Bill for healthcare really made me think

I've just had an overnight stay in a hospital in Beijing. I had quick and good treatment, the staff were efficient and all went well. I also had to pay the bill as my particular problem mostly fell outside my health insurance.

I was allowed to leave hospital on the same day as my early-morning operation, which meant I was standing in line at the cashier's window, brand new stitches just beginning to pull as the anesthetic wore off, with no idea how much one night's accommodation and surgery might cost.

Moments like these concentrate the mind. I remember my mother telling me that when she was a schoolgirl, the children with poor eyesight sat in the front row of her classroom, so they could see the blackboard. Their parents couldn't afford to buy them spectacles. For the same reason, you had to be very ill before calling a doctor, as a home visit plus medicine or treatment meant more money than most people could afford.