Universal Health Care

I came across an article in the newspaper the other day about how British Columbia is looking for ways to recoup some of the health care costs incurred by tourists as they visit BC. While we are very proud as Canadians of our universal health care system, apparently the fact that tourists are getting sick or injured while in our country is putting a strain on our medical resources. I guess the fact that we have thousands of Americans crossing the border in charter busses to buy prescription drugs is less of a problem than someone twisting an ankle on the West Coast Trail but that is another post.

Anyways, this article got me thinking about my experience as a tourist and needing to access another countries health care system. While in Mexico this spring break my 3 year old son came down with a high fever and complained of severe pain in his neck and ear. The town we were staying in had no hospital and my wife and I having no vehicle and speaking little Spanish were extremely anxious. As my mother went in search of a local to inquire as to the nearest hospital she returned with a gentleman who not only told us the nearest hospital was just up the highway but also insisted on lending us his vehicle to get there. When we arrived at the hospital we found no one who spoke English but instead of being frustrated with our lack of Spanish one of the people behind the desk went into the street and came back with a man who spoke a little English to help translate for us. Once in the examination room a doctor came in, again speaking no English, and was extremely patient as he attempted to diagnose the problem. Once he thought he had narrowed the problem down he brought in a pediatric specialist who conferred and assisted. Once they had the problem properly diagnosed as a parasite they gave us a prescription and made an appointment for us to return in three days for a follow up before we flew home. To say the least the generosity and caring of the Mexican people put us at rest and we are truly appreciative of the care my son received.

The interesting thing is that at no time did they ever ask for health care, insurance information or payment of any kind. I guess as medical professionals they simply saw a person in need of care so they did what they have been trained to do. Maybe we should be encouraging people to visit Mexico instead of B.C. if we are worried about the rising health care costs of tourists.