Reply #86: I lived in Japan for 2 years ('89-'91)- my health care stories:

[npincus]

With National Health Insurance, I paid less than $30 for a wisdom tooth extraction. That was 2 visits with x-rays.

My Japanese boyfriend (now husband) had a serious colon infection- he was hospitalized for 2 weeks, and had a number of invasive procedures performed in the hospital. If I remember correctly, he paid about 20,000 yen (about $130 at that time) at the end of his stay. Approx. $10 a day.

the hospital was not 'luxurious' by our standards, but FUCK THAT. I would trade access to cable TV ansda semi-private room for worry-free, affordable health care for EVERYONE.

By comparison, I had my daughter by Cesarean, spent 4 days in the hospital and was billed more than $35,000. And my dentist charges $1600 for a crown (I need one).