I’ve been trying not to talk about health care lately, because the whole affair just gets me so worked up. When I imagine shoddy levels of care, overrun by government bureaucrats, like the sort they have to deal with in Europe:
Unfortunately for celiac patients, the extra cost of a special diet is not reimbursed by health care plans. Nor do most policies pay for trips to a dietitian to receive nutritional guidance.
In Britain, by contrast, patients found to have celiac disease are prescribed gluten-free products. In Italy, sufferers are given a stipend to spend on gluten-free food.
Some doctors blame drug makers, in part, for the lack of awareness and the lack of support. “The drug makers have not been interested in celiac because, until very recently, there have been no medications to treat it,” said Dr. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. “And since drug makers are responsible for so much of the education that doctors receive, the medical community is largely unaware of the disease.”
My hackles raise. I’d rather have no health care at all, like during those years when Monica and I had no health insurance, then subject myself to this crap.
(From a Times Article via Steve.)