In reply to Robin Ragan.

The medical debate is a big deal, and has been a pet concern of mine for years. It is said that the measure of a civilization is how it cares for its sick and elderly. By that standard, the US should be ashamed. I am generally against government involvement in stuff, but healthcare is an exception. There is a time when good government must step in, to protect those too weak or disadvantaged to help themselves.

As I stood in the private hospital with my mom, I imagined all the right-wing fearmongers in my head: "Eww, Mr. Liberal, it's all fine to support Obama's plan, but when your own mom got hurt, you took her to a PRIVATE clinic." But the sad truth: the good nationalized healthcare systems (Britain, Germany, Australia) are not run by third-world governments. I've used nationalized healthcare in both Scotland and Spain, and the treatment I received was the same quality I received in the US... except it was free.

But to get to the point: Guatemala is a pay-as-you-go kind of place. We got billed for the radiograph, the splint, the doctor's visit, and the anticoagulant drugs. In all, it came to a little over 1,000q. That's about $125.