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Socialized medicine looks good by comparison to our system
Last updated: November 1st, 2008 12:44 AM (PDT)

My daughter is an international teacher in Vienna, Austria. In March, she tripped and ruptured her Achilles tendon.

Due to misdiagnosis, she had surgery two months later that required a 10-inch incision from the bottom of her heel to the top of her calf. As her leg healed, the cast was changed twice as the swelling went down.

We returned to the emergency room to have this done. The first was a weekday, the second a Sunday afternoon. Each time the emergency room was completely empty.

Why? Because Austria has socialized medicine, and when they get sick, they go to their doctor. My daughter’s additional costs to date: none.

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