OneAndOneIs2

So the other day, I heard a couple of people arguing about Obama's intention to reform health care over here.

Basically, one of them was for it, one was against. (Hence the argument :o)

I won't go into the minutae of their discussion - I've already got a mental draft on the subject planned - but one thing said by the anti-reform guy took me by surprise.

He was of the opinion that the American health system is already amongst the best in the world, and there's already a lot of "health tourists" come over here just for medical care.

That's certainly something people complain about back home, but it's the first time I heard it said here. And it surprised me because in the few weeks I've been out here, it seems like everyone who I've talked to has got at least one horror story about people they know being impoverished because their health insurance wouldn't cover them.

My own personal opinion of healthcare over here is such that, in the event that I become ill, I'll be on the next available flight home. The NHS certainly has its problems - you might well go in with a broken leg and come out with MRSA - but at least you won't come out with MRSA and a bill for several years' salary to cover the cost of treating it.

So I'm curious: Who, exactly, are these people that apparently believe that the US is *the* place to be if you're ill? When would you want to come here for treatment?

Not a trick question, I seriously want to know.