Another first-person rave:
I agree with your reader’s positive description of the healthcare system in France. A recent commentator in Le Monde argued that, despite the US’s anxieties about "socialized medicine," our healthcare system actually shows more evidence of "socialization" than theirs does. As the commentator points out, countless French physicians operate independently out of their own offices, whereas most US physicians, because of the burdens of paperwork, have to work in groups or in hospitals. French citizens have far more liberty in choosing the doctors they would like than most US citizens do.
I was treated for the same minor health problem in France and in the U.S. In France, I walked into the French hospital, spoke with a doctor in a few minutes, received treatment, and was charged $25. In the U.S., I was subjected to a barrage of bureaucracy before I could ever speak with anyone, and I left $600 poorer (after health insurance), on my graduate student’s salary. In France, a visiting friend hurt her foot, so we stopped by a hospital. An internist examined her and told her what the problem was. When we tried to pay, she shrugged and said that there would be no bill, as we were from "le pays de la liberté." (This was admittedly before the Bush presidency.) If only U.S. physicians could function with the efficiency, common sense, and independence of their French equivalents.
My British friends say the same. Many escape the NHS for French medicine.
The Dish 