The only destination on our planet I wouldn't consider touring is Somalia. I don't know anyone from Somalia and other than this Jeff Berwick tour two years ago, I don't know anyone with first hand knowledge of the country. I have, however, seen plenty of Dateline specials and read numerous negative propaganda about Somalia to believe it's in my best interest to steer clear from there.
Like the majority of you reading this, I've heard things like a white mans head is worth 100k over there. I caught a documentary recently about a female Canadian journalist who was kidnapped there. After 15 months of torturous, heinous acts she narrowly and heroically survived, she was released only after her family negotiated a 1/4 million dollar ransom demand. Anywhere else in Africa is a green light in my opinion: Libya, Nigeria, South Africa (plenty of South Africans on this platform I'd love to enjoy a cup of coffee with), Egypt, nowhere is off-limits (except Somalia). Pura and I were actually scheduled to visit Morocco a few months back and, well, Coodies happened and the rest is history current.
When we toured through Israel, West Bank, and State Of Palestine last year, quite a few of my friends thought I was crazy--they couldn't believe I was going there. Pura's family was genuinely concerned for us thinking we were landing in the middle of a war zone or something--they rely on information from misleading sources. Perhaps I'm doing the same thing and crossing Somalia off the bucket list is premature but that's where...
iStand
As many of you may recall, 
Medical Attention
I'm telling you this because even fuckin Somalia has free health care! I live in the land of the free, the most developed nation the world has ever seen, the United States of America and if Pura was to get sick again in this country, our homeland, we'd have better luck getting her treated in Somalia than our own back yard.
I never paid for any of her treatments in Greece. I never paid for anything in Israel or Italy, either. Apothecary consultants don't charge a dime for their services; wellness checks, blood pressure checks, etc. They diagnose similarly to a doctor and most of them have a physician on staff. The only thing we paid for while seeking treatment for her in the Middle East and Europe were supplements.
In England, where we finally got her properly diagnosed and on the road to recovery, not one time did we come out of pocket for treatment--they even covered her train fare to and from the surgery (surgery - that's what they call hospitals in England). Multiple biome tests, countless panels of blood work, ct scans, a handful of specialists assigned specifically to her case and we didn't spend a pence (pence - that's what they call cents in England).
You can't even use an ink pen in the lobby of an unlicensed urgent care here in America without paying for it. That's if they even allow you in the door. If you seek medical attention in my country, the very first question the receptionist will ask you isn't "what are your symptoms" or "what brings you here today?" The first thing out of that receptionists mouth will go like this: "Who's your primary coverage provider?" If you don't have insurance, they'll escort you out of the facility.
Downward Spiral
A basic and humane necessity has been made a commodity in my country. I was none the wiser prior to living abroad for two years. I'm third generation wireman, that's a Union classification, ever since I was 19 years old I've had top-shelf medical coverage. I paid for it myself but it's part of what we here in the states refer to as a 'total package.' Although my medical was deducted off the top of my check, along with other major essentials, my hourly rate is all I ever really paid attention to. It wasn't until I began meeting people abroad and then received free medical attention in Central America I began questioning the medical in my own country.
The first time I really began thinking about it was in Golfito Bay, Costa Rica. Pura was in Panama and I was having dinner at the lounge with a Russian, a Swede, and a Hungarian, each of whom have never paid for medicine. When asked why Pura was in Panama I said 'she needed some medication and hasn't been to Panama yet so she decided to go there this time and travel around for a couple days.' When asked about her treatments in America I told them she doesn't have medical coverage. That left each of them confused and eventually I began explaining myself.
Bzzzzzzzzzz
In order to receive medical attention in the U.S you have to be covered by a licensed insurance provider. If you're not part of a largely staffed employer offering health benefits that qualify as 'group coverage' you'll have to seek an independent provider. I've seen independent medical coverage in San Francisco, California as high as 11k annually and that doesn't even cover your office visits--it's just what it costs to be a member of that physicians practice.
My group plan, the one I was a member of for 22 years, was just increased to $1,330 per month. That's a price nobody in my Union recognizes because it's off the top--total package. When I was still working, it was $998/month, that's a 33% increase in four years. Just the other day I was talking to a brother of mine who said his total insurance cost was just over 12 thousand dollars for the calendar year and it hadn't even registered the month of September yet. That's a group plan, we pay higher premiums to cover brothers and their wives/family members who are sick. 12 thousand dollars on an annual premium for medical coverage in under a calendar year and neither he or his wife required medical attention one time. But that's just the annual fee--there's more.
Imagine trying to explain cost and fees associated with basic humane necessities to a foreigner who's never paid for medical attention. People who are infatuated with catch phrases like "The American Dream." Cut their finger--covered. Need heart surgery, reconstructed knees, medication or mental health, etc--it's all covered. In America, just to deliver a child, the average cost is more than 10 thousand dollars. Foreigners who just read this paragraph are in disbelief--that's why I linked that article.
On top of that are co-payments. Depending how your medical coverage is structured, along with that $1,330/month, you'll also pay roughly $25 per doctor visit. It doesn't matter how many times you need medical attention, each time you walk through the entrance door, you're gonna pay to use that ink pen. And then the medication--there's more.
Up-Up And Awaaaayyyyyyyy
Depending how your co-pay's are structured for medication, you'll likely spend an average of $10 per prescription. Now if you're like my good friend Nick, who's paraplegic and can't function on his own below the waist, you'll spend upwards of $300 per co-pay because catheters are a specialty item insurances won't cover 100%--more like 80%. That's the same insurance with a monthly premium of $1,330 and $25 fees simply to enter the facility. Those are just his catheters, he still pays $10 per prescription for whatever else he's prescribed.
The same rules apply to everyone. That's not just one $10 fee, either, you'll pay $10 per prescription before you exit the facility. $1,300/month, $25 to walk in the door, 10 prescriptions are roughly 100 bucks and so on.
Pura and I were spoiled living abroad, Brits really have their shit together. All you have to do to receive quality medical attention in England is physically reside in England. Same with Israel. Same with Costa Rica, Panama and every other country Pura and I toured. The only requirement for basic humane attention everywhere except for here in America is you have to be born. Medicine isn't a commodity anywhere else.
The worst part is everyone I've explained this to here at home asks the same question. We're so Americanized here on my own turf, we throw morals out the window regarding medicine and instead we see dollar signs. I can't tell you how many people I've explained this to here in America and every.single.one of them asks the same question: "How do doctors make money?" Fascinating, right? We're so programmed to believe there's a price tag on basic necessities we ask about pay checks when referencing medicine and health.
Dear my fellow Americans--listen up:
Imagine this, ready? Doctors outside the U.S just want healthy patients, they're genuinely concerned for you. Crazy, right?! They're more concerned about your health than they are the number of cars they have parked at multiple estates. Believe it or not, healthy, long living patients are why they practice medicine. They don't have special parking spaces, mansions in the hills, and other American physician normalcies.
Make A Wish
