Posh Universal Health Care

Hillary Clinton is the first Democratic candidate to lay out a universal health care plan with a few specifics. Insurance coverage for all, she declares, to the unbridled joy of the insurance industry, but those who can afford their own insurance will be free to continue along their usual path.

The two tiered system is just what is needed to avoid the debacle that is Canadian health care. No one can get anything better than anyone else up north, which means that everyone gets shite. At least in Ireland, where both public and private health care is the norm, the rich can escape from the shite pile. Very wise of Mrs. Clinton to proffer the same for those who would elect her.

If all the public beds are taken in an Irish hospital, those with national coverage will be put on a trolley in the hall until a bed is available. Those with private coverage have their own beds set aside in all hospitals, and they have private hospitals to choose from as well. All in all, it's a better deal if you're privately insured.

And if all the private beds are taken? Recently, the Mater's private unit found itself short of bed space and lodged eight patients in a hotel. They were all scheduled for elective surgery and had no place else to stay overnight, so why not enjoy the comforts of a hotel? Far better than being told to go home and come back later, as would have happened to a commoner.

Maternity patients presenting at the Rotunda hospital were sent to the Jurys Hotel when there was no room at the inn....er, hospital. Not the laboring mothers, of course, but women who were scheduled for scans or needed a drip, strictly the low-risk category who were able to enjoy a comfortable room with maid service. Who wouldn't prefer a cozy hotel room to a bed in a crowded ward?

While the public crowds the wards and A&E, those with the means can avoid all that. Universal health care is ever so much more palatable when you can rest assured that you'll not have to sacrifice the posh care that your private insurance affords you. And you can feel good, knowing that all those others can go see a doctor whenever they like....assuming, of course, that the docket is not overly full and the beds aren't all taken already.