But – private LASIK clinics like the one I went to aren’t really part of the system in that sense, or at least it didn’t feel like it. It was a very quick, efficient and non-bureaucratic experience. Though perhaps things could get annoying if there were complications.

But the system here breaks down when it comes to regular things that American doctors, nurses and even HMOs do well. I find that even simple things like paying attention to what the patient is saying are more difficult for Israeli doctors. Maybe it’s because they keep staring at their damn computer screens, banging away at the keyboards. But at least we have a great infrastructure that provided all this computerized shit, right?

I also find that the nurses here are unusually aggressive and even brutal with their patients. Needless to say, they think it’s a big privilege just to have their attention, since patients are often made to wait months for an appointment. I’ve never heard of waiting three months for an appointment with any doctor in America. Maybe the top oncologist at the Mayo Clinic or something would have that kind of wait list. But call up Maccabi and ask to see an endocrinologist in Tel Aviv… if you get to one in less than 90 days, you must know somebody.

I’m sure you don’t think that general life expectancy is more than loosely correlated to how good a medical system actually is. Nor do I think it’s a good deal that our standard of living is diminished through high confiscatory taxation in order to add a couple years at the end of our lives. I won’t reach the life expectancy anyway – I have a lot of medical problems – and I’d rather be taken care of while I’m still alive and paying into the fucking system.

By the way, both Israelis and Americans who have money to pay for better medical care are able to buy it. The difference is that Israelis have to pay for the state-run system whether they use it or not. I’m paying for a system that provides subsidized medications, even though the medications I need are not included and I then have to pay retail for them in America. I can’t say enough bad things about the system here or about the people who support it.

The life expectancy here is pretty high too. I know where you’re coming from, but the evidence doesn’t support the notion that the medical infrastructure in Israel is all that bad – at least, as long as you have the money to pay.

My eyesight was pretty messed up, but they did a fairly good job – for a rather high price (~13k). There’s not much more I can say – I only had one set of eyeballs to try it on.

Haha, no. My hair is not that weird.

I went straight from glasses to LASIK. No more bullshit. The operation wasn’t perfect and I think my eyesight is actually slightly less good than it was with the glasses – but it’s good enough.

I think I definitely would already have done the LASIK if they could tell me that it will make my vision good enough so that I won’t have to wear glasses or contacts at all. But instead, all they can tell me is that it will make my vision better – and that a lot of people still have to wear glasses or contacts after the surgery. That is lame.

I went straight from glasses to LASIK. No more bullshit. The operation wasn’t perfect and I think my eyesight is actually slightly less good than it was with the glasses – but it’s good enough.