Sorry Health Care System

Sitting in that hospital room, I thought about an incident long time ago, about 9 years, I would say. I took one of my cousins to hospital, to get his ear checked up. He was having hearing problems. Bir Hospital, we went, bought a Rs 10 ticket and got his clogged ear cleaned. I had to pretend and lie to the doctor in the ENT that I was a Doctor doing internship there to get ahead in the line, but it was merely an action in struggle for live, performing "survival of the fittest." We stood in line for few hours, but it was finished and he came home happy, and for many years he thanked me.

Today I live in America, arguably the richest and most sophisticated country, perhaps the most advanced country in medicine yet when I go with an earache to a hospital; I have to come back with a chest pain. I go to the doctor because over the weekend I had such a terrible, strange earache that I never before. The doctor looked at it couple of time with a machine, and performs a “hearing test”. I had to repeat after her: hotdogs, airplane, boy, germs, tennis. Neither she found any wax, nor infection or anything wrong at all, sent me with - "Come back if the pain does not disappear."

Outside, the nurse was waiting for my credit card. “Your insurance does not cover hearing test. I need to collect $150 for hearing test and another $50 for co-pay and may be $500 will come by, in mail, in a week.” My heart started to hurt more than my ear. I thought- what a pity, what a shame for such system of treatment in this country? what a poorer guy will do? Die of ear ache? Mess up his credit so he can live in poverty all his life? Die of shame because he could not take care of his children? Go live under a bridge? I am tired of people, in hospitals, considering and treating a sick person as a source of money. They see human body like Humphrey Bogart thinks of gold in “Treasure of Sierra Madre”. They make those sick people fill unlimited insurance questions, paperwork, not to mention their form was computerized, PDA style, fancy electronic, and had a survey at the end. A poor dying person, irritated already, angered by rude nurses, frustrated by not so courteous fellow patients, why would care about the quality of their information collecting system? It was adding insult to the already boiling irritation caused by their stupidity. I thought of Munna Bhai for a little bit, a good message in a sense, of love not just medicine. I thought about little Jenson and his parents, I thought about Subash my cousin brother, who died of brain tumor and my aunt who I could not face because every time I went to see her, in me, she would see her own son and weep. The agony, burden of such things, before which my silly complain seems stupid, is very hard to explain in religious terms. Nothing better can be said other than “God had better plans for you”

 I was angry with my parents for a while because they did not tell me how wicked, crooked and materialistic this world is. I have found this world is full of con men, cheaters, robbers, liars, thieves, killers, rappers and many more opportunistic jackals. It is a place of arrogant, stupid animals trying to become richer, prestigable, and stronger than others, so that they are glorified of their qualities, richness, speeches, money and what not. They lied to me saying, this world is good, full of honest, humble, spiritual people and God intervenes, time and again to help them, in his divine forms, one way or another.

Even Rana’s in Nepal established Bir Hospital. It has served many middle class families. Although it was slow and closed at ‘political times,’ it was better than private hospitals and clinics in Nepal where I would take my  grandmother, who would in the end complain and argue with the doctor when he asked for Rs200, in her own words- “just to touch a wrist twice”. Health care in America is worse than most, if not the worst. I repeat- worse than many third world countries. It is sad and ironic. If you ask me today I will tell you--not HIV, not Hepatitis nor Leprosy but poverty is the greatest disease of all, before ignorance. Health mostly is just luck, and No, I won't lie to myself, God intervening days are gone, I wish of it, of course, but alas it the bitter truth- Only a sufferer knows the pain, as they say --only Khukuri will feel resistance of Karda and Karda will feel the blow of Khukuri.