I've neglected to give you any US healthcare information these last few days. Sorry about that. But after reading this morning's terrible news, it struck me my friends in the UK need to hear something many Brits may not have considered.
If the Manchester Arena bombing had happened in the US, every family with a dead or injured member would begin receiving bills in the coming days. Parents who lost their children would get a detailed and unadorned list of services provided by the medics who tried to save their relations' lives. And they would be expected to start making payments immediately.
While they mourned their heartbreaking losses, American families would be billed for the ambulance rides, morphine, CPR, anaesthesia. They would be expected to pony up for surgeries that were unsuccessful, medication that didn't work, and the time the anaesthesiologist spent trying to keep their children comfortable during major procedures. They would continue to receive those bills for month upon month after the death of their children.
Many families would set up GoFundMe accounts to pay for the medical expenses of their deceased child. The bills would run in to the hundreds of thousands, so even the best-funded account would pay only a fraction. The parents might have to sell their homes while trying to wrap their minds around the needless loss of their children. Ultimately, many would declare bankruptcy: who has the time to pore over bills, fight the constant inaccuracies, totally hundreds of thousands of dollars, when they're battling depression and anger?
Think about that. It's the kind of society you're really signing up for when you vote for a party that wants to privatise your healthcare. Please don't make that mistake.
Hannah Middlebrook
(a supporter of social justice who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma)