23 July 2019

Ouf !

The French dictionary gives this as part of the definition of the interjection Ouf !
S'emploie pour exprimer la satisfaction du locuteur après qu'un événement heureux (prévu ou non prévu) a soudainement mis fin à la situation pénible ou dangereuse qu'il vivait.
That really does describe the way I felt yesterday afternoon. Translating: In French, Ouf ! is a word "used to express the satisfaction of the person who says it after a positive outcome (foreseen or unforeseen) has suddenly put an end to a painful or dangerous situation the speaker had been living through." For "satisfaction", I should say "relief". Looking back, I now see how the prospect of a negative outcome had been weighing on me. Now, on to the next tribulation, the heat. It's only supposed to be with us for three days, and probably won't kill us.

So I can relax, and I can eat again! By the way, yesterday I left a glaring typo in the title of my post about cleaning up after our recent construction work. I'm surprised CHM didn't jump on it, but he was kind and let it pass. In the morning, I was preoccupied, and when I saw it last night, just getting back from the clinic in Blois, I was horrified.

La Polyclinique de Blois, a modern, private facility with many departments and medical specialists

It's interesting to think that the coloscopie exam I was submitted to yesterday was completely free. Nobody mentioned money or payments except for the modest fee I needed to pay for occupying a hospital room for the afternoon. I was asked on an admissions form whether I wanted un box (a sort of cubicle) for 15€, a bed in a double room for 20€, or a private room for 30€. I've written blog posts about previous medical procedures I've had performed up there and what the overall experience was like.

I checked the box specifying a double room. The woman checking me in said, well, she didn't have any double rooms available, so she'd have to give me a private room. But she would charge me the 20€ fee for a bed in a shared room. I asked her if she wanted me to pay right then. No, she said, we'll send you a bill. The colonoscopy is considered to be preventive care, and the system not only sees preventive care as the right thing to do for people, but also, I think, as a better way to spend money than on heroic measures for a lot of people who might come down with colon cancer and not know it until it's too late.

Now, I did pay for the initial consultation with the gastroenterologist and the follow-up appointment with an anesthesiologist. I can't remember exactly how much I paid them, but it was less than a hundred euros and I got about two-thirds of that back from the state-run healthcare system. I don't pay any kind of premium to be included in that system; nor does Walt, because we are a couple. Whether we're married or not doesn't matter (we are, in fact).

Socialist countries! Quelle horreur !

24 comments:

  1. Yes, I saw the typo right away, but yesterday, of all days, certainly wasn't the one to put your nose in your caca, mettre ton nez dans ta crotte. I was pleased to see the change this morning.

    I'm so glad that everything was fine, and ouf! is the right word.

    After being on that diet, even for a short time, be careful not to overdo it.

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    1. S'emploie pour exprimer la satisfaction du locuteur après qu'un événement heureux (prévu ou non prévu) a soudainement mis fin à la situation pénible ou dangereuse qu'il vivait.

      In my opinion, the word satisfaction is not strong enough, and I would use soulagement instead.

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    2. That's what I said: relief not satisfaction.

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  2. Yes, those damn socialists wanting frivolous things like health care to be free. As you said, quelle horreur!

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  3. Well, now that you've changed it, I am really curious what you had written, that you've now fixed! Was it something to do with été? I don't remember what you had written first.

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    1. I mistyped chamboulement without the H — *camboulement is not a word, as far as I know.

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  4. Ouf- one of my favorite French words. So glad all was well in the end lol. Your bill sounds a bit complicated. Here I have medicaid and Blue Cross C+ and I never see a bill or have a problem. For younger folks here the situation is quite a problem with different insurance options and high costs. I doubt I'll live long enough to see everyone insured like in France. It's a pity.

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    1. Well, not really complicated. Anyway, it was peanuts compared to what it would have cost in the U.S. I'm sure.

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  5. PS the hospital is beautiful!

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  6. PPS it's 99ºF in the loft this afternoon. We have sought refuge in the living room downstairs where it is only about 82.

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    1. PPPS Now it's 100.04ºF up in the loft. This is unreal.

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  7. That's a nice looking clinic. I would fall over if I got a medical bill that low here. My colonoscopy copay was over $200, not counting the consult fee beforehand. I think average Americans would change their thinking if they had the chance to experience the French (or for that matter UK) system themselves.

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  8. Sorry about your heat!

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    1. Nothing you or we can do about the heat. Supposed to be about the same on Wednesday and Thursday. The little free-standing air-conditioning units I see on the internet cost between 800 and 2000 euros. They cool small rooms, but I'm not sure they would cool our 650 sq. ft. loft. Anyway, they are all out of stock for the moment at all the vendors whose web sites I've looked at.

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    2. 102ºF on the terrace right now.

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    3. 800 - 1200 seems pretty expensive.

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  9. At your age, Ken, I believe you would be like me, covered by Medicare ($128/month payment to be part of program) and the Colonoscopy if fully covered by Medicare, so co-pay at all. Before, when I was younger, my insurance did not cover it and if I remember correctly, the cost was close to $900. This year, my doctor suggested a new option, Cologard (at-home sample and free shipment back to Wisconsin) - again, completely covered by Medicare.
    Happy for you that you got a good response to your test!

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  10. I guess I should have previewed: "so NO co-pay"...

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    1. Thanks for that information, Mary. I didn't know how Medicare covered preventive care. I'm not enrolled because Medicare is not available to people who live outside the U.S. I don't pay into the French healthcare system because I have a small French retirement pension that qualifies me for free coverage. I only worked and contributed to the French system for six years.

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  11. Re changing opinions about the benefits of plans like those in France or the UK: I've read that most Americans think that even routine procedures are hideously expensive because they've been conditioned by the present, dysfunctional system. Most don't realize that almost everything could be done for far less if most of the money weren't going to the insurance industry. [insert deep sigh]

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