Pay Nothing For Healthcare Dear International Living Reader,Red wine…cigarettes…strong black espresso coffee…Jägermeister (a brown herbal liquor I enjoyed during my recent trip to Austria)… This morning, I came to the conclusion that my teeth looked as if they'd been pickled in wood stain. Action was called for. I'll shortly be speaking at a Travel Writing Conference in the States (http://www.ildiscoverytours.com/show_tour.cfm?id=3639)…and I don't want to scare the wits out of the attendees. My dentist, Lucinda, doesn't seem too appalled by my appearance. She must have viewed far worse sights. Like the neighboring Brits, the Irish don't have the world's best-kept teeth. But the blame doesn't lie with dentists. Surgeries here are spotlessly clean, equipment is modern, and most procedures are pain-free. Like most people in Ireland, I don't have a dental insurance plan. However, there's no financial excuse for my lax ways. Dental charges here remain reasonable. Lucinda has just billed me 25 euro ($32) for cleaning and polishing. In the Tom Boland Practice where she works (Elphin St, Boyle, Co. Roscommon), you'll pay $50 for a normal extraction and up to $89 if the tooth requires surgical removal. Depending on the finish, fillings are $57 to $76. A full set of dentures is $571. People with Medical Cards pay nothing--and any resident on a low income or over the age of 70 is entitled to a Medical Card. Ireland is now considered more a "quality of life" than a "cost of living" location, but you can still obtain quality health care for fairly low cost. There are few other countries in the world where all residents are entitled to free hospital treatment. And if you want private health care, plans start at less than $8 a week. Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living P.S. I also visited the doctor this week--I needed shots for an upcoming Thailand trip in February. My doctor's fees are normally $44 (again free to Medical Card holders). I paid an additional $82 for two inoculations against Typhoid and Hepatitis A.
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