An American in Provence

Have not yet seen this movie yet. I don't think it has come out yet here. Maybe it will come out soon, or just be in art house theaters, I don't know. Not really looking forward to it. My first thought was "Great, another awkward topic of conversation for dinner parties where I am put in the spotlight and bombarded with comments about how horrid my country is." (from people who have really no idea what they are really talking about, have never been to the US, and can't admit that every country has flaws).

Let's face it- France is not the shangri-la of health care either. Sure, it is great paying nothing for many things, but we do have a monthly mutuelle that compliments the rest of what social securité won't pay. There is a lot of fraud. And how about having to bribe certain experienced surgeons to work on you instead of their fresh faced 26 year old colleague?
I must admit I think the doctors here do a lot more of the work that nurses in the US do. Go to a gyno. appt and there is no nurse to take your weight, blood pressure, etc. The doctor does that. Which probably accounts for the enormous wait times.

Given the choice between France and US health care systems, I would most likely choose France for the yearly coughs, sniffles, baby-having, eyeglass-needing, teeth-cleaning, etc. but would (most likely) hightail it back state-side for open-heart surgery or brain tumors.