A sad close to a sad story of a woman with a terrible genetic illness who found that just because she had health coverage didn't mean anyone would cover her health problems:
In recent weeks, Mrs. Calder has been lobbying Mr. Calder and her children to move to Belgium, where she once lived with her ex-husband, arguing that they could get good care there cheaply through the country's universal health-care system. One of the leading researchers of EDS is a Belgian geneticist who works at the University of Ghent.
Mr. Calder, whose father was a doctor and mother was a nurse, grew up believing the U.S. health-care system was the best in the world. But he says his wife's struggle has eroded that faith. "I've actually turned around to where I'm thinking, 'Yeah, Europe may not be a bad thing.' "
It's worth noting that this story is a frontpager in today's Wall Street Journal. If business does prove more constructive in the upcoming health reform fight, it will be, in part, because the Journal's news staff has spent the last decade providing constant, substantive, and humane coverage of America's health care crisis. Indeed, the story is accompanied by an online poll asking "how would you grade your health insurance?" These polls aren't scientific, and the response rate for this one isn't particularly high, but it's a potentially interesting snapshot of a very privileged group's tepid feelings towards their own insurance:
And the comments below are interesting. A couple selections:
