Eric Takabayashi <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote in message news:<3F730951.691128DE@yahoo.co.jp>...
> Michael Cash wrote:
> 
> > On 25 Sep 2003 04:54:48 -0700, anotherfool@hotmail.com (another fool)
> > belched the alphabet and kept on going with:
> >
> > >Having had to deal with the Japanese medical system recently I can say
> > >simply that from a cost perspective it has the US system beat to hell.
> > > The total cost for delivery of our son with an epi and the doctor
> > >having to come in at 2am when my wife decided to go into labor was ~US
> > >$4000.
> >
> > You got gypped.
> >
> > My two cost about 300,000 each, and it was practically 100% covered.
> 
> That's what each of mine cost, despite being born in different
> prefectures. It seems to be a set price. Yours were covered by some sort
> of insurance?
> 

We will hopefully get reimburse for the new guy, I just have no idea
how long it will take (and considering the insurance company probably
months).  Ours cost almost exactly 450,000.  This might be 'Japan' but
we did not go to what I would consider a "traditional" hospitol, it
was more like a birthing center (1 doctor, about 10 nurses, they only
do prenatal/child birth/first few months baby care).  I do know her
prenatal exams for the last 3 months before the delivery were all
12,000 yen each at the 3 docs she tried before she finally found one
she liked.  She tells me she was VERY happy with the care by the Dr
and nurses - part of the reason she picked this Doc was he did epi's
and the only other Doc she could find who did them said he didn't
suggest them and she was afraid he would decide not to give her an epi
once she went into labor (if anyones in the Kobe area I will be happy
to provide a recommendation).

> > And lots of cities are so desperate for shoring up their population
> > that they will spring for 100% coverage on medical costs up until
> > about 5 years of age.
> 
> The local government gave my wife an amount equivalent to almost 100% of
> the up front, out of pocket cost of childbirth. I consider that
> generosity, not insurance. And considering we don't go to hospital often,
> I have paid into the medical system multiples more than I take out,
> anyway. It's not my fault that Japan can't find money to cover the elderly
> for their care.
> 

I'll have to check this out.  I know the local government gave us some
money when we moved here for the little one we already have.  I also
know we are getting I want to say about 10,000 per month for him
(didn't know this was the reason, I was afraid it was some sort of
welfare, glad to hear that's not the case).  Any idea if the fact that
we live in Kanagawa Pref. and she had the baby in Kobe (Hyogo) will
make a difference?

> > >As far as 'tracking' every needle - how?
> >
> > I believe the standard procedure is to COUNT *everything* associated
> > with the procedure prior to starting and again prior to sewing the
> > patient back up. Needles, gauze, retractors, etc.
> 

I believe the original post said they did count everything.  They
could not find everything.  They looked for everything but decided to
close him up since the risk posed by the needle was probably less then
the risk of leaving his heart stopped for >3 hours.

More then likely they will wait for him to heal before attempting to
remove the needle.  Bullets are left in all the time if the risk of
removing them is greater then the risk of leaving them.  Now that is
something I would definitely get a 2nd opinion on.

A friend reading over my shoulder here at work suggests a more
sinister reason they might have waited to tell your friend and his
family.  He suggests that the Doc's might have been afraid that your
friend would die.  If they told his family/him and he died there would
be 2 potential backlashes.  First the obvious publicity backlash of
his family going to the press with 'the hospitol/dr's killed him',
second potentially criminal charges (is this true?) for the needle
potentially having been what killed him.