I never had any serious health problems during my adult life in the US so I never really put the private insurance system to the test. However, I've heard horror stories of people who didn't have any/sufficient insurance to cover a disease like cancer and who went bankrupt or were in dire straits as a result. Having socialized medical care has eliminated that worry for us and has allowed me to focus my energy on getting well.
Everything required for my treatment is covered, with the exception of small, co-payment fees. Here are some examples:
1. I paid 27.40 euros for my mastectomy surgery and another 27.40 for my overnight stay in the hospital!
2. My breast prosthesis, a special prosthetic bra and my hair prosthesis (wig) were all covered.
3. I'm taking a special drug to boost the production of white blood cells to make up for the ones the chemotherapy kills off. I have to take the shot each time I have a chemo treatment, and each shot costs 1300 euros! However, with a special waiver, I only pay THREE euros per shot.
4. In addition, once we've paid 600 euros out of pocket in a year, anything above and beyond that is fully covered.
What's more, the social welfare system in Finland allows fathers to take 3 weeks of leave when they have a baby and another 6 weeks of leave once the mother's maternity leave ends. So Matti has been helping out at home for the last 5 weeks (this week is his sixth). We actually planned for him to take the leave- just so we could spend some time as a family- before I learned of the diagnosis. During this chaotic, stressful time, it's been invaluable to have him at home. I honestly don't know how I would have made it on my own with the girls all these weeks if we had been in the US.
For all the bad press socialized medicine gets in the US, I haven't had any major complaints with the care here. Every step so far has been swift, efficient, and effective. I'm receiving the same state-of-the-art care here that is being practiced in the US and am paying very little for it. (Yes, of course, we pay for it in taxes. However, the amount of taxes paid for what we get back is well worth it!)
So, if I have to be far from my family there, at least I'm being well taken care of here.
4 comments:
It's so good to hear that you have received good care! It's also great that you have been able to be together as a family for a big part of this challenging time.
Hardly surprisingly, I am in favour of tax-financed health care for all. As a Finn I'm of course used to that - almost taking its most features for granted I guess - so it's useful to hear positive accounts of the system, reminding me of that things are differently elsewhere.
Concerning the parental leaves in Finland, I would like to add a comment: to be exact, the father (and the non-birthgiving mother in two-mother families) is in addition to the three-week earmarked paternity leave entitled to ca seven months of paid leave after the birthgiving mother's maternity leave ends (the actual maternity leave being 105 days) in case the parents agree on sharing the leave that way. It's just that the first 158 days of those seven months consist of the general parental leave which is for the two parents to share as they please, and in practice the parent who uses at least most, and very often all, of those six months is in most families the birthgiving mother. Many do thus even believe that it is like you said - that up until the kiddo is ca nine months old the leave would only be available for the (birthgiving) mother.
For some reason, the Finnish parental leave and allowance system is still built on the assumption that the birthgiving mother would be the primary parent all the way long. Even as the parents are allowed to share the leave from when the child is ca three months old, the system hardly encourages fathers to take any other part of the leave available than that which is earmarked to the non-birthgiving parent. That surely is part of the reason why we get statistics showing so few fathers staying at home. The Swedish system for example is much more flexible and non-genderised: the parents may decide from the beginning how they want to share the leave (except for 60 days per parent that are earmarked), and they may for example be on part-time leave simultaneously, and both parents have automatically the right to half of the leave.
Then there is in Finland also the 'hoitovapaa' leave that is paid much less for (provided one has had income that entitles for the parental leave to be paid better than the minimi level) but is available for both parents (to share between them) up to when the child is three years old.
I have often thought about how lucky I am to have good insurance because there definitely are people in the US that either (1) do not seek out medical care when they find a lump because they cannot afford it or (2) incur major debt. This definitely need to be fixed. So glad that you are blogging!!!
and henry's surgery and week in the hospital cost was something silly like 70 euros. and his care was FANTASTIC.
i often wonder if he would have been diagnosed in america, with insurance companies so hesitant to spend money on tests. and i was so convinced it was nothing that i sure wouldn't have paid the thousands out of pocket.
and then today! popping into the hospital, getting benjy's elbow popped back into place for FREE and then getting pain meds FOR FREE.
honestly, i can't say enough good about finland's medical care.
@Aija- I'm in favor of socialized medicine for all, ESPECIALLY since I'm not used to it. It's great! Of course, the parental leave system here could be more flexible, but it's so great compared to the practically non-existent leave in the US that I feel I can't complain!
@Amanda- SO glad you have good coverage. I shudder to think what would have happened if you didn't. Thanks for your inspiration to blog. I'm trying to make the time and hoping it will be worth it in the end.
@Sarah- Don't situations like these give you so much peace of mind? Taking the economics out of the equation makes things so simple and straightforward and allows everyone to focus on the PERSON needing treatment.
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