What the USA could learn from Indian Healthcare

Six months ago an 18-year-old woman I was chaperoning through North India came down with some mix of dysentery and migraine headaches and needed to take a trip to the hospital. We were staying in central Delhi at the time and I didn't have a very good idea where the best places to go for medical treatment were, so I just told a rickshaw-walla to take us to the nearest one. A few minutes later we pulled up to a government hospital. After paying the rickshaw too much we ambled into the casualty room (the equivalent of the ER in the United States) and filled out a couple forms. In a few minutes she had a consultation with a doctor and was administered two anti-biotic shots that cleared up her condition in a couple hours.

When I asked to pay for the service the doctor only raised an eyebrow and said, "This is a government hospital, there is no charge."

While the hospital was by no means up to American standards--with blood stains on the sheets, used needles in the trash, and none of the high tech gadgets that I have come to associate with health--I was impressed by the open policy to treat everyone who walks through the doors for free. It is something that America could learn from India.

In America I am one of the millions of people who can't afford quality healthcare. Even a minor infection could turn nasty. Last winter I was living in Madison and I thought that I might have come down with strep throat. It's an infection that can easily be treated with a course of antibiotics, but since I was uninsured and the medication is not available without a prescription, it would cost me at least $150 to get treatment--maybe more.

As a self-employed non-smoker in perfect health, I would have to pay around $300 every month to an insurance company if I wanted to be sure that there would be a safety net in place if I ever had an accident or fell ill. While there are state programs like medicaid and medicare around, I make just a little too much money to qualify for them--leaving me in an unfortunate predicament. Either I can spend all of my money I make on healthcare, or I can pray that I won't get sick and hope for the best. I chose the latter. Then I moved to India.

Before I moved here I knew that I had several nascent cavities in my molars, but I put off treatment in the states where the treatment would have cost well over $1000. Instead, once I arrived in Chennai I found a dentist who put in three fillings for just over $60. While $60 is an unimaginably large sum for some people in India, many people can come up with it without a problem. And while I went to a private clinic, I believe that there are also government dentists here that work for free.

In the end though, it is the massive government health infrastructure here that makes India one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to health care. Even with new WTO restrictions, thousands of different antibiotics are available for a fraction of the price they are available in every other country in the world. Lifesaving drugs like Cipro and Erythromycin cost only a few rupees, and though many people have to wait in long lines to see a doctor, the treatment is free.

This is not to say that Indian healthcare is perfect. There are huge problems with inefficiency, and many people are still denied treatment, but the problem stems from lack of resources rather than lack of political will.