We started our visit to the South with a quick visit to Cassis, a most charming coastal village near Marseille, to see some very good friends with whom we frequently travel. By the way, Cassis is pronounced two ways: without the final ‘s’ if you are Provençal; or with the final consonant if you are from Paris. It gives one the opportunity to establish how you will be viewed by the locals. Of course, they can tell we are not French, but it does signal which way we lean. They tend to smile when we say Cass-i.
Go U.S.A. women! What a fine final game in the Women’s World Cup. I loved the never-stop-trying attitude of the team. All the teams fought hard, but the special combination of talent and spunk brought the cup back to North America.
We visited a doctor today, a first for us here in France. Jann had carried a little of our California poison oak in her person, and it wasn’t giving up easily. Imagine this if you can: a doctor has open office hours each afternoon: first come, first serve. There were always two or three people waiting to see him, and he greeted each by name. He quickly diagnosed Jann’s problem and wrote a script. The bill floored us; how can French docs expect us to pay such prices? It was about twenty-eight bucks. I felt like I needed to give him a tip. Net-net, I’m not sure American doctors clear much more for an office visit after they pay all their costs. We forked over the same amount for a bag of medications at a pharmacy. Wowzers!
Now, I appreciate the excellent health care we have in the U.S., I really do, but the French have the equivalent. However, there are real differences: the government negotiates fees and pharmaceutical costs; doctors’ liability insurance costs are nil; and everyone pays up-front so that the physician doesn’t need to be involved in the reimbursement system. It is not socialized medicine however people define it. This health care is personal, private, and affordable. Isn’t this what we all want?
