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健康保険制度をめぐる論争
アメリカで無保険だった筆者の友人は、腎臓結石の手術に大学院4年分の学費より高い医療費を払った。日本の医療保険で似た手術を受けた筆者が払ったのは5万円 — 。無保険者を救うための医療保険改革法に対し、米最高裁判所は6月28日、合憲との判決を下した。
Health care debate
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Barack Obama's health care plan on June 28, making supporters happy and opponents angry. The divide over health care in America is a unique problem that may seem strange to people in other countries, like Japan, where universal health care is already well-established.
Until all the changes for the new health care system start in America, basically every worker needs to get their own insurance. Most employers help their employees by offering insurance plans, but because Americans change their jobs so often, they also have to change their insurance companies just as often.
In 2010, U.S. health officials said more than 20 percent of Americans have no health care coverage at all. Millions of people without insurance cannot go to a clinic or hospital specialist. All they can do is go to the emergency room, which by law must treat anyone who goes there. That adds up to a lot of expense in the total cost of health care.
One of my friends at graduate school had a terrible experience. He failed to fill in all the forms for the cheaper insurance for students. Just as classes started, he got a kidney stone. After he suffered a week of agony, I dragged him to the university hospital for surgery. He was OK, but because he was in between insurance plans, he ended up with a medical bill that was higher than four years of graduate school!
By contrast, when I spent a week in the hospital here in Japan for similar surgery, the total bill was ¥50,000. I couldn't believe it! I took the money out of the ATM at the hospital and could still afford a taxi home.
The best part of Japan's health care system is easy access for small problems. A couple of months ago, I hit my head at home. Head wounds bleed badly, but I just went to the local clinic. The doctor cleaned the wound, dressed it and gave me some medicine. I paid the equivalent of a good lunch. In America, I can't imagine how much that would cost.
The irony of all this is that America has the highest-ranked hospitals, best technologies and most highly trained doctors and nurses. However, in many large cities, uninsured people living in the same neighborhood as a hospital often cannot access its non-emergency medical care, because they simply cannot afford to pay for it.
Having experienced both systems, I can say that Japan's system is much better. America is a country where social policies are often ahead of other countries, but just as often behind. Health care should be accessible and affordable for all people.
- Supreme Court
- 最高裁判所
- ruled in favor of 〜
- 〜を合憲とする判決を下した
- divide over 〜
- 〜をめぐる溝
- universal health care
- 皆保険制度
- (is) well-established
- 確立されている
- basically
- 基本的に
- insurance
- 保険契約
- employees
- 従業員
- just as often
- それと同じだけ頻繁に
- have no health care coverage at all
- 健康保険に全く加入していない
- clinic
- 診療所
- specialist
- 専門医
- emergency room
- 緊急治療室
- treat
- 〜を治療する
- adds up to 〜
- 結局〜を意味する
- graduate school
- 大学院
- terrible
- ひどい
- failed to 〜
- 〜し損なった
- fill in 〜
- 〜に必要事項を記入する
- forms
- 申し込み用紙
- kidney stone
- 腎臓結石
- suffered
- 〜に苦しんだ
- agony
- 激痛
- dragged 〜 to 〜
- 〜を〜に引っ張って行った
- surgery
- 手術
- in between insurance plans
- 保険契約の変更中で
- ended up with 〜
- 結局〜を支払う羽目になった
- medical bill
- 医療費
- By contrast
- これとは対照的に
- afford
- 〜の料金を払う余裕がある
- easy access
- 簡単に診療を受けられること
- wounds
- 傷口
- bleed
- 出血する
- dressed
- 〜に薬を塗って包帯を巻いた
- equivalent of 〜
- 〜と同じくらいの額
- irony
- 皮肉
- highest-ranked
- 最高クラスの
- neighborhood
- 地域
- social policies
- 社会政策
- ahead of 〜
- 〜よりも進んで
- behind
- 遅れて
- accessible
- 利用可能な
- affordable
- 料金が手頃な