David Sedaris on French health care

Since it's Saturday, a bit of very funny humor by David Sedaris on the subject of health care in France compared to the US. I can definitely relate to his jokes His joke about the nurse bringing him an ashtray in the hospital (which is no longer possible, in theory, at least) while on demerol is really good too. Pay special attention at the end when he comments on the low cost of French health care because it's truly incredible how different the US and French systems can be.

Related (and above) is a photo I took during an emergency room visit to a hospital a year ago in the Drome, southern France. In local purchasing power, the euro is just like the dollar to Europeans but even with the ugly exchange rate, when is the last time you visited the emergency room (during the day) for 20 euro/$28? The doctor in my building charges 23 euro or about $32.50. National insurance picks up 60% of that and private insurance covers the rest but at these rates, who's counting?