One of the worst kept secrets in diplomatic circles is the Cuban government's plan, beginning April First, to offer free healthcare to any American citizen who obtains permission to travel there and cannot afford treatment under what their health and welfare minister, Francisco Villa, called "the bloodsucking capitalist medical monopoly."
According to my anonymous sources, leading Democrats and Republicans have taken what appear to be totally paradoxical positions on the matter. Vice President Biden is reported to have said privately that he opposes the idea: "It's just grandstanding on their part, implying that we can't fix our own healthcare system. We're fixing it, and we don't need penny ante dictatorships telling us how to do it."
Long-time Republican president wannabe John McCain, meanwhile, is urging acceptance. According to a source who refuses to be named, McCain has said "It's a wonderful idea for American business. Thousands of Americans will be going there, and the Commies can't back down because they don't want to lose face, so they'll need tons of medical equipment. Where will they buy it? Not from Venezuela, that's for sure." Coincidentally, McCain's wife, Cindy, has begun purchasing stocks of American drug and medical equipment manufacturers.
My own opinion? I trust the Cuban government about as far as I can throw Rush Limbaugh, but it's worth a try if it spurs us to 1) quit bickering and get our own healthcare house in order 2) stop telling American citizens where they may and may not travel as though WE were the tinhorn banana republic, and 3) end that stupid embargo and do business with Cuba just as we do with China and Saudi Arabia and other abominable nations who hate us.
Personally, I'm not likely to take Cuba's offer for myself, because I'm one of the fortunate Americans who has a good government-run healthcare plan called Medicare, and a back-up government-run plan as a Cook County (think Chicago) retiree, and neither one of them costs me a left leg. Just a toe once in a while. AND in spite of Cuba having enviable longevity and infant survival rates, I personally don't want to go under the knife of a surgeon who's paid $15 a month.
Maybe you have other thoughts about this. I'd like to know. That's what the comment button is for.