Government Health Care - Just Say No
I just got back from the dentist. I pay for it myself. Out of pocket. Yes, I'm a military retiree. Doesn't matter. I've been paying for my dental work since returning to the U.S.A. in 1981 LONG before I retired. Why? Because the military health care system (government health care) didn't pay for it. Because I nearly lost my teeth due to rationed health care while stationed in Korea. Yep, rationed care to military members.
It isn't as if they had recourse. The draft was gone. Dentists don't join and so they didn't have many dentists to spread around. Those I did see were increasingly like the doctors we got, foreign born, foreign trained and in the service to get on the fast track to U.S. citizenship. There still weren't enough to go around. I had to make 4 appointments to actually go to 1 where both the dentist and I were present at the same time.
No, I am NOT a fan of government health care in any shape, manner or form. I've seen Medicare and Medicaid, seen the active duty health care and the Veteran's Administration's approximation of the lifetime care promise. I don't believe the government will do it for us. Only my private, privately paid for, dentist and dental hygienist saved my teeth.
Labels: Culture
