I see that radio talker Rush Limbaugh is indulging in one of his patented tantrums, telling listeners that he’ll leave the United States if health care reform passes.

When a caller asked what he will do it healthcare reform passes Rush said “I don’t know. I’ll just tell you this, if this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented — I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica.”

I’m sure there are a lot of people whose motivation to pass health care reform just doubled. But, really, there’s no need for Limbaugh to go anywhere. If he likes the Costa Rican health care system so much, he should advocate for its implementation. Of course, he’d be advocating for the implementation of government-run, universal health care:

Costa Rica has universal health care, one of the best health systems in Latin America. As always with nationalized health care, expect red tape and long waits, but the quality of Costa Rica’s health care is excellent. Private health care is also available, very affordable, and high quality. Many doctors speak English and have received training in Europe, Canada, or the U.S. There are three large, private hospitals that most expatriates use: CIMA hospital in Escazú, Clinica Biblica in San José, and Clinica Católica in San José-Guadalupe.

Statistics from the World Health Organization frequently place Costa Rica in the top country rankings in the world for long life expectancy, often even ahead of Great Britain and the United States, even though the per-capita income of Costa Ricans is about one-tenth that of the U.S. and the U.K. Arguably, one reason for this is the slower pace of living in Costa Rica. And, of course, the healthy, fresh, non-preservative-laden foods found there, and the welcoming tropical climate. Costa Rica just seems to be a healthy place to live.

A commenter on the news aggregator service Huffington Post said:

Having spent a week in Clinica Biblica a few years ago, I can attest to the excellent care. It was a totally positive experience with one exception…….some of the nurses wear bejeweled pins indicating their training at a prestigious institution and had a rather cool attitude bordering on arrogant. Not the other staff though. There was no waiting anywhere for seeing a doctor or getting tests. The hospital food was as good as one could expect and was of high quality and appealing. Since I was a tourist, I got the detailed bills and submitted them to Kaiser. They were ridiculously low compared to here(USA) and Kaiser(Insurance company) had no problem paying them. It saved them money. I think they would like to send a lot of their patients there for treatment if they could to save bundles.

Costa Ricans have no fear of socialism and are proud of their health and education systems where everyone is covered for basic care and education. They are also proud that they have no standing army. It’s forbidden by their Constitution. They give that as the reason they can afford to take care of their people. Very few people immigrate here from Costa Rica.

Rush knows a good thing when he sees it. He just keeps lying to his audience. We deserve Rush, the Costa Ricans don’t. They have their own blustery buffoons whom they mostly make fun of.

Pura vida!

Original Post

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