This ain't nothin' new Rush,..but how would YOU know?

We're aren't much for going to the doctor in my family.
Growing up,Pops had two standard responses to all those bumps,bruises,headaches,and minor traumas young misbehavers are likely to incur;

• 'Rub some dirt in it!',..or my very favorite,
• 'It'll feel better when it stops hurtin',..and he was right.

Consequently,it takes some pretty serious circumstances to get me to make the move to actually ask for help from the medical community.
In the last 30 years,I've gone to the hospital three times.

The most recent was for a professional opinion on a rather nasty staph infection that I'd had treated at a local clinic.(Okay,maybe that counts as a fourth time,even though the whole thing took about 10 minutes).
In any case,I went to the local community hospital and was instructed to wait for an available physician.
EIGHT-I-KID-YOU-NOT-HOURS-LATER!..The doctor called me into the exam room,looked at my wound,and said,'That's coming along fine'...
He put a fresh gauze bandage on it,and sent me on my way.
...The next week I got a bill for over $800.00.
Ain't private health care great!

The two previous times I crawled into a hospital were each for the same thing.

Both times,I had been enduring the excruciating pain and vomiting that quite naturally occurs when trying to pass kidney stones for over 24 hours.
Both times,the admitting Nurse took one look at me,and rushed me straight into the exam room.('Don't worry about the paperwork,..We'll do that later!')
Both times,I was being examined by a Doctor in less than three minutes.
Both times,I received a quality of care and attention I still find remarkable to this very day.
The total cost for treatment,prescriptions,and follow ups?
..$0.00 dollars.

That's because I'm a veteran,and both times I went to VA Hospitals.
I'm pretty sure that falls under the category of 'Government run health care'.

Maybe if you had ever actually served your country Rush,..you'd know that.