Nothing is free

Dear editor: I read Mr. Harold Davis’ letter of Sept. 26 and you know what they say if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That being said, I did a little research and what I found was interesting.

First, the government mandates that everybody purchase a health insurance policy. A baby must have an insurance policy purchased for it in its name by the time it is 3 months old. There are no children carried on a parent’s policy. If you are in the country for three months or more, even if it is temporary, say as work related, you must purchase government-mandated health insurance.

Health care is very expensive, more so than other places. What is very different than here in the USA is the way coverage is paid for. The doctor or hospital sends a bill directly to the insured, which must be paid in full in 30 days and if not, then a penalties are assessed. It is then up to the insured to submit to his or her insurance company for reimbursement.

There is nothing that I found that requires the insurance company to reimburse the policy holder in any specific time frame. Switzerland has the ninth-highest pay for doctors and hospitals in the free world.

Additionally, if I understood what I read correctly, the government has a list of drugs which are covered by the basic insurance policy which is required for all. Coverage for other drugs requires a supplemental policy or the person pays at his or her own expense with no reimbursement. Here again, if drugs are a covered expense by some policy, the insured is required to pay in full and request reimbursement from the insurance carrier. Nothing is free. Robert Freeman Jr. Bonnerdale