Welfare

     Today is Sunday. My hospital is usually closed on Sundays but is especially open today because it's our turn. (See Every Eight Days.) Only 3 hospitals are open to the public in this city whose population is about 600,000.
     A middle-aged woman was transferred by ambulance. People around her thought that she might be a victim of a traffic accident. She was lying drunk on the street. I examined her and diagnosed she was just drunk. I allowed her to go home. However she wouldn't go home. That's because she was a welfare case.
     The Japanese medical insurance system is highly established. People who get welfare don't need to pay any medical expenses. That is to say, she can stay in hospital for free, where she can eat, sleep, take a bath, and feel relaxed in air-conditioned surroundings. The welfare system must be meant for really poor people. Most unfortunately, however, people who don't want to work utilize this system.
     So, of course, I rejected her desire for admittance.