Getting sick in a developing country like Mexico is a scary thought but the silver lining to the cloud is that medical attention and medicine is pretty cheap if you can afford it. And I didn't even have to bribe. Unfortunately, though, if one is poor or homeless then he is (goddamn expletive) out of luck. Mexico has yet to get hip to free clinics, free condom distribution and free STD rapid testing sites. Consequently, tourists are awed by the large number of freaks of nature and accident casualties limping, crawling, hoppling, begging in Mexican streets.
I came down with an infection and was scared paranoid. After researching online and trips to a few doctors---everyone with a white coat claims to be a doctor---I received a proper diagnosis and was prescribed two types of medicines for a week. The first night I bought a dosage from the hospital's pharmacy for $225 pesos. I could tell this was going to be expensive. The following morning, being the frugal traveller I am, I checked out the two generic pharmacies a block from my apartment and bought the same medicine (minus the brand name) for just $40 pesos. Holy santos! What a difference in price!
young people don't bother with investing in long-term insurance because of lack of money and an abundance of youthful optimism
Whilst America has some medicines cheaper than others, one has to have some form of coverage in order to get them and, as conventional wisdom shows, young people simply don't bother with investing in long-term maybe-I'll-get-terminally-ill insurance because of lack of money and an abundance of youthful optimism.My point being this: were I home in America I wouldn't have been able to buy my own medicine or have paid for the doctor's visit out of pocket; which means, in the absence of a free clinic yours truly would have been (goddamn expletive) out of luck and, due to lack of medical attention, fatally ill. And on this count I raise my cerveza and cry, ¡¡Viva Mexico!!
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