Health Syckstem

I have had a really bad cold for a week now. I was hit mid saturday night party last week, like I have never been hit before. I swear, from one minute to the next my throat started hurting, my nose running...it was something incredible. I usually get over colds fairly fast, or at least the really terrible part of being exhausted, unable to breath, and headache. I kept on keeping on until Wednesday when I woke up and was having trouble breathing. At this moment in time, I asked if my roommate would take me to a clinic. I knew that it was common to go to the doctor's office here in Spain, even when all one had was a bad cold. The reason for this, my public, is because they have a general health care system. Everyone pays higher taxes to have great health care that is available for everyone at an EXTREMELY LOW COST. Imagine that, a United States of America where everyone can be healthy. A country where no matter what your income, you know you won't die of something curable because you CAN get the surgery that you need. What a concept. It disgusts me that our country, one of the richest and most advanced in the world, can't get it together and follow the form of other European countries. It works you know. And for all of you who wouldn't want to be cared for as the masses are, you could pay the bit extra for private care.

Obviously, if you totally disagree with this, as I know many US Americans do, I would love to receive a comment as to why. I am very curious about your point of view because it honestly just does not make sense to me.

I never made it to the clinic because my roommates sister (who just had leg surgery) had fallen to the ground and couldn't get up. So up to this point I have no report on how good the system actually is...although there is a general annoyance among the Spanish people that patients from all over the European Union are taking advantage of their care. This demonstrates that there must be something to this social system.