths to parts of it that but so far everything has been really efficient. It's funny what happens when companies aren't making money off people being sick. 

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